Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk declared that cancel culture was over in a stinging rebuke of the old ways in which Big Tech were weaponized against people and organizations with viewpoints opposing mainstream narratives.
Reacting to a video of Twitter Files journalist Matt Taibbi making an appearance on Joe Rogan’s massive podcast, Musk stated that cancel culture was a thing of the past and that it wouldn’t be missed.
“RIP Cancel Culture, you won’t be missed.” Musk wrote earlier this week.
Matt Taibbi & Joe Rogan on Twitter 2.0 and the Fall of Cancel Culture
“The old Twitter was just a grindstone of official messaging” @mtaibbi @joerogan @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/rVohauHZxS
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) February 14, 2023
“Matt Taibbi & Joe Rogan on Twitter 2.0 and the Fall of Cancel Culture. ‘The old Twitter was just a grindstone of official messaging,’” Taibbi was quoted as saying during his conversation with Rogan.in the caption.
Rogan made the point that people used to be afraid to openly discuss topics on the social media platform, pointing out that it could lead to dire consequences. Since Musk took over the company, free speech has been elevated and the woke mob’s influence and power has been substantially reduced.
“Because now people aren’t scared to speak their mind on Twitter, you’re seeing so much pushback… Now, people aren’t scared to go in after it.” Rogan said to Taibbi. “They’re not worried about losing their account, which they were before.
“You are seeing a much more vigorous debate…” he later said, to which Taibbi added, “I hope people are feeling encouraged to say more now.”
It’s also worth noting that much of the control over and domination of cancel culture stems from the fact that without censorship, real facts and truth can thrive. Previously, any assertions were dismissed out of hand and either shadow banned or banned outright. This was seen most prominently during the pandemic, when differing viewpoints on treatments and policies were hotly contested.
The ruling class took great issue with Musk purchasing the power and taking Twitte rpreviate last year. Noi doubt, it feared the exact consequences now playing out. The public debate is freer, richer, and largely devoid of the oppressive and stifling censorship for which it had become famous.
“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” Musk had declared when he bought the company for $44 billion last year.
Writing about an exchange of ideas on CNBC during Musk’s proposed purchase, Fox News dissected a conversation between a show’s host and former AEI president Arthur Brooks.
Brooks responded that most Americans are not interested in the culture war and how it is a small percentage driving this friction. The CNBC host suggested that Twitter was pulling – and would continue to pull – this country apart.
“We are so far apart on how we view the world, Arthur. Is this Twitter’s fault in the first place?” the host asked.
Fox wrote of the conversation:
Brooks responded that most Americans are not interested in the culture war and how it is a small percentage driving this friction.
“We don’t hate each other in this country-I’ve got the data Joe. Ninety-three percent of
Americans say they hate how divided we’ve become as a country, those other 7% that doesn’t hate it, those are the activists saying if you buy a Tesla it means that somehow you believe in hate speech, it’s completely absurd, and it’s total bullying.”
In response to the exchange, Musk commented on Twitter that, “cancel culture needs to be canceled,” prompting Twitter-users to rejoice over the billionaire stance on free speech in the midst of cancel culture.
Cancel culture needs to be canceled!!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 30, 2022
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