It seems as though Donald Trump and Elon Musk draw lightning no matter where they go. Put them into the same space and suddenly the whole world draws near to see the fireworks. And like clockwork, discussions swirl around free speech.
Monday night, X Spaces hosted a conversation between Elon Musk and Donald Trump. 2.1 million people listened in, while the post itself gathered over 54 million views. While these numbers are impressive, the number one Spaces event remains Musk’s discussion with Ron Desantis a few years ago.
Of course, technical troubles before the discussion with Trump caused saliva to run down the chins of the establishment media. They took no time at all to report about the “glitches” and “technical difficulties” before the program began.
Musk claims the attack was a DDOS attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack. This type of cyber-attack is akin to trying to fit so many people through the gate that the system crashes and is of use to no one.
The drooling, lap-dog media put it upon themselves to march out anonymous sources who claim Musk was lying and that he was lying about the attack.
The hatred for Musk and for Trump showed itself on full display both before and after the event.
The EU Put Their Hat in the Ring
Hours before Musk and Trump were scheduled to sit down, the internal market commissioner of the EU, Thierry Breton, threatened Musk and his attempt to put EU citizens at “serious harm”.
In his strongly worded letter, Breton made it his duty to warn Musk that he must do “due diligence” to oblige by the Digital Services Act of the EU. Breton stated in his letter, “As the individual entity ultimately controlling a platform with over 300 million users worldwide, of which one-third is in the EU, that has been designated as a Very Large Online Platform, you have the legal obligation to ensure X’s compliance with EU law and in particular the DSA in the EU.”
He continued, “This notably means ensuring, on one hand, the freedom of expression and of information, including media freedom and pluralism, are effectively protected and, on the other hand, that all proportionate and effective mitigation measures are put in place regarding the amplification of harmful content in connection with relevant events, including live streaming, which, if unaddressed, might increase the risk profile of X and generate detrimental effects on civic discourse and public security.”
One wonders how a person might reasonably protect freedom of expression and information, and yet at the same time censor anything possibly deemed “detrimental” to civic discourse and public security.
Breton posted the letter on X with a caption reading, “With great audience comes greater responsibility. As there is a risk of amplification of potentially harmful content in the EU in connection with events with major audiences around the world, I sent this letter to @elonmusk.”
The tyrant-in-training finished his letter with a promise. He wrote, "My services and I will be extremely vigilant to any evidence that points to breaches of the DSA and will not hesitate to make full use of our toolbox, including by adopting interim measures, should it be warranted to protect EU citizens from serious harm," the Commissioner added.
Meanwhile, reports now indicate that Brussels itself did not approve the letter and seems a little miffed that Breton stepped out the way he did. The Financial Times reports that the European Commission denied that Breton had approval from President Ursula von der Leyen to follow through with the letter.
The Threat Against Free Speech
Even though Breton seems to have embarrassed himself slightly in the eyes of Brussels, X continues to be under the microscope of the EU. Strangely, it’s as though a platform whose owner talks frequently about free speech, and rights might be a threat to the authoritarian regime of the EU.
Add in the riots in the UK and the 1984-style crackdown on how information flows on social media, and X has again found itself in the crosshairs of the censors-on-high.
If the EU decides that X has not followed the DSA discussed by Breton, they could potentially face fines of up to 6 percent of their worldwide turnover, as reported by the Financial Times. This would make for a nice little bonus in the EU coffers.
The Power of Independence and Free Speech
Unfortunately, the EU wasn’t the only entity discussing speech censorship BEFORE the Trump and Musk interview. During the press briefing at the White House on Monday, hours before the interview, the Washington Post’s Cleve Wootson Jr. wondered, "What role does the White House or the president have in sort of stopping that or stopping the spread of that or sort of intervening in that? Some of that was about campaign misinformation, but, you know, it’s a wider thing, right?"
Imagine, a reporter questioning a White House Press Secretary on the role of the President in stopping “misinformation” from a conversation between a business owner and a presidential candidate.
Of course, the fact-checkers were out in droves to claim that Trump lied anywhere from 20 times to 200 times.
But the gall of the progressive and authoritarian camp is on full display before our very eyes. We now witness preemptive strikes by those who deem speech a danger to society and civility, as they clamor for any means necessary to stop a man they hate.
Regard for citizen’s rights has been flown out the window under the cover of public safety. And they will continue to do so.
Why? Fear drives panic. Panic pushes people to look for someone to be in charge. When a person steps up and offers their hand, all they ask in return is the obedience and submitted heart of the person following them. Our expert and political class recognizes that society has hit the point at which they can drive fear to build obedience.
Look no further than Covid, when people masked up and socially distanced by the billions, all because their government told them to be afraid. Now, the new pandemic is not an air-borne illness, but conversations and posts on social media. The infection and sickness are now racism, hatred, and violence.
Even though the tiny number of cases is questionable, the authoritarian establishment will continue to double down on this danger. At the end of the day, they care so much because they themselves live in fear. They fear the populace. They fear the loss of power. They shake at the thought of falling into obscurity and seeing their aims and goals fade into the mist.
Never Back Down on Free Speech
We’ve watched plenty of moves to squash, restrict, and punish free speech. The common individual must grasp free speech with every fiber of their being. If we do not, we will compromise the deepest parts of us – our beliefs and convictions. Once we give in to the bully forcing us to be silent, we will dramatically shift our inner beliefs to match our actions. We will slowly and surely shrug our shoulders saying, “It didn’t matter that much anyway.”
If we find ourselves in that position, then we’ve already lost. Now is the vital time in which the American spirit can push against any thought of authoritarian control. As a populace, we can make sure those in positions of power give up their own beliefs and convictions instead.
We can ensure they are the ones who shrug their shoulders and say, “It didn’t matter that much anyway.”