How Elon Musk’s Own Account Dominates X
The New York Times
The billionaire has effectively become the star of his social media platform, transforming X into a reflection of his personal views before the election.
Days ahead of the presidential election, Elon Musk’s centrality to his social media platform, X, has become more pronounced.
Mr. Musk has posted more than 3,000 times on the site in the last month, according to a tally by The New York Times, campaigning heavily for former President Donald J. Trump. The tech mogul has also shared dozens of unfounded claims about the election, including that votes will be rigged against his preferred candidate.
All of his posts have traveled further and resounded more widely than ever as Mr. Musk’s X account has come to dominate the platform, effectively making him the host of his own social media site. His account is the most popular on X by a significant margin, with more than 202 million followers. It drives the platform’s daily conversation and nudges discussion to the right, according to independent research and an analysis by The Times. And engagement with his posts — including likes and reposts — has doubled over the past year, according to X’s metrics.
The repercussions of Mr. Musk’s pre-eminence on X — especially as he casts doubt on the integrity of the election — could be profound.
“It’s so consequential that someone who is such a partisan figure is inhabiting that piece of digital real estate,” said Emerson Brooking, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, a group that studies online disinformation.
Mr. Musk and X did not respond to requests for comment. Last month, Mr. Musk posted that X products were the “best thing on the Internet for truth.”
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