Unprecedented has moved!

Share this post

Musk Is Building a Wall

thedailyedge.substack.com

Musk Is Building a Wall

... and he's making Saudi Arabia and Qatar pay for it

Richard Hine
Dec 18, 2022
13
4
Share
Share this post

Musk Is Building a Wall

thedailyedge.substack.com

The least shocking thing the world’s richest exploding carmaker did today was show up in Qatar with slumlord-millionare-turned-Saudi-butcher-enabler Jared Kushner to watch the World Cup Final.

Perhaps because Twitter keeps swerving into oncoming traffic even more than a Tesla in self-driving mode, neither Musk nor his human rights-violating investors looked too happy to be hanging out together.

Meanwhile back at Twitter HQ, the fast-imploding hellsite announced a new set of rules designed to turn what Musk once imagined as a “digital town square” into a high-security prison.

Not content with falsely designating links to Twitter’s rapidly growing open-source rival Mastodon as “malware,” Musk today announced confusing new rules that ban “promotion of specific social media platforms on Twitter… at both the Tweet level and the account level.”

No more “follow me on Facebook.”

No more “join me on Mastodon.”

No more “see link in bio.”

Here’s what the new rules say:

And here are the punishments for breaking them:

Reaction on Twitter was swift and harsh:

Summer Lopez, Chief Program Officer, Free Expression at PENAmerica tweeted:

Twitter avatar for @summerelopez
Summer Lopez @summerelopez
Twitter has always been far from perfect, to say the least. But it’s also been a vital source of free and open information for people around the world. Musk seems utterly oblivious to that, focused only on protecting his own interests. https://t.co/N81R5f6xyu
Twitter avatar for @TwitterSupport
Twitter Support @TwitterSupport
We recognize that many of our users are active on other social media platforms. However, we will no longer allow free promotion of certain social media platforms on Twitter.
6:44 PM ∙ Dec 18, 2022
14Likes4Retweets

Nora Benavidez, Senior Counsel/Director, Digital Justice & Civil Rights@freepress tweeted:

Twitter avatar for @AttorneyNora
Nora Benavidez @AttorneyNora
What in the actual authoritarian hell. https://t.co/BCVfAIwCh1
Twitter avatar for @TwitterSupport
Twitter Support @TwitterSupport
We recognize that many of our users are active on other social media platforms. However, we will no longer allow free promotion of certain social media platforms on Twitter.
6:24 PM ∙ Dec 18, 2022
171Likes27Retweets

John Scott-Railton, Sr. Researcher @citizenlab, tweeted:

Twitter avatar for @jsrailton
John Scott-Railton @jsrailton
If you have to build a wall to keep people from leaving, you're the one failing.
Twitter avatar for @TwitterSupport
Twitter Support @TwitterSupport
We recognize that many of our users are active on other social media platforms. However, we will no longer allow free promotion of certain social media platforms on Twitter.
6:36 PM ∙ Dec 18, 2022
1,671Likes406Retweets

And followed up with Musk’s own words from June:

Twitter avatar for @jsrailton
John Scott-Railton @jsrailton
But don't take my word for it...
Image
6:44 PM ∙ Dec 18, 2022
685Likes191Retweets

Since I discussed the wisdom of “Staying or Going” with @LOLGOP earlier this week, I’ve already launched (perhaps just in time) my @TheDailyEdge account on Mastodon.

You can follow me there at: https://universeodon.com/@TheDailyEdge.

Meanwhile, let’s see how long keeping my own “link in bio” on Twitter allows me to survive on Twitter.

Unprecedented is a reader-supported publication. There’s no paywall. So if you subscribe for free, you’ll never miss an issue. But if you do want to support my work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or buying me a coffee.

13
4
Share
Share this post

Musk Is Building a Wall

thedailyedge.substack.com
4 Comments
Carolyn Meinel
Dec 19, 2022

For those readers unfamiliar with the Fediverse: Richard's address at universeodon.com is part of the Fediverse, commonly known as "Mastodon." I just "boosted" Richard's excellent posts there so that all my followers can see them.

I'm not worried about Musk deleting my Twitter profile. I downloaded all my Twitter data, connected to all my Twitter follows and followers who have Mastodon links in their profiles, and continue to include my Mastodon address in my profile. (FU Musk!) At Mastodon I've recreated the feed of posts that I have relied upon since 2014 for my research, see https://cmeinel.com.

Expand full comment
Reply
Jim Carmichael
Dec 19, 2022Liked by Richard Hine

Thank you for defining hell.

Expand full comment
Reply
2 more comments…
Top
New
Community

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 TLD Media, LLC
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing