Elon Musk supporter-turned-critic Laura Loomer said Musk demoted her account on Twitter/X.
Musk accused Loomer of “trolling for attention.”
Let me remind you of this. We’ve seen Musk run Twitter on a whim. Now that he has a prominent role in politics, will he behave the same way there?
Laura Loomer has been banned from many social media sites including Twitter. Elon Musk brought her back, along with many others fired by Twitter’s former management, after he bought the service in 2022.
Now, Loomer claims that Musk’s service demoted her by stripping her account of her “premium” blue check status and other benefits. She claims she made the move because she was critical of Musk’s stance on immigration.
You’ve heard about Loomer, described by Wikipedia as a “far-right American political activist, conspiracy theorist, and internet personality,” and the online controversy surrounding immigration and racism that has erupted among various groups of Trump supporters. You may not know about Rockfight. If so, it may mean you have a healthy relationship with the internet. Good for you.
If you want to know more about the latter, my colleague Hasan Chowdhury explains it. You may also view Twitter/X’s own summary of stories at your own risk.
What I’m saying is, I don’t need to talk about this.
I just want to remind you that if Loomer is right, this is what Musk and his social media company deserve. (Musk has not denied Loomer’s accusations, telling his followers to ignore her because she is “trolling for attention.”) Add me to her on Twitter/X )
As I’ve noted before, the most consistent aspect of Musk’s management style on Twitter is his erratic and inconsistent inconsistency.
Sometimes it’s about relatively small things, like wooing Don Lemon to start a talk show on Twitter and then canceling his contract before the show even started. Sometimes it’s very big, like agreeing to pay Twitter about $44 billion and then spending weeks in court trying to keep it from buying Twitter.
In any case, the only way something like this could surprise you at this point is if you weren’t paying attention.
But I still think it’s worth pointing out. Because while Musk’s management style at Twitter hasn’t changed, his responsibilities have.
He’s no longer just the richest man in the world, running important companies like Tesla and SpaceX in addition to Twitter. Given his importance to Donald Trump and the incoming administration, Musk may now be the most powerful non-electorate in the United States.
First, there’s his role in DOGE. And the fact that he appears to be doing foreign policy for Trump. And he reportedly used Twitter to briefly tank the government funding bill this month.
It’s unclear how long this arrangement will last or what kind of influence Musk will have. But for now, we know that the person with the power to influence how the American government is run is the person who can change the way Twitter is run depending on the mood of the moment. It should not be ignored.
Read the original article on Business Insider
