Of all social media sites, Twitter is quickly morphing itself into the go-to platform for conservatives.
The example at the top of most conservative minds is ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s “we’re back” announcement from earlier this month. When he shared that he will be moving his show to Twitter; dubbing the platform “the last big one remaining” that allows free speech.
Carlson, however, is far from being the only conservative voice looking to migrate his audience to Twitter. With other prominent media giants like The Daily Wire reportedly planning to make their full slate of shows available on the Elon Musk run platform also.
In a similar fashion to Carlson, Daily Wire CEO Jeremy Boreing called Twitter “the largest free speech platform in the world.”
He also stated his company would “invest even more into the platform” if Musk continues to stand by commitment of making Twitter “a home for free speech.” All while delivering on “monetization opportunities and more sophisticated analytics for content creators.”
Site users could not have fathomed this amount of trust in self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” Musk from conservatives when the billionaire first took over the company.
After all, Twitter was a completely different landscape just one year ago. With the biggest complaints stemming from the tech juggernaut’s biased censorship tactics against the right, as evidenced in the infamous Twitter Files.
Since Musk took control of Twitter in November, conservatives have been split between labeling the purchase a good or bad thing for public discourse and their movement. Many were, and still are skeptical. Given Musk’s inherent uphill battle against the left and the embedded role of Government intervention, paired with some of the billionaire’s personal political and cultural stances. Some even have concerns with his elite status, being an on-and-off contender for richest man in the world.
At the jump, Musk surely scored some points with conservatives when he welcomed back previously banned favorites like former President Donald Trump and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. But he has also discouraged conservatives, too, by defending Yoel Roth, the Head of Safety & Integrity at Twitter at the time, and one of the biggest decision makers behind the Hunter Biden New York Post cover up.
Recent moves like hiring Linda Yaccarino, a World Economic Forum Executive Chair and NBCUniversal advertising executive, as CEO, have also made conservatives skeptical about Musk’s true intentions with the platform.
Regardless, conservatives still appear to be hedging their bets with the platform.
There have been a plethora of improvements introduced to Twitter under Musk’s leadership, with one of the most well received decisions being the move to allow longer form video and live streaming with chat functionality on the platform. A huge plus for those looking to monetize and grow through content creation.
Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire notably praised the feature upon its release, saying he “could not be more thrilled with the response to posting our show to @Twitter for the first time.” Adding that all of his shows would be uploaded to Twitter from now on.
Twitter spaces, which allows users to have live audio conversations at the push of a button, has also been a widely used tool for conservative organization and communication. Routinely, users can listen in to their favorite voices as they discuss trending topics in real time.
The feature appears to be so beloved and widely used that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is even reportedly planning to use Twitter spaces to announce his presidential bid.
All skepticism against Musk-run Twitter aside, conservative media, as a movement, is making its mark on Twitter. In most cases, right-leaning companies and personalities are moving their videos to the platform in an attempt to diversify amidst sites like YouTube’s growing censorship policies that unequivocally affect conservative speech more than any other group. While specifically protecting progressive content.
With all the talk about cracking down on misinformation, especially during the three year COVID-19 era, conservatives have grown weary about the big tech’s ability to block, suspend, remove, and backlist outlets – oftentimes without their knowing.
Pre-Musk, these tactics were also routinely used on Twitter. The Twitter Files proved this by showing us backdoor access for Government officials. However, since its release, conservatives have been swayed. Believing that those clamps on proclaimed misinformation have been disbanded since Musk’s takeover.
Now, Twitter is receiving praise from big players like Carlson and The Daily Wire, who cite “free speech” as one of their biggest reasons for dialing back into the platform.
Some left-leaning outlets who have noticed this trend are calling foul – as they have been for months – routinely snubbing Twitter for its alleged rise in hate speech.
Musk, along with conservatives, have debunked these claims time and time again. With the most prominent example being when Musk turned the tables on an uninformed BBC interviewer who couldn’t even recall one example of hate speech on the platform since leadership changed hands.
With the narrative surrounding who is allowed to operate on Twitter drastically changing by the month, conservatives are gaining confidence and trust in Musk’s ability to morph the platform into a place that will treat them fairly.
Even more prominent voices are expected to make moves towards Twitter following Carlson’s and The Daily Wire’s latest announcements. Especially as the site’s proof of concept continues to develop and its marketed purpose remains sound; freedom of speech for all.