Kira Herdman

So, Donald Trump has appointed Elon Musk to a significant position in his new administration. Musk is leading a new efficiency office for the US Government.

He has, however, been doing more than that to the run-up of the coronation of President Trump (Yes, I say President out of respect of the office, not the person) thanks to his control of X, the site formally known as Twitter. More than that, he has also seemed to have persuaded his what I am calling Bro-oligarchs, the billionaire bosses of social media like Mark Zuckerberg, in following him.

So what exactly has he and his billionaire mates done? Well, they are scrapping fact-checkers on their social media sites, allowing hate speech to fester. An example is Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, which allows people to call LGBTQIA+ people mentally ill, which of course is simply not true.

They are also attempting to persuade other companies to abandon their DEI, or Diversity, equity, and inclusion, initiatives. Only a handful of large companies are resisting this trend, particularly Apple and Costco.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are organizational frameworks which seek to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, particularly groups who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination on the basis of identity or disability. These three notions together represent “three closely linked values” which organizations seek to institutionalize through DEI frameworks.

So by the looks of things, not only do these so-called bros and alpha males want to sling mud at a minority section of the population but also want it so we cannot get a job. While this is so far only happening in America, I am sure that unless governments around the world start to wake up and take action, this will spread.

So far, the only significant counterargument has come from an unexpected source, Brazil. They have threatened to ban Twitter from the country unless the fact-checkers are reactivated. While Europe has expressed concerns, it has yet to take any action. In the UK, the security forces will monitor Elon Musk’s social media posts, and a new law, the “Online Safety Act,” is set to come into force this year.

The Online Safety Act 2023 is a UK law aimed at regulating online platforms to protect users, particularly children, from harmful and illegal content. It imposes duties on platforms to assess risks, remove illegal material, and safeguard users from harmful content, including self-harm and disinformation. Ofcom is the enforcement regulator, with powers to impose fines up to £18 million or 10% of global revenue. The Act also mandates transparency in algorithms and protects freedom of expression while addressing risks like state-sponsored disinformation.

While this is a positive step, I believe more needs to be done. Additionally, mainstream media requires more moderation, as they provide significant screen time to individuals like Elon Musk, Nigel Farage, and their associates, while other parties, such as the Liberal Democrats (which I am a member of), receive hardly any attention, despite being the third-largest party in the UK Parliament.