Donald Trump and the blue-tick pricks – spiked
We re only helping Twitter to enforce its community standards , said the Twittermob. We re not censoring anyone, they can always go somewhere else , they said. They were lying. And we now know they were lying. In the past fortnight the liberal press has been full of articles by blue-tick pricks fretting over how they will cope if Twitter collapses. Twitter was a vital place for connection , says AOC. Twitter has been a career accelerator , says one writer. Another says the power of Twitter gave her clout because information is a powerful force indeed . One journalist wrung her hands over Musk s shortlived proposal to allow people to buy a blue tick on the basis that the old system of verification conferred an elite status on certain writers, boosting their cultural power. Without Twitter, where else would they turn? , she asks.
So they knew. The blue-tick people knew that Murphy and other gender-critical feminists would suffer by being banned. They knew the censored would struggle to connect and communicate. They knew that expulsion from Twitter was a grave punishment indeed in the 21st century. They knew they were engaged in the construction of a new moral hierarchy in which those blessed with blue-tick elite status would be free to speak while those damned as bigots and expelled from virtual society would struggle to be heard and possibly even to make ends meet. They knew it was a witch-hunt. And you want me to be mad at Elon Musk? Get a grip.
It strikes that Elon has made a terrible business deal, but it’s certainly fun to watch.