Headline RoundupNovember 1st, 2023

Musk Says Twitter Suppressed Republicans at '10 Times the Rate of Democrats'

Summary from the AllSides News Team

Tesla CEO and X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk appeared on comedian Joe Rogan’s podcast on Tuesday, where he discussed politics, urban crime, and the changes he’s made to the social media platform since taking over late last year.

Twitter’s Left-Wing Bias: Musk stated that prior to his purchase of Twitter, the platform acted as “an arm of the government” and was biased against conservative users, who were “suppressed 10 times the rate of Democrats.” Musk said the platform was “fundamentally controlled by the far left. It was like, completely controlled by the far left.” Shortly after purchasing Twitter, Musk allowed a handful of journalists to access internal communications at the platform, culminating in the ‘Twitter Files’ saga.

George Soros: Musk also heavily criticized billionaire Democrat mega-donor George Soros, who he accused of eroding “the fabric of civilization” by supporting progressive prosecutors across the United States. Musk claimed that Soros “fundamentally hates humanity” and elevates district attorneys who “refuse to prosecute crime” in major U.S. cities.

How the Media Covered It: The nearly three-hour interview was covered mildly across the spectrum. Right-rated outlets typically framed coverage around Musk’s comments on Soros. Center-rated outlets focused most heavily on Musk’s statements regarding a left-wing bias on Twitter before his takeover. Left-rated outlets focused more on criticism of Musk’s comments, with the Daily Beast (Left bias) stating that a “surge of misinformation and hateful speech has proliferated on [X] since Musk’s takeover.”

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