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X owner Elon Musk has been under fire from leftist media outlets since he first acquired the social media company, then known as Twitter. His stated mission to promote free speech in the digital realm rankled more than a few feathers, especially among those who favor censoring speech with which they disagree.
The New York Times is criticizing the X owner for another supposed offense: Trying to influence the outcome of the upcoming presidential election. The outlet published a piece complaining about Musk’s penchant for attacking President Joe Biden while defending former President Donald Trump.
The authors detail several of Musk’s criticisms of the president, noting that he has targeted Biden “at least seven times a month since January, attacking the president for everything from his age to his policies on immigration and health.”
On the other hand, the authors mention that Musk has written numerous posts on X defending Trump and accusing Democrats of using the government to target their most feared political opponent.
Then, the article makes the dubious claim that Musk is “signaling a willingness to tip the political scales as the owner of an influential social media platform, something that no other leader of a social media firm has done.”
The authors refer to Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Meta, Facebook’s parent company, saying he “has shied away from endorsing candidates and rarely posts political content on Facebook or Instagram.” They made similar remarks about Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google. (RELATED: Google, Meta Among Big Tech Companies Challenging New York Child Safety Online Bills)
Despite the authors’ claims about Musk, a closer look at the history shows that the X owner is far from being the first owner of a digital platform to take political stances. The fact of the matter is that while leaders like Zuckerberg and Pichai may not personally express their political views in the same manner as Musk, they have clearly worked to influence elections.
For starters, Zuckerberg poured millions upon millions of dollars into the effort to elect Democrats during the 2020 races, according to a New York Post report. Through the Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL) and the Center for Election Innovation and Research, the Meta CEO funneled $419.5 million into mail-in and get-out-the-vote initiatives during campaign season.
Zuckerberg reportedly funded efforts to alter voting rules during the COVID-19 pandemic to tip the scales in the Democrats’ favor. Grants coming from the CTCL amounted to about $1 million to cities in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia, areas of the country that Biden won, according to the New York Post. Perhaps the New York Times authors believe Musk’s denigrating posts about President Biden are somehow on the same level as pouring millions of dollars to ensure that one party wins critical elections across the country.
Google has also come under scrutiny for its brazen efforts to influence elections in favor of Democrats. The Media Research Center (MRC) recently published a report detailing how the search engine giant has interfered in elections between 2008 and 2024.
The report provides a long list of instances in which Google was believed to have used its position to sway elections in favor of Democrats. The company, in 2008, allegedly helped former President Barack Obama soar to victory over Republican candidate John McCain and even suspended the accounts of writers who wrote blogs critical of Obama during his primary race against Hillary Clinton, the report notes.
Google engaged in similar conduct during the 2020 primary races when it allegedly disabled Tulsi Gabbard’s Ads account just as she became the most searched candidate after the first Democratic primary debate, according to the MRC, which also explained how the company suppressed Republican fundraising emails from getting to users’ inboxes. The Republican National Committee later sued Google over the matter, which is detailed in a CBS News report. (RELATED: LARSON: Congress Cannot Let Google’s Potential Election Email Censorship Off The Hook)
Last but certainly not least, Google is trying to skew the upcoming presidential race to benefit President Biden. The MRC report indicates that the company was suppressing the campaign websites of Robert F. Kennedy, Trump, and any Republican contender who was polling above one percent. Interestingly enough, when users searched for “Republicans presidential campaign websites,” Google produced results for candidate Marianne Williamson, who is far from being a Republican.
Given the reported activities of Facebook and Google, it seems more than a little hypocritical to target Musk for supposedly trying to influence the upcoming election. Indeed, it appears the New York Times has not published similar articles highlighting the two company’s seeming efforts to propel Democrats to victory. Perhaps the folks at the Gray Lady only consider this to be an issue when it involves someone attacking their favored presidential candidate?