OPINION:
Before Elon Musk acquired Twitter and even more often following the transaction, the obituary for the social media giant has been written many times. I wrote a few myself. The Big Tech media corporation had essentially killed itself before Mr. Musk took control.
As the sink-carrying billionaire walked into Twitter headquarters (with a wallet $44 billion lighter) last October, the home base for reporters and influencers was little more than a boring left-wing echo chamber.
While Mr. Musk demonstrates the ability to run successful businesses (the world’s wealthiest people often do), many thought he was too late to save Twitter. The censorship, shadow banning and so-called fact-checking were killing the marketplace of ideas. It drove many users, including me, away.
Many business-saving initiatives are being pursued at Twitter — selling blue checks and subscriptions and sharing ad revenue, to name a few — but nothing seems to be accelerating the successful turnaround that free speech advocates so desperately want to see. While it was a lot of fun to see NPR called state-run media, the business of Twitter still seems to be on thin ice.
The Big Tech media corporations’ legacy of going beyond being just communication mediums is a tough one to overcome. These entities are writing, editing and controlling stories with little regard for truth or actual events. Big Tech is frustrating and disappointing us, but it’s eerily similar to what traditional news outlets have been doing for years.
We know that embracing “woke” culture at the expense of free speech ultimately fails, but can it be stopped in time for a turnaround? Hopefully, Mr. Musk will refrain from exercising his editing skills and remain a free speech absolutist.
Mr. Musk promised a change. He knew open-minded people are hungry for a fair platform that welcomes all ideas and ignores cancel culture. But despite his best efforts, it seems it will take a miracle to turn Twitter around.
That miracle may be happening, however, now that Tucker Carlson announced he is taking his show to Twitter. This is a brilliant move, especially for a media personality particularly critical of the mainstream media, accusing them of bias and hypocrisy and questioning their commitment to free speech.
Within a few hours of Mr. Carlson’s announcement, his video had already reached an exponentially higher audience than anything in a Fox News leader’s wildest dream. His message about the critical value of free speech, truth-telling, and reporting the news without fear of censorship or editorial interference is a rallying cry bringing people together and surely a topic of discussion in traditional network boardrooms.
It doesn’t cost much to be an independent journalist these days, but it costs a fortune to be a corporate one. Anyone with a smartphone, a web connection and ideas can find an audience. Producing a show for a television network, however, can be expensive due to the need for high-quality production equipment, studios and personnel. And the legal costs are surely prohibitive, because when you exercise free speech, some don’t like what is being said.
As he brings his new show to Twitter, Mr. Carlson and the platform will surely be sued, repeatedly. But the Constitution is on his side. Protecting your free speech rights can cost a lot, especially when defending them in court. McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission wasn’t easy even back in 2014, but it was worth it.
Unlike traditional media outlets, Messrs. Carlson and Musk seem unafraid of the cultural fear of threatened boycotts, legal fees, jury awards, and settlements that cause journalists on the left and the right to think twice about expressing their points of view — and news executives outright preventing it.
News executives see the value of free speech falling below what it costs to be associated with retribution for opinionated or firebrand anchors. Simply put, the constitutional freedom at the heart of all the others costs them too much.
The good news for Mr. Carlson is that Mr. Musk already paid the $44 billion bill.
As traditional legacy media continues to lose credibility the same way Twitter was losing users before Mr. Musk took over, there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon — for Mr. Musk, for Mr. Carlson and for all of us.
Using Twitter to circumvent the restrictions, regulations and obstacles set up by traditional media networks is a genius move — and could be the miracle that saves Twitter. I know I’m going to give Twitter another try.
• Shaun McCutcheon is a free speech advocate, an Alabama-based electrical engineer, the founder of Multipolar, and the successful plaintiff in the 2014 Supreme Court case McCutcheon v. FEC.
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