Just after midnight on August 13, Elon Musk kicked off his day with a tweet addressing rightwing activist Charlie Kirk, diving straight into a whirlwind of posts that continued virtually uninterrupted for 24 hours.
Throughout the day, Musk engaged in public exchanges with far-right politicians and media influencers, sharing anti-immigrant content, election conspiracies, and media attacks. His prolific tweeting habit, illustrated by over 145 tweets in a single day, reveals a window into the daily life of the world’s richest man, where a significant portion of time is spent rapidly sharing personal obsessions and grievances online.
Musk’s initial tweets included clarifications on his interview with Donald Trump, which he had been discussing in the early hours. By 1:18 am, he had already engaged with various rightwing figures, defending his stance on climate crisis solutions and attacking media outlets. His interactions constituted a mix of agreement and amplification of rightwing talking points.
The morning saw Musk responding to news coverage of his Trump interview, denouncing the media as liars and failures. He echoed sentiments from fringe accounts and influencers, calling the media ‘nonplayer characters’ and accusing them of propaganda. Promoting misleading election fraud claims remained a staple of his tweets.
By noon, Musk had tweeted nearly 100 times. He accused traditional media of misinformation and deceit while amplifying voices of far-right influencers and anti-immigrant rhetoric. His tweets often included short, one-word replies or emojis, underlining his distinct communication style on the platform.
In the afternoon and evening, Musk’s focus shifted towards regulatory battles in Brazil, casting the conflict as a fight against censorship. His narrative of being a free speech warrior stood in stark contrast to his actions of suspending critical journalists and complying with certain government censorship requests. As evening turned into night, Musk continued his pattern of political posts interspersed with support for his business ventures.
Musk’s final significant tweets of the day involved promoting a new AI image generator, Grok, which quickly became a tool for creating controversial content. He celebrated its progress with his characteristic enthusiasm, expressing support for its controversial outputs through emojis and retweets. Nearing midnight, Musk’s engagement slightly waned but maintained a steady stream of replies and posts until the early hours of the next day.
A single day in Elon Musk’s Twitter activity showcases a relentless stream of political engagement, media criticism, and personal promotion. His interactions, predominantly with rightwing figures, paint a picture of a man deeply entrenched in his social media presence, using the platform to broadcast his views and amplify those of his supporters.
Source: Theguardian