Back in June, I deactivated my X (formerly Twitter) account.
At the time, this felt like a meaningless gesture. I stopped functioning frequently when I needed a break from the noisy masses. However, I was always aware that I needed to reactivate my account within 30 days to avoid losing it permanently. I was so self-conscious that I decided to mark my calendar to “put Twitter back” after about three weeks. I feared I would forget and lose my 7,000 or so (yes, only a few) followers and public voice.
But in July, I ignored the warning to “turn Twitter back on” and apparently realized it. The thing about quitting X is that it’s a lot like quitting drinking. Deleting the account was surprisingly difficult. Our addiction to cell phones and social media is real.
As someone who writes about local, state, and national politics, is it okay to cut the cord? Would you ever know everything you need to know without the immediacy of X?I almost knew it.
Last weekend, Billionaire X owner Elon Musk appeared on stage at a Donald Trump rally. Musk emphasized the importance of free speech, adding that if Trump doesn’t win, “this will be the last election.” Musk, who wore a hat emblazoned with the Trump campaign slogan “Make America Great Again,” appeared to acknowledge the sinister nature of his comments. “As you can see, I’m not just a MAGA. I’m a Dark MAGA,” he said. It was the first time Musk had attended a rally for Trump, evidence of Trump’s growing alliance in the final stages of the presidential campaign. ”
Here in Kentucky, Republican lawmakers often complain about the media on social media, accusing news organizations and journalists of bias. But they don’t seem to care that the owner of one of the largest media companies on the planet is openly campaigning for Mr. Trump.
I wonder why.
When Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear was being considered as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Republican elected officials and their spokespeople mocked him, repeatedly saying he was born with a silver spoon. But these same lawmakers don’t seem to have any doubts about Trump’s golden spoon and proudly support him.
That’s interesting.
If you ask many Trump supporters here in rural Kentucky, they’ll tell you that all of us in the media — except maybe Mr. Musk — are liars, no matter how recognized we are locally or nationally. They will answer right away. Suffers from Trump Derangement Syndrome. They are infanticides, gun grabbers, school sex groomers, open border advocates, God haters, and free speech suppressors. President Trump has vehemently criticized him as an “enemy of the people” since 2015.
Meanwhile, Mr. Musk’s acquisition of X, which gradually controls who and what is amplified or suppressed at X, one of the world’s largest media companies, has become the proverbial bonus for Mr. Trump.
This means that political journalists, whom Trump regularly calls “enemies of the people” (and worse), post Trump’s all-caps hateful Truth Society lies and screenshots of them. It shows that there was no need for him to return to X and claim his former megaphone. They rant like an army of free reporters on their own X-accounts.
Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates famously quit Twitter before it became X, but he’s making headlines again with his latest book, The Message. Coates had about 1 million followers when he disappeared from the platform. In an interview before his retirement, he was asked if he had ever thought about quitting Twitter. His answer: “I wake up every day looking for the courage to leave.”
I also quit Company X because I had been waiting for the courage to quit for a long time.
How many of us are so overwhelmed by the amount of bad news that we rely on scrolling, listening to breaking news, or watching an endless supply of two-minute videos? And especially in the news industry? For young people involved, it is necessary to build a platform. If X doesn’t have a brand or fans, can you make a career out of it, especially if you live in a small state like Kentucky?
When I started overthinking and censoring my posts, I knew X was over. There is no greater threat of death for a writer than censorship. The same goes for democracy. And don’t we keep saying we’re concerned about democracy?
X is no longer a democratic space. The train left the station a long time ago.
X is not Twitter. Twitter is an old platform where we found a broad community and camaraderie.
X is a murderer of free expression, another who has controlled our discourse and branded journalists enemies of the state, despite Musk’s professed love for free speech. It’s political heroin orchestrated by billionaires who are stumbling at presidential campaign rallies for billionaires. people.
The X is the symbol you use to sign your name when you are illiterate. An ominous sign.