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The coming battle between social media and the state


Behind the alignment of X and Meta with Trump is a cold business logic — and a position of weakness rather than strength

Impulsive figures such as Elon Musk, the owner of X (previously Twitter), and inconsistent decision makers such as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, can misdirect us from what their companies are rationally seeking to achieve. Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes, who blocked X in Brazil last year after Elon Musk’s social media platform refused to suspend some accounts © Dado Galdieri/New York Times/Redux/EyevineOne example here is how X and other business interests directed by Musk went through the motions of opposing the order of the Brazilian Supreme Court to take down offending material, only to capitulate and to perform the obligations imposed by the Brazilian judicial system and local law. This was listed in his pre-prepared statement as the sixth policy change, but it was plainly the most important — for it also explained the other five points, which included abandoning fact-checking and moving content moderation from California to a “less biased” Texas.

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