Letter to Elon: Here’s a 3-step process to transform Twitter - and expose your critics’ hypocrisy
The "crusade" against you dominates the information battle space, outside of the Fox News-conservative ecosystem. Here's a plan to flip that around - and have fun doing it.
Hi Elon:
You’ve said that Twitter is suffering severe financial harm from the war that your organized critics have waged on you, since November 4.
I’m writing to give you a quick overview of some ideas I’ve compiled into a grand plan (here1), for how to help reverse this situation, in a highly visible, public way.
The "civil rights" and "social justice" groups, celebrities and political figures who constitute this crusade claim they’re concerned that you’re going to allow “hate” to flourish on Twitter. To casual observers and major advertisers, such a concern appears eminently reasonable.
For now, these crusaders’ narrative is dominating the informational battle space. Whatever they say, true or not, is quickly, uncritically transmitted to the world, by influential figures in the “news” media. Part of the reason this is happening is that contrary to popular myth, Fox News only reaches roughly 10% of the US TV news audience2. Those who support you tend to exist within that hermetically-sealed 10% bubble, and they cannot fathom why everyone doesn’t see things as they do. And aside from your Twitter followers, the broader population - who consume the 90% of non-Fox TV news programs - hear little or none of what you say about the substance of these crusaders’ allegations. Worse, they’ve been groomed by these very same MSM organs to believe that the crusaders who called for the advertiser boycott are unimpeachable; as if they all have moral halos over their heads, and that their statements, and reality, are exactly same thing, and anyone who claims otherwise is a “denier.”
These crusaders have one massive vulnerability, however:
Their concerns and accusations are almost entirely based on falsehoods, innuendo and jaw-dropping hypocrisy.
The evidence exists to comprehensively prove this fact. But unless the best of this evidence is transformed, soon, into concise, attention-grabbing means by which to begin informing everyday Americans – and advertisers – of the reality, I’m convinced that Twitter will be irreparably harmed.
To help you accomplish this mission, I’ve organized some of this evidence, and used it to create a three-step process by which to establish the reality, on a widespread basis – and even have fun doing so (at the crusaders’ expense).
I explain it all in an open letter to you.3
In summary, what I recommend will enable you to simultaneously:
Educate the general public and advertisers on the fact that Twitter’s previous management chose to enable the most influential inciters of racist, anti-LGBT and anti-Semitic hatred and violence to flourish on the site – while punishing other users, for unspecified or insignificant violations
Demolish these crusaders’ credibility, by demonstrating that virtually all of them were silent about such outrages
Rally widespread support for rational new rules and policies
Train (and retrain) moderators
Regarding (1), I personally ran into this Orwellian buzz-saw recently.
I created a fundraiser4 to help rescue the families of two US allies who were abandoned in Afghanistan, and persuaded a 501(c)3 nonprofit, The Abramowitz Foundation, to sponsor it. In March, Twitter sold us a promotional campaign to advance the fundraiser. Soon after, though, Twitter shut down the campaign, claiming we violated its policies – and refused to answer my written requests to learn what policies we’d violated, and how to become compliant.
Here’s the kicker: Twitter shut down this campaign to help rescue people from the Taliban, at the same time it enables the Taliban’s top five leaders, whom it’s allowed to amass nearly 2 million followers.
I produced this 12-minute mini-documentary5 to present these facts, and relate them to other outrageous decisions by Twitter’s previous management; see the press release here6:
The 3-step process I propose
Here, in summary, is the plan I present in my full open letter to you:
Clearly articulate the rules and policies that Twitter will enforce, without regard to users’ politics or celebrity status. This needs to be in ultra-plain English, with sub-references that champion the virtue of freedom of speech, and dissent, in a world in which they are under constant assault.
Develop interactive simulations, entitled, “You Be The Moderator!”, that present situations that Twitter’s previous management faced, but altering the identities of the targets of the hate. Using evidence I’ve compiled over many years, I created the scripts for thirteen initial simulations, in three categories: (a) Threatening or inciting violence against the President and First Family; (b) Threatening or inciting hate or violence against people, and nations, based on ethnicity/religion; and (c) Doxxing of, threats and inciting violence against law enforcement officers, and their families. I’m confident that a vast majority of Americans and advertisers would make rational moderation decisions. Then comes the reveal: In every case, Twitter’s previous management made the opposite decisions – and virtually every one of the offenders still has an active Twitter account.
Widely promote these simulations, to demonstrate how shamefully Twitter operated, before you bought it.
Atop this foundation, you’ll be armed to reveal the stunning hypocrisy of the crusade’s leaders — starting with the ADL
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) – supposedly the front-line defender of Jews – has accused you of:
Allowing Khamenei, and the anti-Semitic terror groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) to use Twitter
Failing to shut down The Mapping Project, which incites hate against Jewish activists in Boston, and presents their exact locations
The reality: In contrast to the crusade the ADL has helped lead against you, based on such accusations, it’s been either silent, or virtually silent, about Twitter’s previous management enabling these users.
Both the ADL and Khamanei, the world’s top state sponsor of hate and violence against Jews, have been on Twitter since 2009. Yet over thirteen years, the ADL has only posted four Tweets criticizing Twitter for enabling Khamenei. And none of the ADL’s criticisms were followed by a call for advertisers to boycott Twitter, as they did against you. Even after Twitter’s former CEO openly declared, in October 2020, that the platform must “respect [his] right to speak and to publish what [he] needs,” the ADL said… nothing. Even its website (ADL.org) has nothing regarding this mind-boggling policy:
Also, how many Tweets has the ADL posted that condemned Twitter’s previous management for enabling Hamas, which has been using the site, in various iterations, for years? Three. PIJ? One.
How many about Twitter enabling The Mapping Project — which an ADL leader warned is “a Jewish hit list”? Zero.
What about enabling Louis Farrakhan, whom the ADL claims is “the most popular anti-Semite in America,” since 2011? Zero.
See my documentation of the ADL’s hypocrisy here.7
Elon, imagine if Americans, and advertisers, become aware of these facts — and others that expose the crusaders’ shameful acts and omissions.
Imagine being able to sense the moral center of the entire discussion about Twitter being extricated from the muddy ditch in which it’s now stuck, and out into the light of mass public awareness.
And imagine your delight at helping Americans to realize that regardless of our political/ideological differences, the vast majority of us actually have far more in common, regarding our views of how a responsible, brand-friendly site should operate, than we’ve been led to believe.
Read my open letter to you here.8
If you think I could be helpful in this effort, I hope you’ll reach out.
- J
“My open letter to Elon Musk,” by Jon Sutz, December 2, 2022; https://www.jonsutz.com/2022/12/my-open-letter-to-elon-musk/
“The Metrics: Fox News vs. Mainstream Media,” by Jon Sutz, https://www.jonsutz.com/the-metrics-fox-news-vs-mainstream-media/
“My open letter to Elon Musk,” by Jon Sutz, December 2, 2022; https://www.jonsutz.com/2022/12/my-open-letter-to-elon-musk/
"Afghan Ally Rescue Campaign,” http://abramowitzfoundation.org/afghanrescue/
"TWITTER EXPOSED: Enabling the Taliban - but stopping a campaign to rescue US allies FROM the Taliban," www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcIQfJCAyBg
“Press release: New film exposes Twitter for enabling the Taliban, but stopping US ally rescue campaign,” September 11, 2022; https://abramowitzfoundation.org/twitterexposed-pressrelease1/
“The ADL hypocritically smears Elon Musk for facilitating anti-Semitism,” by Jon Sutz, https://www.jonsutz.com/the-adl-hypocritically-smears-elon-musk-for-facilitating-anti-semitism/
“My open letter to Elon Musk,” by Jon Sutz, December 2, 2022; https://www.jonsutz.com/2022/12/my-open-letter-to-elon-musk/