Below are posts associated with the “Elon Musk” tag.
slides for guest lecture on platform perspectives, digital labor, and the digital divide
A few months ago, some colleagues reached out to ask if I would be willing to record a guest lecture for our library science program’s LIS 600: Information in Society. In particular, they were interested in having me record something for a week on the digital divide. I am conversant on that topic, but it’s not an area of specialty for me, so I was unsure about it until I realized that some of the readings for that week touch on topics like platform design that I am really interested in through my work on social media communities.
follow up on research ethics implications of Twitter's 'general amnesty'
This is just a few words to say that this post that I wrote back in December 2022 has suddenly become relevant.
In short, some of my recent work has been on an online Mormon community that has some overlaps with the far-right. In between my collection of the data and eventual publication of our various articles, my co-author and I have noted some prominent accounts’ being suspended from Twitter. Because we work hard to not use identifiable quotes in our writing, and because of Elon Musk’s decision to unsuspend nearly all suspended accounts after taking the platform over, I’ve been checking accounts I knew to previously be suspended as we work on a new manuscript. Today, for the first time, I’ve found one account that has indeed been unsuspended.
🔗 linkblog: Elon Discovers When Content Moderation Makes Sense: When He Can Use It To Protect Racist Bigots From Being Called Out'
“Mentioning names both is and isn’t allowed. It’s a quantum superposition of content moderation that only collapses when observed by Musk himself.” 😂😂😂
🔗 linkblog: Elon Musk abruptly cancels Don Lemon’s X talk show hours after interview'
Free speech absolutism wins again.
🔗 linkblog: Elon Only Started Buying Up Twitter Shares After Twitter Refused To Ban Plane Tracking Account'
Musk’s pettiness knows no bounds.
🔗 linkblog: Taylor Swift joins Elon Musk in trying to silence student who tracks celebrity jets'
Hate to see Swift taking a page out of Musk’s book here.
🔗 linkblog: Elon Musk Spreads Election Misinformation on X Without Fact Checkers - The New York Times'
I was already fed up with Twitter before election season started. C’mon, Musk.
🔗 linkblog: Haine en ligne : Elon Musk promet de payer les recours en justice contre la future loi irlandaise'
Musk ne s’intéresse à la liberté d’expression que quand il peut en profiter.
🔗 linkblog: Community Notes Is Great Until It Challenges Elon, And Then It’s Being ‘Manipulated’ By State Actors | Techdirt'
Is this the same feature Elon says will be sufficient for keeping Alex Jones in check?
🔗 linkblog: Elon Musk unbans conspiracy theorist Alex Jones from X - The Verge'
This… this is even worse than just giving him an account back. Ugh.
🔗 linkblog: Elon Musk restores X account of Alex Jones : NPR'
Musk keeps digging his hole deeper and deeper.
🔗 linkblog: ‘Free Speech Absolutist’ Elon Musk Promises To Sue Media Matters To Silence Their Speech | Techdirt'
Masnick’s frustration here is fun to read.
🔗 linkblog: As Elon Musk Endorses Bigoted Nonsense, Advertisers Find Their Ads On Nazi Content | Techdirt'
I’ve been waiting for Masnick’s response to this, and it’s good.
🔗 linkblog: X Races to Contain Damage After Elon Musk Endorses Antisemitic Post - The New York Times'
What a mess Musk has made Twitter into.
🔗 linkblog: Major critic of X sues after being banned from platform | Ars Technica'
The headline obscures something important—that this is about research, access to data, and Terms of Service. Worrying stuff.
🔗 linkblog: Blue checks on X are ‘superspreaders’ of Israel-Hamas war misinformation - The Verge'
Looks like Masnick’s (and others’) predictions about Musk’s changes to Twitter are coming true. This isn’t what verification is for.
🔗 linkblog: Twitter is Throttling Patreon Links, Creators Say It Undermines Their Livelihood – The Markup'
Free speech absolutism at its finest.
🔗 linkblog: The Israel-Hamas War Is Drowning X in Disinformation | WIRED'
How a platform is managed has real consequences.
🔗 linkblog: Opinion | I Was Attacked by Donald Trump and Elon Musk. I Believe It Was a Strategy To Change What You See Online. - The New York Times'
Roth’s perspective is valuable here. Scary stuff.
🔗 linkblog: Musk shut off Starlink to prevent Ukraine attack on Russian ships, report says | Ars Technica'
Don’t love the idea of a fickle billionnaire having this much influence in world affairs.
🔗 linkblog: How Elon Musk’s Impulses Transformed Twitter - WSJ'
What a mess this whole thing has been.
🔗 linkblog: As X bleeds cash, Musk threatens Anti-Defamation League with defamation lawsuit | Ars Technica'
This feels like a page out of Gab’s playbook.