To safeguard the democratic potential of digital spaces, it is imperative to rethink the governance of social media, argues Tommaso Segantini [photo credit: Getty Images]
In the wake of Donald Trump’s recent electoral victory, a wave of departures has swept through Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), with individuals, organisations, and prominent media outlets abandoning the platform.
The Guardian, for example, decried the “disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism”, describing the new X as a “toxic media platform”.
This exodus marks a reaction to X becoming a megaphone for the far right and Donald Trump under Elon Musk’s leadership. Once a relatively neutral digital town square, X is now a battleground where disinformation and hate speech flourish unchecked.
Elon Musk’s tenure has been riddled with contradictions and controversies. Despite his self-declared commitment to “free speech absolutism,” his track record suggests the opposite, with content moderation often conveniently aligning with his own personal and political interests.
In September 2023, Elon Musk disbanded X’s election integrity team ahead of a number of important elections worldwide, despite reports warning that X was “the platform with the largest ratio of posts containing misinformation or disinformation”.
Elon Musk’s disdain for scrutiny became evident when a few months later he sued the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).
The CCDH had documented a sharp rise in “hate and disinformation” on X following Musk’s acquisition, notably pointing to a platform-wide surge in misogyny and racism.
Musk lost the lawsuit, but the message was clear: criticism of X and its owner would not be tolerated.
As the ruling states, Elon Musk’s motivation to sue the CCDH was to “punish … publications that criticised X — and … dissuade others who might wish to engage in such criticism”.
Musk also has a history of suspending journalists’ accounts without explanation, as well as the account of Jack Sweeney, a college student who tracked the billionaire’s private jet. Musk’s actions are clearly designed to intimidate watchdog organisations and journalists, discouraging them from holding him accountable for the platform’s transformation into a hotbed of right-wing propaganda.
How Elon Musk’s power trip undermines democracy
Musk’s hypocrisy on free speech extends further. X’s owner has agreed to censor content at the behest of authoritarian regimes like those in India and Turkey, bowing to government demands to silence dissenters.
His decision to comply with these censorship requests undermines his oft-repeated claims about championing free speech, exposing his selective commitment to the principle when profits or political alliances are at stake.
Elon Musk’s use of technology to manipulate political narratives is equally concerning. Recently, X became a hub for deepfakes targeting Vice President Kamala Harris, also shared by Musk himself.
When California attempted to introduce legislation regulating the use of deepfakes in political campaigns, Musk responded with a lawsuit, framing it as an attack on free speech.
This move not only showcases his hostility toward regulatory oversight but also highlights his willingness to exploit emerging technologies to further his political agenda.
Subscribe Now and Listen to our Podcasts OnFinally, Elon Musk’s leniency on harassment and hate speech, combined with Trump’s election victory, has unleashed a torrent of misogyny online, much of it thriving on X.
Messages like “Your body, my choice”, rape threats, as well as calls to “repeal the 19th” and for women to “get back to the kitchen” have flooded the platform, reports the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), normalising the use of “derogatory and misogynistic language … rife among well-noted manosphere and extremist communities”.
The ISD shows a stark increase in harassment directed at women since the election and warns that “these narratives [are] being used to harass women offline, particularly on high school and college campuses”. Musk’s inaction—or tacit encouragement—has emboldened the worst corners of the internet, turning X into a hostile space for women and anyone advocating gender equality.
Critics who leave the platform are justified in their disillusionment. The transformation of X under Musk’s leadership raises urgent questions about the role of social media in democratic societies.
Elon Musk’s support for right-wing politics and, last year, Trump’s candidacy — both financially and through X — represents a troubling convergence of social media influence and political power.
In this sense, the stakes extend beyond X itself. The dominance of private platforms like X, which hold near-monopolistic power over the digital public square, undermines democracy.
Millions of users rely on these platforms for news, communication, and public debate, yet their governance is left to the whims of profit-driven executives like Elon Musk, who can unilaterally set policies and regulations, with no public oversight.
To safeguard the democratic potential of digital spaces, it is imperative to rethink the governance of social media. While the regulation of online content is an undoubtedly complex endeavour, solutions such as public regulation, more decentralised platforms, and different ownership models must be explored to ensure these spaces are transparent, accountable, and safe.
Advocacy groups must continue documenting and exposing the abuses of platforms like X, even in the face of intimidation. And users must remain vigilant, holding those who control the digital spaces we rely on accountable, as much as possible.
As the exodus from the platform continues, so too does the fight for a future where social media serves the public good, rather than the ambitions of eccentric, dangerous billionaires.
Tommaso Segantini is a freelance writer with a background in international relations and refugee studies. He focuses on the European Union’s border policies and on gender-related aspects of migration. His work has appeared on Jacobin, openDemocracy, and Adbusters.
Follow him on X: @tomhazo
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Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.