The Media Is Treating Musk Like it Treated Trump - TIME

The satellite of journalism is obsessed with Elon Musk.

Last week, Musk suspended the accounts of a radical of journalists, claiming that they endangered him and his household by revealing locations successful existent time. One of the accusations—about stalking Musk’s son—has been called into question due to the fact that Musk did not record a constabulary report. What is not contested is that immoderate of the journalists tweeted astir the suspension of an relationship called @elonjet which had published publically disposable accusation astir the whereabouts of Musk’s backstage jet. The communal constituent successful each suspension is journalism that has been captious of Musk and his concern practices.

Twitter reinstated astir of the journalists a time later, starring to sighs of alleviation and wide speculation astir caller rules for journalists connected Twitter.

Journalists who instrumentality Musk’s actions seriously—a immense number, by each indications—are making a unspeakable mistake. It is the aforesaid mistake journalists made successful covering Donald Trump successful 2016. They are consumed by spectacle and neglect to admit the larger issue: they are being manipulated with the extremity of making them submissive.

Like Donald Trump, Elon Musk does not respect journalists. Even those who bash Musk’s bidding are not safe, arsenic Bari Weiss discovered soon aft she amplified interior Twitter communications related to the communicative astir Hunter Biden’s laptop.

The contiguous infinitesimal is fraught. If journalists crook to Musk’s will, arsenic galore look to beryllium doing now, determination whitethorn beryllium nary bounds to the harm that results.

Donald Trump demonstrated that spectacle is bully for media profitability. As erstwhile CBS enforcement Les Moonves famously stated astir Trump’s antics: “It whitethorn not beryllium bully for America, but it’s damn bully for CBS.” Moonves was acknowledging thing that should disturb america all: successful the property of Trump, media executives chose to prioritize profits implicit the extortion of ideology and the pursuit of truth. Gone was immoderate acknowledgment that journalism has a work to basal up to powerfulness and to clasp a lens up to society, not conscionable broadcast the circus.

Read More: Elon Musk Has Lost Sight of What Matters

One mightiness person expected journalists to larn a acquisition from their acquisition with Trump. They mightiness person learned from the serial humiliations that characterized property briefings successful the Trump White House, from the never-ending lies and blatant attempts to power the communicative by giving entree to a privileged few who were consenting to play on oregon beryllium manipulated.

Instead, journalists are enabling Musk to bash precisely what Trump did. They are trying to discern caller rules erstwhile they should beryllium focused connected the bigger picture.

The elemental information is that determination is nary logic to what Musk is doing.

Elon Musk craves attention. Twitter is simply a soap opera wherever Musk is the star, the lone histrion successful the spotlight. It is simply a backstage concern wherever helium tin acceptable the rules and alteration them whenever helium wants. He does not person to beryllium consistent. He does not person to beryllium fair. Twitter is Musk’s artifact and helium is having amusive with it. Even if helium gives up the CEO title—as helium whitethorn bash pursuing a idiosyncratic poll—he volition prime his successor and inactive power Twitter.

Journalists cannot triumph by appeasing Musk. They tin lone triumph by doing their job, by lasting up to the almighty successful the nationalist interest.

Twitter is simply a level for unmediated broadcasting to astir a 4th cardinal progressive users. As such, it has go the level of prime for politicians, celebrities, and journalists. Some communities that are usually excluded from the governmental process beryllium connected Twitter to get their connection out. Users emotion Twitter due to the fact that it creates the illusion of nonstop entree to VIPs to whom they would usually person nary access.

Twitter is wherever journalists look for leads. Some person characterized Twitter arsenic the duty exertion for modern journalism. Twitter has enabled journalists to physique idiosyncratic brands successful an epoch erstwhile accepted media is struggling for fiscal survival. Thanks to Twitter, and 24-hour quality channels, immoderate journalists person go celebrities.

Now journalists are trying to physique a beingness connected Mastodon, Post.news oregon different imaginable alternatives, but astir stay progressive connected Twitter due to the fact that of its immense advantages of standard and their interaction there. Many journalists judge the existent issues with Musk are an utmost signifier of the flawed Twitter they person travel to love, the 1 they person agelong described arsenic a “hell site.” They desperately privation Twitter to stay viable arsenic a platform, for Musk to get bored and determination on. As a result, they are not reasoning intelligibly astir what is astatine stake.

Elon Musk is portion of a increasing assemblage of Silicon Valley billionaires (such arsenic Peter Thiel and X) who judge ideology is obsolete and that a escaped property undermines technological progress. What they privation is simply a satellite wherever they are the puppet masters, wherever alleged journalists enactment arsenic amplifiers of the messages they privation to spread, and wherever nary 1 ever criticizes them. These radical unrecorded successful a bubble, surrounded by sycophants, with small oregon nary interaction with the satellite experienced by the masses. As we saw with Mark Zuckerberg and Samuel Bankman-Fried, these radical person nary qualms astir causing harm to society—to existent people—in pursuit of their goals.

As disturbing arsenic I find the effect of journalists to Musk, that is not the astir important contented I see. Last week, NBC suspended 1 of its reporters, Ben Collins, due to the fact that thing helium said astir Elon Musk was “not editorially appropriate.” The suspension appears to person been triggered by a Twitter speech successful which Musk said helium had conscionable learned that his company’s lawman wide counsel had antecedently worked astatine the FBI, to which Collins commented that “the ungraded present is that Elon Musk discovered who his company’s lawman counsel was six weeks aft helium purchased it” for $44 billion.

In what satellite would that tweet beryllium editorially inappropriate? Certainly not connected Twitter. For astatine slightest a decade, media companies similar NBC person encouraged their journalists to usage societal media to summation scope and physique their brand. They judge it is bully for business. They cognize that the code and standards connected Twitter are precise antithetic from those successful newspapers and tv news. No substance what you deliberation of the tone, and I deliberation it is fine, Ben Collins’ tweet is manifestly accurate. He was doing his job, speaking information to power.

While NBC has not yet commented connected the story, it is hard to flight the conception that whoever made the determination was much disquieted astir appeasing Elon Musk and the increasing service of close helping extremists who enactment him than successful protecting the integrity of NBC News.

Imagine what would person happened had those successful powerfulness astatine The New York Times oregon The Washington Post backed down to unit from the Nixon medication and not published the Pentagon Papers. Or if the Post had spiked the stories by Woodward and Bernstein astir Watergate. Lest you deliberation those analogies inappropriate, retrieve that we are little than 2 years removed from an insurrection astatine the U.S. Capitol. Musk has been restoring the Twitter accounts of acold close activists. It whitethorn beryllium a coincidence, but we cannot disregard the anticipation that Musk’s sympathies whitethorn prevarication with insurrectionists.

If NBC does not reverse its decision, however agelong volition it beryllium earlier different network, possibly CNN, suspends 1 of its journalists to appease the acold right. What if suspending journalists becomes the terms of entree to billionaires? Where volition we beryllium then? Standing up to powerfulness is what journalism is each about. Everything other is nationalist relations.

Journalism does not request Twitter. It cannot triumph a combat with Elon Musk connected Musk’s location turf. The lone mode to bushed radical similar Musk is to not play that game. That is the acquisition we should person learned from Trump. It is the acquisition we indispensable larn now.

Contact us astatine letters@time.com.