OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk provided a major update on the status of the platform this week that is not likely to sit well with everyone.
Musk noted on Monday that the number of users for the day rose by 1.6 million on Monday, a new high since he acquired the social media giant earlier this fall in a $44 billion purchase.
Twitter added 1.6M daily active users this past week, another all-time high pic.twitter.com/Si3cRYnvyD
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 22, 2022
It’s only been weeks since Musk took over Twitter. What’s more, he has since trimmed the company’s workforce by more than 50 percent in his quest to make the company profitable for a change.
Musk’s update runs counter to prognostications on the left about Twitter’s pending demise.
Twitter is ALIVE
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 20, 2022
That said, several left-leaning figures, especially journalists, have fled Twitter for another platform called “Mastodon, only to destroy it with their waves of negativity,” the Western Journal noted in an op-ed.
“Mastodon, a social media alternative to Twitter, has reportedly become the source of woke infighting and journalistic ‘gatekeeping,’ much to the amusement of media critics and Twitter CEO Elon Musk himself,” Fox News reported this week.
Mastodon is hell. And it’s a hell in which every moderator can read your DMs and if they deem you to be talking behind their backs you will get banned. It’s the inverse of Twitter, where people can publicly make fun of @elonmusk and not get banned for it. pic.twitter.com/vZFj6nRVVP
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) November 20, 2022
The infighting on Mastodon led Musk to quip this week as well: “Hope all judgy hall monitors stay on other platforms — please, I’m begging u.”
Hope all judgy hall monitors stay on other platforms – please, I’m begging u
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 21, 2022
The Western Journal’s op-ed noted further:
Journalists are far from the only dyed-in-the-wool leftists who have made a big show of quitting Twitter.
A long list of celebrities also lined up to virtue-signal by announcing their departure from the platform. Ken Olin, Téa Leoni, Shonda Rhimes and Alex Winter all left Twitter. They were soon joined by Gigi Hadid, Mick Foley, Sara Bareilles, Toni Braxton and more.
Then there were the woke corporations that put a halt to their advertising on Twitter to virtue-signal to the left that they are down with the struggle to end free speech in America. Those cowardly companies include General Mills, Mondelez International (maker of Oreo cookies), Pfizer and Audi.
Well bye. pic.twitter.com/kU1ytJGeNO
— Meredith Snow (@MeredithSnow20) November 23, 2022
Earlier this month, liberals reacted negatively when Musk began to reinstate previously banned accounts, including former President Donald Trump, who has yet to actually post a new tweet.
“Elon Musk is letting a man who led a violent Insurrection to overthrow the United States Government back on this platform. Letting the Lies and Disinformation continue to poison the American bloodstream,” he said.
Keith Olbermann added: “Life accomplishments of Donald J. Trump: – 2016: as ultimate political outsider is nonetheless elected president of the United States – 2022: gets account reinstated on free website.”
“Memo to Elon, freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom to incite an insurrection,” former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich said.
“Musk is not exactly Donald Trump. But both represent the emergence of a particularly American personality in the early decades of the 21st century: the wildly disruptive narcissist,” he added.
“People are leaving Twitter in droves but it’s so crucial we stay together. Please follow @CalltoActivism so we can fight back and keep our liberal voice strong,” Billy Baldwin said. “I’m not backing down from Twitter or Elon. Who’s with me?”
I’m not backing down from Twitter or Elon. Who’s with me?
— Billy Baldwin (@BillyBaldwin) November 20, 2022
Bette Midler insultingly added: “A tragic day for #America, which Elon doesn’t understand, because at heart, he’s not American, any more than #Murdoch is. An illegal immigrant, raised in Apartheid SA, he’s just fine with racism & hate. His fake Vox Populi! He was always going to let him back: he needs the eyes,” she said.
For his part, Trump said he plans on sticking with his own social media platform, Truth Social, though he said he is happy that Musk purchased Twitter.
“The press hates to talk about it, but it’s doing phenomenally well. I think engagement is much better than is with Twitter, and it’s taking care of voices that really want to be taken care of, and really smart voices, brilliant voices. Voices that in many cases are both sides,” Trump told the Republican Jewish Coalition conference in Las Vegas during a virtual appearance last week.
“But I can tell you, there’s a lot of voice for Israel lot of power for Israel in Truth Social, so Truth Social has been very, very powerful, very, very strong, and I’ll be staying there, but I heard we’re getting a big vote to go back on Twitter. I don’t see it because I don’t see a reason for it,” the former president said.
