Thread by @P_Kallioniemi

In today’s Vatnik Soup, I’ll discuss the absolute state of X in January 2025. Since its acquisition by Elon Musk, this platform has rapidly transformed into his personal political tool and a breeding ground for hate speech and disinformation.

1/22

Not everyone is following this shitshow as closely as I am, so I thought it would be good to write a summary of all the changes that have happened on this forum and outside of it. These changes have drastically changed how the platform operates and who gets “a voice” here.

2/22

Elon’s team has been tweaking the algorithm many times after the takeover. One of these tweaks happened already around Nov 2022, when the platform heavily suppressed the visibility of pro-Ukraine accounts. This change was then noticed & reported by many pro-Ukraine accounts.
3/22

Under the former ownership, repeated ToS violations resulted in permanent suspensions. However, since Elon promised a “free speech” platform, he now minimizes the visibility of accounts he disfavors instead.

4/22

Recently, there was a heated debate about (primarily Indian) visa workers coming to the US. Elon passionately defended the visa program, which many viewed as contradicting the “America First” ideology popular among the MAGA crowd.

Elon has since deleted most of these posts.
5/22

Many users and groups, like @lauraloomer and @DrLoupis, criticized the program and Musk. Elon retaliated by removing their verification, which caused these accounts to lose ad share revenue and experience a significant drop in visibility on X.

6/22

Additionally, a white nationalist trolling group called the Groypers was suspended, allegedly for criticizing Musk’s businesses. Musk later stated, “My tolerance for subtards is limited,” suggesting further actions may follow.

7/22

Recently, Musk has interfered in European politics, promoting Reform UK, a right-wing, pro-Kremlin, populist party led by Nigel Farage. He also defended Tommy Robinson, a hooligan and career criminal who spread false information about a Syrian boy.

8/22

After Farage refused to support Robinson, Musk called for a leadership change in Reform UK. This was echoed by his bootlicker @stillgray, who had previously praised Farage. Musk also granted Reform UK the gray checkmark reserved for government entities, while neglecting…

9/22

…to give it to major UK parties like @UKLabour and @Conservatives. According to the Financial Times, Musk has even “discussed with allies how Sir Keir Starmer could be removed as UK prime minister before the next general election.”

10/22

Musk’s primary attack against the Starmer government has involved the Rotherham grooming scandal, in which Muslim gangs groomed and raped young girls.

At the same time, Musk has defended Andrew Tate, a Muslim groomer and an alleged sex trafficker and rapist.

11/22

Musk was also enraged over sentencing of a Brit who was jailed for 7½ years for encouraging mobs to attack mosques and for carrying a knife.

For some reason, he had no comment over the death penalty of Saudi activist or 35-year sentence of Saudi woman for tweeting.

12/22

Reform UK isn’t the only pro-Kremlin party Musk supports in Europe. Recently, he began advertising AfD, a far-right German party with ties to the Kremlin and Russian intelligence. On Jan 9, 2025, Musk will host a Spaces event with the party’s leader, @Alice_Weidel.

13/22

At the same time, Musk is bending the knee to the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, India and recently Brazil. As a matter of fact, Musk's X has complied to more government requests to take down content than Twitter ever did.

14/22

Musk recently announced that in the near future there will be an algorithm update, and that the platform will prioritize “positive” and “informative" content. The goal of this change is probably to bury any kind of criticism towards Musk and the Trump administration,…

15/22

…and feed the users memes, AI slop and gossip instead. Naturally, this doesn’t affect him or his allies, as due to their massive network and everyone seeing Elon’s posts their messaging is always prioritized and promoted on the platform.

16/22

It’s evident that X is no longer a level playing field. It’s controlled by a power-hungry oligarch who prioritizes the interests of a small group of allies and political actors aligned with his worldview.

17/22

To protect “free speech”, Musk changed the ToS so that X users can only file lawsuits against the platform in a federal district in North Texas. This is called “forum shopping”, or the practice of filing suits in a venue more likely to provide a favorable outcome.

18/22

Looking back, it’s clear that Musk’s purchase of X was not a business move but a media takeover. While X may continue losing money, Musk’s businesses will benefit from tax cuts and deals under the Trump administration.

19/22

When forming authoritarian governments, one of the first things to do is to take over the media. With Zuck also removing the guardrails, we will see the rise of the “wild west” social media platforms, where almost anything goes. This is highly beneficial for Trump.

20/22

Elon’s takeover of X is not about “free speech”, but about controlling the information flow & serving the interests of a small, extremely wealthy elite group. In recent years, these oligarchs have only become richer while the regular folk are struggling to buy basic goods.

21/22

As now-banned @JSweetLI aptly said: “The power they [Elon and Zuck] have is far beyond that of a publisher. Using the TV analogy, they don’t merely own the airwaves—they control them, exerting more influence over content than TV stations.

It’s a dictatorial power.”

22/22

You can now pre-order the 2nd edition of my book! This updated version, featuring pre-order extras, will be released at the end of February 2025.

Pre-order your copy here:

kleart.eu/webshop/p/vatn…