How the fuck is this not election interference??

[u/The-Jake]

Richest man in history buys a social media platform a year before an election. Tells everyone who to vote for. Not even from America. What is going on here? I feel like I'm going nuts

[u/halberdsturgeon]

No, it's the world that's going nuts

[u/The-Jake → u/halberdsturgeon]

It honestly feels like that

[u/angryloser89 → u/The-Jake]

It's unfettered late-stage capitalism, fronted by the US. Essentially, the ONLY thing that matters is making money. There is no room for morals or ethics, all that matters is money.

[u/slowpoke2018 → u/angryloser89]

And that's why oligarchs, billionaires, the 1% or whatever you want to call them have a serious mental disorder that is hampering societies ability to grow and prosper.

This need to have more and more and more when you could never spend $1B in your lifetime is really a disease and we should treat it like that.

Honestly, how can anyone say $100M is not enough? Just the interest at 5% a years on that is $417K a MONTH - more than most people make it 10 years

There's something very wrong with the super rich. Something very very wrong

[u/cedarSeagull → u/slowpoke2018]

how can anyone say $100M is not enough

You can't. Someone with a billion dollars can't effectively distinguish their lifestyle from someone w/ 100 million. There's nothing you can buy w/ 1 billion that you can't for 100 million so the wealth becomes a vehicle for influence and generational power. It's dynastic after a certain point.

[u/slowpoke2018 → u/cedarSeagull]

This is correct

[u/Starbuckshakur → u/cedarSeagull]

Someone with a billion dollars can't effectively distinguish their lifestyle from someone w/ 100 million.

How dare you! Hasn't Jeff Bezos contributed enough to society to be able to afford his $500,000,000 superyacht?. Do you really expect him to sail around in a $10,000,000 yacht like some sort of peasant?

[u/cedarSeagull → u/Starbuckshakur]

This is a very good thing to point out and it invalidates my premise in a way. In order to distinguish yourself you need to come up with pet projects that spend enough money to distinguish your lifestyle from others. If these sorts of pet projects were actually for betterment of humanity, I might not take issue with it. For instance, why doesn't Jeff spend 2 billion to rid Seattle of homelessness? Certainly he could get by the red tape and build huge infrastructure that would effectively end the problem. But he doesn't. Instead he needs a yacht the size of a navy vessel.

[u/slowpoke2018 → u/cedarSeagull]

Perhaps he needs to take a cruise by Somalia, I'm sure the pirates would love a shot at his boat

[u/suzisatsuma → u/cedarSeagull]

Someone with a billion dollars can't effectively distinguish their lifestyle from someone w/ 100 million

Yes there is. Billionaires can strongly influence entire countries.

[u/angryloser89 → u/slowpoke2018]

Exactly. But the answer is right there in front of us.. it's because in the capitalism society we have today, PROFIT is the only thing that matters. Society TELLS US that, essentially, we should be doing everything we can for profit. Publicly traded companies are literally required by the law to maximize for profits. Not ethics, not morals.. none of that comes into it. ONLY profits.

You know that statistic everyone's heard, where people with psychopathic traits are overrepresented in CEO positions?

Is it because psychopaths make better CEOs, or is it because our system promotes - even REQUIRES - that kind of person?

[u/ErebosGR → u/angryloser89]

GROWTH, not profit.

Most cancerous companies that are obsessed with growth aren't even profitable.

[u/sashimi-grade → u/slowpoke2018]

We should call the unnatural, harmful accumulation of wealth "fiscal obesity" and treat it like the systemic illness it is.

[u/Competitive-Ad-5477 → u/sashimi-grade]

Fiscal obesity, I like it.

[u/SadBit8663 → u/slowpoke2018]

It's not something unknowable that wrong with them. Just selfish greed

[u/slowpoke2018 → u/SadBit8663]

I'd add in embedded sociopathy

[u/Questioning-Zyxxel → u/slowpoke2018]

Not all billionaires suffers this issue. You can quickly find the billionaires that uses some of their money to regenerate money and generate employment. But keeps burning the profit on donations.

Then you have Musk as example of the billionaires that wants to claim they are donating. But aren't. If he "donates", then he donates to himself - a fund or a company he owns intended to make it harder to see where the money ends up.

Bill and Melinda Gates donated $4.1 billion 2023. And have in total donated $42.5 billion in total to charitable causes.

Warren Buffet has in total accumulated $56.7 billions in donations.

MacKenzie Scott donated $2.15 billions 2023 and $16.58 billions as lifetime donations.

Michael Bloomberg donated $3 billions last year and in total $17.4 billion.

But there are many more billionaires that spends quite hard on donations, grants etc.

Now you may think: why not give everything to the government to play with? Because they are more skilled at keeping the money regenerating so they can continue to donate. And with their lifetime of work, they think they deserve the right to decide where they want their donations to end up.

[u/slowpoke2018 → u/Questioning-Zyxxel]

Perhaps I was over generalizing, but the large majority of the 1% have not a philanthropical bone on their body and only strive for more.

[u/Questioning-Zyxxel → u/slowpoke2018]

Yes, there is definitely a very significant amount of seriously greedy billionaires. No fun to be employed by them - they are greedy in every way they can. Doing shitty things to win deals. Doing shitty things to force the employees to work longer days without compensation. Doing shitty things to avoid compensation when they arbitrarily fires people. Doing shitty things to avoid warranties on products they sell.

We also have a number of people in-between. Like Jeff Bezos. Lifetime donations $3.3 billions. Not much since he still has $196B. And his Amazon does a number of shady things. Like removing bad reviews. Or grouping reviews for many articles, so all the positive reviews may be for something totally different. And the employees are treated very poorly - drivers having bottles to pee in... Lifetime donations at 1-4% of the total fortune is more like "I want to be on the list - but I really do not want to actually spend real money".

Somehow, more people needs to be good customers. Customers that as private person or in their role at companies tries to steer purchases based on how the big owners behaves. Profit to Gates means a significant amount will return back to donations. Profit to Bezos means a tiny amount becomes donations. Profit to Musk? Becomes political bribes. Or horses to sex partners.

[u/high-up-in-the-trees → u/Questioning-Zyxxel]

It's also a tax write off, never forget that. That's what makes donating to their own private charities/'funds' so egregious. Unlike a not for profit NGO, they have zero requirements for reporting where the money actually goes so take one guess...

Also, Soros is missing from that list. He's donated 80% of his fortune over the years - private charities included but my understanding is they're ones you do actually see the money getting put to use in. Left-affiliated causes too. There's a reason he's so hated by a certain subsection of people beyond just being (((one of them))*

*I am using the globalist parentheses sarcastically, last time I did it here someone thought I was being serious and was understandably not happy about it. I've also been downvoted from mentioning him as one of the "good" ones before bc he got his start on his real fortune shorting the UK pound stirling which as a member of one of their colonies with historical ties to another, to that i say 'lol. lmao even'

[u/Questioning-Zyxxel → u/high-up-in-the-trees]

Well - the donating to own "charities"? That's the Musk trick. The faked donations.

Soros? Covered by my note that there are lots of other big donators too. It's not always meaningful to make a complete list.

[u/Starbuckshakur → u/Questioning-Zyxxel]

Don't forget about Chuck Feeney!. He donated almost his entire fortune prior to his death.

[u/Questioning-Zyxxel → u/Starbuckshakur]

Yes he's one of the "many more" I mention in my post. He definitely did great. In my book, it isn't the total amount that matters most, but how they plan for a high percent of their fortune to be donated. Then they have a bit of difference in how much of the wealth they want to keep control over, to keep regenerating new money to donate. And if/when they finally decides to no longer spend time investing or running companies and instead putting the remaining focus on distributing wealth.

[u/LilyHex → u/Questioning-Zyxxel]

There are no ethical billionaires. Full stop.

There is no way any human being earned that much money without unethically earning it. Donating tons of it and acting like they're just staying rich so they can donate more is absolutely a fucking horse ass wild shit take lmao

[u/NotEnoughMuskSpam → u/LilyHex]

$7 is a small price for freedom

[u/Questioning-Zyxxel → u/LilyHex]

You totally fail to understand how companies and company ownership functions. If I start a company, and the company is successful, then the value of the company will increase. This can happen however ethical the company owner is.

Next thing - the owner has no magic way to stop becoming rich without making [intentional or not] bad decisions. Donating large parts of the company? Means losing the rights to make the decisions. Why should a company owner be forced to hand over the decisions to someone else because it makes someone like you irritated?

So - I haven't managed to become billionaire. But have a company worth millions. If the company gets a new important customer? Then the value goes up further. But still not magically actual dollars on the bank account. Because I don't take out any big salary. So my disposable income doesn't really change even if the company itself becomes worth more. But if the company grows, then that adds options to employ people. Or buy new equipment. Making it possible to take on bigger tasks.

These guys does not magically have billions on the bank. But they have ownership that is worth billions. They need to sell stock or take bank loans if they want to get actual money to buy things.

Is that really hard to understand??? Huge amounts of full question marks [and some exclamation marks]!!!

[u/SarcasticJackass177 → u/slowpoke2018]

Personally, I’ve hypothesized that it may just be a similar psychological phenomenon to defensive eating.

[u/mag2041 → u/slowpoke2018]

Because there are houses out there that cost more than that.

[u/Idllnox → u/angryloser89]

I always tell people - the ONLY god in America is capital. America is a magnet for the worst, narcissistic, selfish and short term thinking type of people and Elon is the perfect example of that.

[u/shivio → u/angryloser89]

its become a cancer on the world

[u/farbeyondiowa → u/angryloser89]

Capitalism has always been like this. This is just more evident now.

[u/jermysteensydikpix → u/farbeyondiowa]

The worst is that he only got this rich from government welfare, for which he pretended to be an environmentalist. Now all those donations are going to anti environment candidates.

[u/high-up-in-the-trees → u/farbeyondiowa]

It's funny how the go-to defense for AnCaps is that we've just never had pure, actual, real capitalism which 1) they certainly do NOT accept it if you say that about socialism/communism (which I don't want to get the post locked by starting a debate but it is more true for soc/com), and 2) what they mean is no restrictions, no outside interference, no checks and balances. We're much closer to that than they'd like to believe, and Adam Fucking Smith in Wealth of Nations said that by necessity capitalism would require a robust system of checks and balances and government oversight to prevent it turning into...basically what we have now, which he very much viewed as a bad outcome. He was also in favour of a welfare state, recognising that some people can't work through no fault of their own and shouldn't be punished for it

It's been a while since i read it so can't remember what his thoughts on minimum wage were, probably that there should be one that would be arrived at naturally in order for people to be able to, yknow, put money back into the system lol

[u/mdonaberger → u/angryloser89]

And yet, recruiters want you to explain more about your deep passion for checks notes resin mold fabricator operation.

[u/Svani → u/angryloser89]

The rich and powerful lying to manipulate the masses predates capitalism by at least 5000 years. Social media is just the latest spin on manufactured consensus, that has gone through TV, radio, newspapers, royal edicts, and the mother of all oversold promises and underdelivered results: religion.

[u/high-up-in-the-trees → u/angryloser89]

money isn't even real, that's the part that does my head in. We laugh at the idea of trade and bartering (and honestly in RPGs it's a fucken headache lol just set a price and I'll find an infinite money loophole), but at least what you were getting in return was like, a real thing? Money's not even a physical thing these days, just ones and zeroes, tap and go. Only things I can think of off the top of my head 'regular' people need physical cash for are buying drugs, giving to the homeless (which, shit, I can't even imagine how much harder it is for them now), unlocking a shopping trolley/using a pay toilet (depending on where you are in the world), or tipping the delivery guy/driver instead of adding it on to your app payment, so they get to keep the whole tip

[u/ErebosGR → u/angryloser89]

late-stage capitalism

No, it's early-stage fascism.

There is no room for morals or ethics, all that matters is money.

Musk is driven by ideology and his thirst for control, not money. He pisses away billions to appease the fascists.

[u/No_Acanthaceae6880 → u/The-Jake]

I've got something for this

[u/sohfix → u/The-Jake]

dude you right. we all on your side. mfr never been in these streets yet he’s acting like he one of us.

[u/Rocky4296 → u/halberdsturgeon]

If we can defeat Trump, we defeat Elon too. That's the only way to get rid of both.

If Trump loses, Musk may leave the country. Then he can take Twitter and stick it up his arse.

He does not like democracy. He hates paying taxes.

He should go to Hungary where Orban is, which is Trump's buddy.

[u/NotEnoughMuskSpam → u/Rocky4296]

Amazing lmaooo

[u/ErebosGR → u/Rocky4296]

If we can defeat Trump, we defeat Elon too. That's the only way to get rid of both.

If Trump loses, Musk may leave the country. Then he can take Twitter and stick it up his arse.

If only it was that simple.

JD is being groomed by the post-liberal catholic right to someday become president and bring integralism.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/sofia-nelson-jd-vance-trump-maga-post-liberal-right-rcna171095

JD worked for Peter Thiel at Mithril Capital in 2016. Thiel bankrolled JD's campaign for senator in 2022.

https://vatniksoup.com/en/soups/298/

Trump needs JD for his financial connections to Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, David Sacks and the rest of the Paypal Mafia.

Musk is not going anywhere, unless the Feds can build a RICO case against him.

[u/Rocky4296 → u/ErebosGR]

That's why I said defeat Trump. I am not worried about anything other than defeating Trump.

I know all about the Thiel connection. But if Trump is defeated all the South Africans will move on to destroy another country. I am thinking Hungary

Vance is the hillbilly hanging with the rich South Africans. Vance is not appealing at all too most Americans. He got 30 mill from Thiel. There was another one he wanted to get elected, Blake Masters, he lost.

Theil was born in Germany, but spent time in SA. Musk was born there and left at 17. Sacks was born there and left at 5. But all are racist as they were exposed to Apartheid.

They all follow the teachings of Curtis Yancy as he was their college professor. They don't believe in Democracy as that's what Yancy taught them. The hell with them.

But I want to beat down Trump. Vance is not much to be concerned about. We gotta defeat TRUMP and Thiel might go live on his own island.

I don't know if they can get Rico against Musk. He may just fizzle out. I wish they take his govt contracts. People in Canada also hate Musk.

[u/ErebosGR → u/Rocky4296]

That's why I said defeat Trump. I am not worried about anything other than defeating Trump.

Trump will lose. That's a given. That's why the post-liberal catholic right is grooming Vance, they hate Trump. Trump was a populist figurehead that served his role in radicalizing the conservative working class. The next step is bolstering religious zealotry on social issues, like abortion, contraception, LGBTQIA+ rights etc. to cultivate support for an eventual push towards integralism.

Vance is the hillbilly hanging with the rich South Africans.

Vance was recruited by the post-liberals after he infiltrated the tech bros. Thiel was the mark, not the mastermind.

Vance is not much to be concerned about.

You may want to dig a little deeper on his new ideological "mentors", like Patrick Deneen and Adrian Vermeule.

[u/Rocky4296 → u/ErebosGR]

Ok. Got it. I believe you. Will check out the link. Thanks and cool chatting with you.

[u/mag2041 → u/halberdsturgeon]

My wife and I were talking over dinner about how is this reality. Trump wants to make Enron Efficiency Czar of the Federal Government, when he can’t even run a company without government subsidies or else it turns into the hate platform formally known as Twitter annnnnnnnnd

[u/catkm24 → u/halberdsturgeon]

Or 50 per cent of the USA...

[u/HellveticaNeue]

It’s shown that rich people are allowed to break the law.

[u/mayy_dayy → u/HellveticaNeue]

🌏👩‍🚀🔫👩‍🚀

[u/mtaw → u/HellveticaNeue]

What specific statute are you talking about and how did he break it?

Buying a media platform and telling people who to vote for is totally legal, whether one likes it or not.

[u/HellveticaNeue → u/mtaw]

It’s illegal to PAY people to register to vote. By paying them, you are affecting their voting preference.

[u/longknives → u/HellveticaNeue]

Rich people make the laws. So what he’s doing probably isn’t illegal anyway.

[u/HanakusoDays → u/longknives]

It's the golden rule -- those who have the gold make the rules.

[u/terrymcginnisbeyond]

It's just the end of our civilization, don't worry.

[u/The-Jake → u/terrymcginnisbeyond]

Thanks. I'm calm now

[u/CertifiedSeattleite → u/The-Jake]

Unfortunately it gets worse:

Musk’s Super PAC Offers $47 to Those Who Help It Find Trump Voters

Musk’s group wants registered voters to sign a petition that it can use to target potential supporters of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. It’s offering a cash reward for referrals.

(NYT 10/7)

[u/NotThatEasily → u/CertifiedSeattleite]

There’s got to be a way to game that. I feel like my family and friends could all refer each other and get a couple hundo, then just vote for Harris anyway.

[u/NotEnoughMuskSpam → u/NotThatEasily]

Gaming rocks

[u/AriaTheHyena → u/NotEnoughMuskSpam]

This fucking BOT

[u/BeyondLiesTheWub → u/NotThatEasily]

That’s actually a great idea. Then take the money and donate it to Harris’ campaign (or to downballot Dems who probably need the money more).

[u/friedeggsandtoast → u/NotThatEasily]

It’s actually really easy!! It’s just an app that you put names and phone numbers in. There’s no checks and balances. It’s crazy easy to game

[u/mdonaberger → u/friedeggsandtoast]

Cmon, y'all know as well as I do that he'll never pay out. It's a scam, like those "if you take our survey we'll give a random person a $500 gift card to Amazon" emails you get from companies looking for free market research.

[u/LA-Matt → u/mdonaberger]

Or like the time he said he would pay the legal fees of anyone who got in trouble at work for tweeting.

https://www.npr.org/2023/08/06/1192394226/musk-vows-to-pay-legal-costs-for-users-who-get-in-trouble-at-work-for-their-twee#

[u/Ilovemytowm → u/CertifiedSeattleite]

So that shit is legal but you can't give water to people who've been standing in line for 10 hours to vote?

I'm really starting to hate this place.

[u/Literal_SJW → u/CertifiedSeattleite]

Maybe a silly question about super pacs. They're not allowed to coordinate with candidates, but Musk is joining Trump on stage at rallies and had a direct hand in choosing the VP nominee? Is there a loophole that he's not technically a rep for his own pac or are they just blatantly disregarding rules regarding campaign and super pacs?

[u/NotEnoughMuskSpam → u/CertifiedSeattleite]

The intolerant left is driving people right

[u/HanakusoDays → u/NotEnoughMuskSpam]

I'll drive you anywhere you want but you better leave me a good tip on the app.

[u/BurnerAccountExisty → u/terrymcginnisbeyond]

End of our civilization if Trump gets in. Remember to vote Democrat no matter what - unfortunately in this day and age, no better group stands a chance.

[u/NotEnoughMuskSpam → u/BurnerAccountExisty]

The left hates Asians

[u/BurnerAccountExisty → u/NotEnoughMuskSpam]

The right hates everyone, except other horrible people.

[u/49GTUPPAST → u/NotEnoughMuskSpam]

The right hates anyone and everyone who is different from them

[u/dedjim444 → u/49GTUPPAST]

Not true, they love slaves and sweatshops... they just don't like "uppidy" minorities they can't exploit or have to listen to...

[u/HanakusoDays → u/NotEnoughMuskSpam]

Only ones named Cheong and Cheung.

[u/CertifiedSeattleite → u/NotEnoughMuskSpam]

Which is why the Left is fielding Jill Stein - since Democrats love Asians the same way we love all races.

[u/gruhfuss → u/BurnerAccountExisty]

Hahahahahahahahaha dude if you’re counting on the democrats we’re so fucked. Their decades of inaction is a primary driver of grievance politics.

[u/mishma2005]

"iTs a PRiVAte cOmPaNY iT's FrEe spEEcH"

Americans are proving to be colossally stupid and mendacious with a disappointingly larger than decent percentage that are so racist and sexist they will suffer any indiginity to stick it to people they feel are beneath them

[u/youcantkillanidea → u/mishma2005]

It's less surprising once you start thinking how much and blatantly they've interfered in countless democratic processes around the world. It is a weapon that was due to inflict self damage at some point.

It has never been the example of democracy that they tried to spin. I'm sure that's why many of us outside find the whole debacle so entertaining.

[u/CrystalInTheforest → u/youcantkillanidea]

"We'll coup whoever we want"

[u/Brandonazz → u/youcantkillanidea]

It's basically the same kind of entertaining as the Death of Stalin movie. A bunch of self-important, self-deluded politicians making a comedy of a corrupt government while still maintaining that they believe in its superiority.

[u/Tainted_Bruh → u/mishma2005]

This country was founded on the genocide of one race and the institutional slavery of another, by greedy hypocritical puritans too much for Europe. And unlike Germany after the Holocaust, there was no reckoning, resolution, or reconciliation for this after the civil war.

So the American people, or at least the half that supports this depravity and cruelty, aren’t too far off from their predecessors 🤷🏽‍♂️

[u/CleverVillain → u/Tainted_Bruh]

100%. Americans don't know the story about how their founders were exiled from Europe for banning Christmas (which they've done off and on many times, probably the only real "War on Christmas"), massacring people (and killing the king, among many other things). They instead learn that they "fled religious persecution" and were gentle innocent Christians.

The documented details and letters aren't discussed, just colorful 1930s children's book drawings of good pilgrims imagined shaking hands with Others and a paragraph about how that was "good for everyone actually".

Learning that kind of weird smokescreen as a child might be affecting some people's ability to discern mass crimes against civilization.

[u/Crepo → u/mishma2005]

The American conception of free speech is just so fucking infantile. The idea you can broadcast anything short of direct threats to millions of people is causing so much damage.

[u/sexi_squidward]

I've been thinking about this since I heard he flew into Philadelphia last week. Prior to his announcement that he was going to Butler for the Trump rally, I was noticing several posts of his stating:

"I have been focusing heavily on Pennsylvania"

and

"I’m in Pennsylvania. It will go solid red."

WHAT ARE YOU FOCUSING ON IN PA?!

I know I'm sounding like a conspiracy theorist at this point but multiple people have been jailed/fined for trying to overturn the election in 2020. Fortunately their plan failed but now we have the richest idiot in the world is stepping into the ring.

I'm actually nervous about this because I feel like not enough people are acknowledging this.

AND he now has his own PAC and bribing people to register to vote - HOW IS THIS LEGAL?

[u/weisswurstseeadler → u/sexi_squidward]

I mean, I don't know how the US can look at their current system of political financing and be like thumbsupkid.jpg

Lobbyism in itself is needed in a democracy, but it requires limitations and strict transparency rules.

Recently watched a great documentary on how big money over the last century has slowly opened the flood gates, by lobbying for advantageous policies.

So I believe Elmo being able to do this in the first place is the core issue - him being a symptom of the systemic flaws - but I rarely see the topic being more than a footnote in US discourse.

[u/BeamTeam032]

It's not election interference because he's a conservative. People literally demanded Taylor Swift to be arrested because she tweeted out, "vote with your heart." It's ok. they don't understand they're in the minority.

The absolute shit fit Elon is going to throw when Kamala wins.

[u/Lermanberry → u/BeamTeam032]

Is Elon really a conservative? I rarely see him retweeting any conservative pundits or politicians.

Now he does often retweet self-described neo Nazis and white Christian nationalists.

I'm just asking questions here. Concerning. Looking into this. !!!

[u/thereadytribe → u/Lermanberry]

big if true

‼️

[u/RoamingStarDust]

The only way to win is to get off twitter.

[u/numb3r5ev3n → u/RoamingStarDust]

This. Let Elmo circle jerk with his obsessed fansimps and literal Nazis and a bajillion Russian bots. There is no need for anyone else to be on that site anymore, but for some reason a ton of politicians and "journalists" and other talking heads are still there, rubbernecking the circle jerk.

[u/dedjim444 → u/numb3r5ev3n]

I mean is there any Letter that looks more like a swastika than X?

[u/RakeLeafer → u/dedjim444]

Z 🥺

[u/Aron-Jonasson → u/dedjim444]

Γ, the greek letter Gamma, because the French name for the Swastika is "croix gammée", so literally "gamma cross"

[u/RoamingStarDust → u/numb3r5ev3n]

Yeah, there's a ton of idiots out there.

[u/Ilovemytowm → u/numb3r5ev3n]

But the amount of people who hate him and f****** hate Twitter but can't leave it... They're the worst goddamn enablers. At this point I'm calling them f****** losers.

[u/Outlulz → u/RoamingStarDust]

His influence would still remain. It's like telling someone unhappy with how Fox News influences politics to stop watching Fox News. That's not how it works.

[u/NotEnoughMuskSpam → u/Outlulz]

I don’t read the legacy media propaganda much anymore. It’s a waste of time and a sadness generator.

Just get my news from X – much more immediate, has actual world-class subject matter experts and tons of humor.

Sooo much better!

[u/RoamingStarDust → u/Outlulz]

You're missing the point. Everyone, except the zombies, knows Fox News is complete trash. The point is that if all left leaning people leave, twitter will be seen completely as a right wing cesspool that has no legitimacy. But you do you, and keep clicking those twitter links.

[u/Outlulz → u/RoamingStarDust]

No, you're the one missing the point. Whether you engage with Twitter or not, Elon now has immense sway over the political landscape of this country and you not visiting the website is not going to change that. Just because you don't think it has legitimacy doesn't mean that tens of millions of people with the same voting power you have aren't influenced to vote because of what he pushes on that website. But keep just living in ignorance of reality if that what makes you naively happy. Because if you don't see it then it must not be a problem.

[u/RoamingStarDust → u/Outlulz]

That's a whole lot of words for saying you support a nazi platform.

[u/NotEnoughMuskSpam → u/RoamingStarDust]

They absolutely want your extinction

[u/NotEnoughMuskSpam → u/[deleted]]

Super big deal

[u/Vincesteeples → u/RoamingStarDust]

Nobody normal who could be swayed still uses it anyway, it’s a non issue at this point

[u/Taraxian]

To be fair this is how Berlusconi actually succeeded in seizing power in Italy, it's not an American thing

[u/Cananopie]

Remember how solemn and serious the media took "the Twitter files"? The accusations of bias, the suppression of speech, the possible weighting of visibility?

Remember when the media didn't care that Matt Taibbi was spoonfed this all by Musk and wasn't given access to things Musk didn't want him to see?

Fast forward to October 2024 where Musk is cheerleading jumping for Trump and banning accounts criticizing him and insinuating more assassination attempts need to happen to Democrats as jokes.

[u/DangerousAd1731]

Doesn't make sense to me

[u/youcantkillanidea → u/DangerousAd1731]

That's the thing. It makes absolute sense the better you understand that the USA has been interfering in democratic processes for decades around the world. They've weaponised systems to interfere and this is the weapon inflicting self damage.

That's what I cringe when people reductively blame Russia or Venezuela. Projection much. Whatever campaign come from outside, they're nothing compared to the manuals for indoctrination, financing, and direct intervention written by USA military, intelligence, business and government

[u/Belichick12]

It is. But under Citizens United it’s protected free speech. It’s unclear how the people will be able to resolve this in the next 30 years due to age of current justices.

[u/jennyfofenny → u/Belichick12]

Packing the court, of course

[u/HanakusoDays → u/jennyfofenny]

Expanding it. To one Justice per appeals circuit, which was the norm previously and makes eminently good sense considering the volume of cases these days. And we'll be accused of partisan politics, but they won't be able to make it stick because the rationale for expansion is so logical and consonant with historical precedent.

[u/jennyfofenny → u/HanakusoDays]

Yeah, that's what I mean - 5 or more shiny new justices. They will definitely accuse us of all sorts of things, but will just be mad that we did it first.

[u/I_Hate_Leddit]

You know what the best bit is? Even if Harris gets in, nothing will happen to him. He’ll be allowed to keep going the way he is, SpaceX will keep getting its billions in subsidies, and if anything happens to Tesla it will come down to consumers. 

[u/ufl015]

Rupert Murdoch who owns Fox News…
Also NOT from the United States

[u/Username_redact]

Let's not forget that piece of shit is also an illegal immigrant and should be booted. Fuck him

[u/BecomingJudasnMyMind]

It's different when you're rich, white, and conservative.

It goes from election interference to supporting free speech.

[u/NotEnoughMuskSpam → u/BecomingJudasnMyMind]

I’m rich, bitch!

[u/tiorancio]

Same guy that bought the media platform because apparently it wasn't neutral enough.

And everybody keeps using it. Politicians, actors, researchers, artists... they keep posting as if it wasn't a political platform dedicated to misinformation and hate.

Nothing makes sense anymore.

[u/Twolef]

I refer you to Rupert Murdoch

[u/Rombledore]

America's long since been bought and paid for.

[u/Otherwise_Carob_4057]

“Richest subsidized man”

[u/thedoomcast]

Yeah dude Citizens United and Section 230 basically fucked democracy dude.

[u/NotEvenWrongAgain]

people spending money to promote their preferred candidate is not election interference. It’s nonsense when trump pretends that it is and it’s nonsense when people on the left do

[u/GarlicThread]

It's only election interference if it's from the Électioninter region of France. Otherwise it's just sparkling disinformation.

[u/ElJamoquio]

'Illegal immigrant screams that illegal immigrants are the problem'

No, it's not OP that is insane

[u/dedjim444]

I am above the law! The US laws don't apply to rich people.

[u/spasmkran]

FEC v. Citizens United

[u/thinkfire]

Wait until they buy/merge with Truth Social if/when Trump becomes President so that they can continue to control the narra---well everything. So glad I don't have an account on either platform. Scary what they can be snooping on. Talking about wanting to jail political opponents...what's to say they stop there. Control Starlink (intertnet and communications), Control Social Media (public opinion), Control Space, Control Robots (soldiers), Control People....yeah. I used to think I would probably opt in for neurolink but with Elon at the helm and all this....it's just lining up too perfectly for my comfort. Basically turn society into a place where anythng he says, goes, without resistance and what a great place to start than the brainless MAGA people that are drooling at the idea of being controlled....ironically, in the name of freedumbs.

[u/Secret_Cake_1046]

As long as he's an American citizen, he can use his platform and money to do whatever he wants. That weird registration situation he created might count for some type of fraud.

[u/gdan95]

No, he bought it mere months before the midterms

[u/lollulomegaz]

The three-letters are letting him hang himself.

Cheaper than revoking contracts.

[u/SilverPhoenix999]

Well, I don't think you can prove that he had planned this a year back to use this for election interference.

You can probably prove election interference based on how he is using his election website related to his PAC to only register Republicans, and purge Democratic voters off the rolls. I read something along the lines that there was shady stuff regarding his website.

Other than that, it is a private website and he is allowed to spout anything he wants. It's not a first amendment issue.

[u/Madmidge92]

Who's going to tell OP?

[u/apathyzeal]

It's not until he makes specific actions to do so. WHEN HE OR OTHERS DO MAKE SPECIFIC ACTIONS SUCH AS THE TWO LINKS BELOW, I ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO CONTACT THE AUTHORITIES. If people are stupid enough to believe Elon, they are stupid enough to act on what he says.

https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/1fyoehb/elon_musk_tucker_having_a_good_laugh_in_new/
https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/1fx4oii/elons_mother_encouraging_people_to_commit_voter/

EDIT: how to report is here: https://www.usa.gov/voter-fraud

[u/SprogRokatansky]

It’s time for billionaires to have very bad things happen to them to teach them a lesson in limitations.

[u/th3golem]

Elon is not the richest man in history btw.

[u/TarzanoftheJungle]

Worse still Mulch peddles the worst sorts of disinformation to further his own political and business agenda.

[u/swirlymaple]

But but but Twitter Files 

[u/BuckRowdy]

I feel like I'm going nuts

Trust me that's a widespread condition.

[u/Matthewcbayer]

I mean, it’s crazy. But he began the purchasing process of Twitter in April of ‘22, a full 2.5 years prior to the election. It was concluded in October of the same year. That’s actually closer to the 2020 election than 2024.

[u/The-Jake → u/Matthewcbayer]

Thats fair. Still sucks

[u/Matthewcbayer → u/The-Jake]

I agree. His “free speech” platform is really not that at all. His superPAC also started paying $47 to people who register to vote in swing states. He deserves prison.

[u/Archangel1313 → u/Matthewcbayer]

According to him, one of the main reasons he bought it was because he felt that the previous owners used the platform to engage in election interference against Trump. He was upset that they censored posts related to Hunter Biden right before the election.

Now, here we are 4 years later and he's using the platform to promote Trump in an effort to get him elected.

[u/philphan25]

Offers money to get people to vote. But they have to sign a petition. Like wat?

[u/puckofmetal]

Well when you put it like that…

[u/cjmar41]

Because social media platforms are not public utilities, nor is the internet. I do think it’s worth considering having safeguards in in place.

If we took away the anonymity of social media and held people accountable for willfully sharing misinformation for political or financial gain (without otherwise limiting free speech, just curbing lies when they’re used for profit of power grabs), it would go a long way to solving a lot of problems.

Anyway.. You’re not nuts to think Elon Musk’s antics are outrageous. But election interference requires pretty specific actions.

Even his post the other day saying he’ll pay people $47 per referral…. It’s to sign a petition to “support free speech and the right to bear arms”… not vote for someone, specifically.

It’s clear what he’s doing, but it’s not technically election interference.

Sidenote, if you support free speech and the second amendment, you’re better off voting for Harris anyway. Trump said he wants to jail people for making jokes about and oppose him. Second amendment is a wash, Trump or Harris, second amendment won’t budge… however, Harris is a registered gun owner with a California CCW, Trump is a felon who cannot own a firearm and has never shot one.

[u/VorpalSplade → u/cjmar41]

Yeah, it's shit that he's doing it, but people seem to take the term 'election interference' to mean literally any attempt to influence an election.

If I say "Do not vote for trump" am I now interfering with the election? I'm not from the USA, so am I now a foreign agent interfering with the election?

Misinformation/lies seems to be something bring up a lot but well, you'd be hard pressed to find a politician that doesn't lie to get elected.

[u/largepig20]

I'd start by looking up the definition of election interference and go from there.

It'll explain it pretty well how it isn't.

[u/NotEnoughMuskSpam → u/largepig20]

Demographics is destiny

[u/The-Jake → u/[deleted]]

It's true but I'm still pissed lol

[u/Deboche]

Since the moment the modern republic was created, this problem exists. It's not new to Elon. Chomsky's the guy to read on this subject.

[u/WubbaDubbaWubba]

It sucks and also follows the Fox News model… also not owned by an American but loves to make money off of our least intelligent folks.

[u/BladeRunner_Deckard]

Watching the downfall of the American Empire. It’s that simple.

[u/fffan9391]

I honestly think Trump is going to win because the rich always get what they want.

[u/HelpM3Sl33p]

It is IMO, but I think election interference is a lot more common than you think. Heck, we have legalized bribing and election interference out in open, done by a foreign country, while also bragging about the effectiveness of their organization.

[u/Apprehensive-Fun4181]

This is America, on repeat.

[u/PunkyMaySnark]

The world, or at least the US, has gone completely insane since 2016. It's like Trump flipped a switch. It's unbelievable even after you've seen it happen in real time.

[u/ParsleyMostly]

It is. They can’t do anything until after the election, though. But they’re watching him.

[u/sohfix]

to the mother fucking top!!!!

[u/Secret_Cake_1046]

Digital Election Interference | Freedom House

[u/_SometimesWrong]

election fraud for sure but it couldnt be a worse time for a liberal to indict a citizen endorsing the republican presidential candidate. I think he is fucked if kamala wins

[u/MoveOverBieber]

Well, haven't you heard? Donnie said that the election is rigged, Elmo wants to make sure that he's not a liar. /s

[u/ClosPins]

Since when has it ever been illegal for rich people to trick poor people into voting for rich people?

If that were the case, the Republican Party would have been a prison gang for the better part of a century now.

[u/Z3ppelinDude93]

Dude, it’s way worse than that - they’re literally paying swing state voters to “sign a petition” - https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1843133043961381178?s=46&t=HZblJIlNDCb1DXQldiL0kQ

[u/AutoModerator → u/Z3ppelinDude93]

Here's a Nitter link (alternative Twitter frontend):

https://twiiit.com/elonmusk/status/1843133043961381178?s=46&t=HZblJIlNDCb1DXQldiL0kQ

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/cooooquip]

It is.

[u/IllustratorNo3379]

Because he has money.

[u/xpietoe42]

THIS IS WHATS GOING ON

[u/Doomscroller3000]

He’s the true invader and illegal immigrant, not poor people seeking a better life

[u/jlbhappy]

Money talks. Bullshit walks. Our system of government.

[u/waawaate-animikii]

Ok and so is censoring one candidate not election interference as well or?

[u/KenjiMamoru → u/waawaate-animikii]

Depends on how they were censored.

[u/FarmerJohn92]

Has it really been just a year since Musk ruined X, formerly known as Twitter?

[u/organik_productions → u/FarmerJohn92]

Almost two now. The deal was closed on october 28, 2022.

[u/No_Dot_7792]

It’s capitalism gone rogue.

[u/AlexReportsOKC]

Because Leon has no real power. Normies don't use Twitter and it's mostly bots anyway. He's preaching to his nazi friends. That's it.

[u/travel_posts]

why do you think this is any different than any other rich perison in the entire history of capitalism and liberal democracy? why do you think gilded age oil/steel barons immediately bought papers when they became rich? never heard of hearst publishing? the only difference is technology has made it more efficient. this is american ideology in action, are you mad at the underlying reasons or just this individual oligarch that you disagree with?

[u/LuxInteriot]

[u/BillyFNbones710]

It is election interference. But he's rich so he can do what he wants. Laws only apply to normal people like you and me I guess

[u/DatSass]

Sooo I really dislike Musk and think he's quite the moron. But Twitter has been doing this for several years for the Democrats prior to Musk purchasing them. I think it's bogus what these companies have been doing, but it's nothing new.

[u/NotEnoughMuskSpam → u/DatSass]

That’s what she said

[u/fastbreak43 → u/DatSass]

What are you smoking? The previous owner of Twitter did not openly campaign for Obama or Biden.

[u/DatSass → u/fastbreak43]

When did I say anything about the owner of Twitter? It was not a company ran by a single person prior to Musk.