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- Social media users in China are praising Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter as a move in “the spirit of freedom.”
- Others say capitalism has allowed a rich billionaire like Musk to gain unprecedented media control.
- China’s social media is heavily moderated and censored, and often described as a propaganda tool.
Users of China’s Twitter-like Weibo social media platform have expressed mixed feelings about Elon Musk’s recent purchase of Twitter.
Reactions to the news have been mainly split into two camps: one lauding the takeover as a step forward for freedom of speech, and the other describing it as an example of how Western capitalism allows the rich to control too much, echoing Beijing’s rhetoric that the US is a broken nation.
As of 2 p.m. (Beijing time) on Tuesday, the topic of Musk’s deal had received over 130 million views.
“Spirit of freedom,” wrote one user in a comment with nearly 3,000 likes. Their comment came with a thumbs-up emoji.
“He just doesn’t want the Democratic Party to control all the media! The forces behind the Republican Party also want to control public opinion!” replied another user, who claimed to have six Twitter accounts that were banned.
While Musk claimed he purchased Twitter to protect free speech, Weibo heavily moderates and censors posts or comments that it deems inappropriate and has been labeled a propaganda tool for the Chinese government.
Another Weibo user expressed hope that Musk would eventually run for US President. “After all, he is young, innovative, and not so old-fashioned. These few years, American presidents have all been old,” they wrote.
Musk, a South African by birth, is not eligible for the office of the US presidency.
Other social media users jumped on the billionaire’s Twitter buyout to jeer at the West and its ideologies for allowing a prominent billionaire like Musk to gain ownership of a major social media platform.
“As long as you have economic capital, you can control the President of the United States,” commented one user in a Weibo thread discussing how Musk’s control of Twitter might affect US politics.
“What does capitalism have to do with the freedom of people?” one user asked. “Money plus public opinion. Are you not invincible? You will soar,” another wrote.
Other users pointed out that Western whistleblowers such as Julian Assange and Edward Snowden face charges in the US, a common Beijing talking point used to amplify the idea that the US is hypocritical in emphasizing freedom of speech.
The irony wasn’t lost on some Weibo users. “Good fellows, are you not embarrassed to say these things while in China?” one of them wrote.
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