Friday, October 28, 2022

An initial update on the coming Twitter hyper-hellscape

Confusion, concern, conspiracies, celebration.

In the hours after Elon Musk took control of Twitter, reaction on the platform ranged from triumph to despair.

While no immediate policy changes had been announced by Friday afternoon, that didn’t stop users from cheering — or criticizing — what they expected to be a quick embrace of Musk’s pledges to cut back on moderation in what he has said is an effort to promote free speech.

Conservative personalities on the site began recirculating long-debunked conspiracy theories, including about COVID-19 and the 2020 election, in a tongue-in-cheek attempt to “test” whether Twitter’s policies on misinformation were still being enforced.

Popular right-wing pundits tweeted buzzwords such as “ivermectin,” and “Trump won” to see whether they’d be penalized for content they suggested would previously have been flagged. Ivermectin, a cheap drug that kills parasites in humans and animals, has been promoted by some Republican lawmakers and conservative talk show hosts as an effective way to treat COVID-19. But health experts have been pushing back, warning there’s scant evidence to support the belief that it works.
Welp, that is exactly what expert Dissident Politics analyses indicated what would happen. DP expects that next, most (~90%) of the crackpottery, lies and slanders will be allowed in the name of free speech. It's dark free speech, but free speech nonetheless.

DP will update the inquiring minds at DP whether Twitter's Chief Twat, Elon Musk, will do squat about all the lies and bullshittery that he unleashed. So far, the betting is that he won't do much about it. Maybe a fig leaf or two will be put on the gaping wounds in truth and civility, but that's probably gonna be about it.



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