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> but have to be more strategic and nuanced in other countries It's not strategic or nuanced. It's capitulation. As Jimmy Wales said (https://twitter.com/jimm

> but have to be more strategic and nuanced in other countries It's not strategic or nuanced. It's capitulation. As Jimmy Wales said (https://twitter.com/jimmy_wales/status/1657495726379745280 https://twitter.com/jimmy_wales/status/1657495726379745280), "If Elon is now saying 'We don't care about freedom of expression if it interferes with making money' then he should just say that." > To cast this as hypocrisy is disingenuous on the part of the publication. Musk set his own benchmark. Musk cast himself as a "free speech absolutist". Musk said, "Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated." (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/apr/30/elon-musk-why-44bn-vision-for-twitter-could-fall-apart https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/apr/30/elon-musk...) Musk is a hypocrite by his own standard. The truth is Musk is an authoritarian at heart. For him "free speech" was a convenient, meaningless marketing slogan and not a principle he was prepared to stand up for, as he himself demonstrates over and over.

andsoitis 3y ago
> Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy Not all countries are democracies. > The truth is Musk is an authoritarian at heart. You don’t know what is in someone’s heart or mind.
- clouddrover 3y ago
  > Not all countries are democracies. Turkey is. Turkey is in the middle of elections right now. > You don’t know what is in someone’s heart or mind. Sure I do. The best way is to judge them by their actions. Musk's own actions are the proof of it.
  - andsoitis 3y ago
    There’s an interesting point of view that Turkey is an autocracy behind a democratic facade: https://www.civicus.org/index.php/re-imagining-democracy/stories-from-the-frontlines/3529-autocracy-behind-a-democratic-facade-the-political-regime-in-turkey https://www.civicus.org/index.php/re-imagining-democracy/sto...
    - clouddrover 3y ago
      Ah, so you're saying that's all the more reason not to capitulate to Turkey's censorship demands in order to help improve the quality of Turkey's democracy. Wikipedia stood up for itself: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50918724 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50918724 Too bad Musk doesn't share those free speech principles.
      - andsoitis 3y ago
        The Wikipedia case was in 2019, wasn’t it? Things aren’t the same as it was 4 years ago.
      - andsoitis 3y ago
        > Wikipedia stood up for itself I believe Wikipedia was also blocked for 2 years (2017 — 2019), according to that BBC article. So I think the question in front of one is: is it better to be shut off (with no guarantee that you will be able to operate there again), or do you stand firm on principles. In the case of Wikipedia, at least the Turkish Supreme Court sided with them, but if one looks at the trend of diminishing civil and political liberty in Turkey, I think that was partly luck. Even though Turkey has elections, it is not considered a free society by Freedom House: https://freedomhouse.org/country/turkey/freedom-world/2021 https://freedomhouse.org/country/turkey/freedom-world/2021

andsoitis 3y ago

> Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy Not all countries are democracies. > The truth is Musk is an authoritarian at heart. You don’t know what is in someone’s heart or mind.

clouddrover 3y ago
> Not all countries are democracies. Turkey is. Turkey is in the middle of elections right now. > You don’t know what is in someone’s heart or mind. Sure I do. The best way is to judge them by their actions. Musk's own actions are the proof of it.
- andsoitis 3y ago
  There’s an interesting point of view that Turkey is an autocracy behind a democratic facade: https://www.civicus.org/index.php/re-imagining-democracy/stories-from-the-frontlines/3529-autocracy-behind-a-democratic-facade-the-political-regime-in-turkey https://www.civicus.org/index.php/re-imagining-democracy/sto...
  - clouddrover 3y ago
    Ah, so you're saying that's all the more reason not to capitulate to Turkey's censorship demands in order to help improve the quality of Turkey's democracy. Wikipedia stood up for itself: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50918724 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50918724 Too bad Musk doesn't share those free speech principles.
    - andsoitis 3y ago
      The Wikipedia case was in 2019, wasn’t it? Things aren’t the same as it was 4 years ago.
    - andsoitis 3y ago
      > Wikipedia stood up for itself I believe Wikipedia was also blocked for 2 years (2017 — 2019), according to that BBC article. So I think the question in front of one is: is it better to be shut off (with no guarantee that you will be able to operate there again), or do you stand firm on principles. In the case of Wikipedia, at least the Turkish Supreme Court sided with them, but if one looks at the trend of diminishing civil and political liberty in Turkey, I think that was partly luck. Even though Turkey has elections, it is not considered a free society by Freedom House: https://freedomhouse.org/country/turkey/freedom-world/2021 https://freedomhouse.org/country/turkey/freedom-world/2021