Elon Musk wants Donald Trump back on Twitter: Am I going to start Hellfire?

Trump’s behavior was, of all things, a beacon that God knows a lack of free speech isn’t an issue with Twitter and other social networks: Throughout his tenure in office the then-President lied, ridiculed and mischievously on Twitter — Twitter left this unchallenged and uncensored for a while. long.

This can be justified as an ugly but necessary downside to freedom of expression. But one can also see serious complicity in this: Twitter – along with other networks and some media – has played a major role in the fact that lies have suddenly become the accepted alternative to the truth, and insults and slanders have become socially acceptable.

The events of January 6, 2021 – also on Twitter – caused a rethink and the first necessary steps to take responsibility for the effective power of the individual as a platform. If Musk rehabilitates Donald Trump now, it will reflect this positive development. This move will have the potential to fan the societal fires raging in the United States, which have been painstakingly contained in recent months, into real hell.

Because Musk doesn’t seem to understand one thing – he probably doesn’t care: the so-called freedom of speech he talks about – at least on social networks – is a dangerous delusion.

Twitter and Facebook are not fanciful discussion clubs where argument is weighed against controversy, where everyone is allowed to have their say: it is a competition of vociferous words. Only those screaming the loudest and most controversial will be heard – and algorithms ensure exactly those sounds are amplified. Most democratic expressions of opinion go unheard.

Donald Trump is the ultimate screamer, the unscrupulous exploiter of platform logic.

The First Amendment, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, grants freedom of speech. Musk refers to this addition when he calls for freedom of expression. The First Amendment aims to advance civil rights, the rights of those who lack the money or the power to represent their interests.

Above all, Donald Trump has used this right to lie, insult and incite. The right to freedom of expression is essential – but it must not become a license to harm others. Trump’s return to Twitter won’t bolster democracy, but it will give its biggest opponent in the United States a media boost he’s been missing recently. This move would be “morally wrong and simply stupid” dear Elon Musk!