People Are Losing The Plot on The Twitter Files
A new Tweet by Elon Musk suggests he may have evidence against Anthony Fauci with regards to his handling of COVID and how social media might have been used to hide important details at his request.
This tweet was met with some criticism from Former NASA Astronaut & retired US Navy Captain Scott Kelly.
I strongly disagree. Forcing your pronouns upon others when they didn’t ask, and implicitly ostracizing those who don’t, is neither good nor kind to anyone.
As for Fauci, he lied to Congress and funded gain-of-function research that killed millions of people. Not awesome imo.— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 12, 2022
These tweets come on the heels of what are now known as the "Twitter Files," a series of documents released to various independent journalists that reveal how Twitter meddled in US elections and what led to banning former US president Donald Trump.
Noise is being made about these files, but they are also coming with criticism and a feeling of nihilism from some. I want to address that.
I stated at the start of the potential Musk takeover of Twitter that what we will likely see is a chance things to move in a better direction - even if it's only one small step. We now know that is exactly what we are seeing.
Seven months ago, how did I define a 'better direction?' I said things like:
- learning more about how social media manipulates algorithms
- learning more about how governments become involved
- perhaps seeing greater free speech on Twitter, even if only a bit better
I also stated that while we cannot know what will actually change at Twitter, and that Musk may have other agendas down the road, it makes no sense to have blind faith nor blind skepticism. I personally don't trust Musk, and I'm not a fan of his potential technocratic future. That said, there is no way I can know who he really is, and thus far I can only look at what he is doing right now.
My general thoughts from the video were, be patient and be open to what plays out. Below is the full video from 7 months ago if you want to watch it
Quite predictably my analysis was met with backlash from black-pillers who can only ever see everything as some "agenda" or "game," and society is being duped again. These people believe that anyone who sees the world more holistically and nuanced is somehow an idiot. If you see some possibility of good that can come out of the Musk Twitter takeover, you're not "awake enough" and are "falling for it." Falling for what exactly? I have no idea.
What I do know is this type of analysis is part of the problem in collective sensemaking and I can't see how it provides any progress moving forward. People want to lash out and be emotional in their analysis, but care not to consider specific facts and details. If you cannot see that every situation in life can have pros and cons, and that our world is complex, don't expect to ever make progress in creating a better world.
As time has gone on, exactly what I thought would happened has happened.
We are learning the truth about how social media manipulates algorithms & hides stories for election persuasion
We are learning more about how governments become involved. (We had already reported on this many many years ago, but still good to see come back.)
Thus far it seems we are seeing greater free speech on Twitter, less bans, less censorship and many accounts have come back
Musk has even let Twitter users help decide these new changes
Losing The Script: Getting Lost in Elon Hate
There is a lot of hate for Musk because he is wealthy, is creating Neuralink, and is perhaps a bit narcissistic. But does that really change the potential good that can come to the surface here? Can't these files wake people up regardless of Musk's other dealings? Are we only able to attack people but not intelligently discuss their ideas?
To the black-pillers, before you think this is a big 'pro-Musk' script, stop. Take a breath, feel your butt in your chair: progressive changes can occur even if someone is building a brain implant that you don't support. Acknowledge the pluses, and continue to push back on his brain implant project if you are concerned about it.
Question whether there is any value in wasting time fighting to explain how all this is just a means to dupe people into accepting Neuralink - most people are not that dumb.
To those on the Left who hate Musk so much, fine, enjoy the hate if that's what you like to hold in your body. But stick to good evidence to point out what you don't like about his ideas. Whining and meme-ing is not meaningful communication. When it comes to restoring free speech and exposing the wrong doing of government, what is the harm in letting it be? Can you honestly say that elections have full integrity when evidence like what is contained in the Twitter files comes forth? Doesn't this signal the need for change? Or is hate for this man blinding you from truth?
Address the evidence, stop attacking the source.
The cultural panic over the fact that Twitter might change reveals the discomfort in some circles who can't handle the uncertainty of not having a platform censor or ban anything they don't agree with. They fear free speech in many ways, for some reason.
The all out mainstream media attack on Musk suggests to me that powerful people have something to hide - regardless of whether they are on the Left or the Right.
The fact that Musk is choosing good independent journalists to release these files indicates mainstream media not only can't be trusted but is on its way down. The fact that enough independent journalists exist that can get these stories out to the world is a huge sign of progress. The gate keepers of truth are weakening.
Losing The Script: "It's a Distraction"
I've seen a lot of people suggest these files are just a distraction from more pressing and current matters: like how Twitter censored COVID discussions or the Sam Bankman Fried FTX fiasco.
I think evidence about both of those stories will come. Musk and the independent journalists he chose to release files to aren't stupid. They know that if you release EVERYTHING at once people will get lost. Titration is key. COVID files will come.
If you show the world that the US government colludes to meddle in their own elections first, then move onto COVID meddling and manipulation, not only will people better be able to take in one story at a time, but they will credibly build on each other.
2022 attention spans are short. In fact, 19 seconds is about the amount of time most people look at something on social media before moving on to the next thing. That's the nature of our world at the moment and why collective sensemaking is so bad. I personally think it can only be fixed by people getting back into their bodies and focusing on their own wellness as part of their media consumption habits.
Part of why I feel these files won't act as a distraction is because I think there are enough talented people around the world who will put their attention into key topics and flesh out what's important to bring it back to public consciousness when the time is right.
The real distraction comes in the form of mainstream media doing everything in their power to avoid the real and big questions coming from these files - including what will come about COVID. Instead the MSM is trying to convince people to accept smears against Musk, Trump and others to avoid talking about what the US government is really doing in secret. The MSM also knows they are going to look really bad when it comes to a lack of journalism during COVID.
Final Thoughts
There are many issues going on in the world, and we can argue all day long which ones are 'the most important.' But in the end waking people up to what is going on in our world will require play at all angles.
There are billions of us, and in some sense we all have a role to play in showing how our world can be a better place to inspire people to move forward.
One other small note: many have suggested that the information contained in the Twitter files has been proven in the past by many journalists who did the research. I agree. We wrote about this stuff years ago. But now there is a new round of convincing evidence.
And yes it can be frustrating when the thing you have been raising awareness about for years suddenly becomes accepted by all when someone else says it but not you. But in the end: good occurred. That's why we do it in the first place.
Musk chose Matt Taibi to release the first few Twitter files likely because there aren't many journalists who will tell the truth, be balanced, AND draw a very large audience. This combination is key. There are many talented journalists out there, but most of us had our social reach wiped off the face of the earth years ago, Taibi is useful in this sense.
Patience is the key. It's likely going to take years of meaningful and careful sensemaking to shift our global culture towards creating meaningful change in how our society operates. This cannot be done by force, and everyone plays a role in manning a station that contributes. Let it be a collective evolution. The biggest mistake we can make is turning to extreme narratives, crappy journalists and poor sensemaking.