Conversation

Notices

1. Embed this notice
   Aral Balkan (aral@mastodon.ar.al)'s status on Thursday, 04-Jan-2024 17:33:33 JST Aral Balkan

   in reply to

   • Jean

   @imajeanpeace Maybe it’s time we stopped conflating corporate space with public space. A shopping mall under different management is still a shopping mall, never a park.

   • Embed this notice
     Jean (imajeanpeace@infosec.exchange)'s status on Thursday, 04-Jan-2024 17:33:35 JST Jean

     The fact that the value of Twitter/X has dropped 71% since Musk bought the platform, yet there has been no major investor backlash, is enough reason to believe that $$$ returns were not the primary motive behind the acquisition. The old Twitter was not perfect, but it was especially useful for grassroots activism. I know so because I was one of those people who used it for our grassroot activism back home. In my research, I've found that Twitter served as a 'liberating' tool for people living in countries where freedom and self-expression are restricted. It acted as a counterpublic that allowed people to voice concerns they would otherwise have been unable to express publicly. If you look at who's behind the acquisition of Twitter beyond Musk and who funded it, it actually makes a lot of sense. Just shows you that it was never about money but rather influence and control. It's all about the control over what is essentially a "public square". Just the good old capitalist imperative to dominate not just economic markets but the ideological sphere as well. After all, fascism is capitalism's dear brother.