Frank Thelen worried: “Musk's power is scary”: Social media has become a political battlefield
Friday, September 27th, 2024, 12:05 p.m
Censorship, bans, arrests – social media is increasingly becoming a political battleground. The participants: presidential candidates, entire nations and perhaps the most powerful man in the world: Elon Musk. Financial expert Frank Thelen sheds light on the role Europe plays in this context.
Since the 2021 US election, it has been clear what a big role social media can play in the election campaign. In this country, too, there is a connection between the election results, especially among the younger target group, and the activity of individual parties on TikTok.
Social media is increasingly becoming a political weapon. Just last week, the Telegram CEO was arrested in Paris because the zero knowledge messenger does not allow governments to access individual messages – including when it comes to stopping the spread of child pornography, drug trafficking, fraud and support for organized crime on the platform .
X was banned in Brazil because the platform refuses to censor content deemed disinformation by the Brazilian government in the context of the country's presidential elections.
About top expert Frank Thelen
Frank Thelen is a European serial entrepreneur, technology investor and TV personality. As founder and CEO of Freigeist Capital, he focuses on early-stage investments such as Lilium Aviation, Wunderlist, Kraftblock, Endurosat and RobCo. He published the two bestsellers “Startup-DNA” and “10xDNA” and founded the TEQ Capital funds (formerly 10xDNA funds) in 2021. He writes as an expert about technology, business and finance for FOCUS Online.
Speaking of censorship
Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged in a letter to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee last week that the Biden administration had pressured Meta to “censor” certain COVID-19 content during the pandemic. We all remember the automatic warnings, but there were also requests to delete individual content that was not government-compliant.
There are also unpleasant rumors about Chinese TikTok: Some voices claim that TikTok is deliberately showing “stupid” content in the USA and Europe, while in China it is primarily showing educational content. It is impossible to judge what the truth of this rumor is and whether it is actually a conscious decision or the algorithm.
More from the EXPERTS Circle
It does not look as if it will be possible to form a government outside of the AfD in Thuringia. Coalitions with the BSW are just as forbidden as coalitions with the AfD. Perhaps the AfD should form a minority government. A wholesome chaos would be inevitable.
In the debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, Harris scored points on economic and social issues, while Trump particularly emphasized the issue of migration. On the emotional topic of abortion, Harris spoke empathetically to women. Harris put in a strong performance overall.
Power by Elon Musk scary
The fact is: This ugly battle between governments and big companies in the midst of free speech, hate speech and control is getting crazier and crazier. So far, in my opinion, X is doing a good job with its community notes and open source, but the power of Elon with his information empire consisting of Starlink, X and X.AI is now frightening.
A current example: With his Starlink network, he basically owns all the data in space – in response to the X-Ban in Brazil, he recently stated that he could give the Brazilians free access to X via Starlink. Both the ban on X and such threats are very unpleasant “power plays”.
These current examples show: Europe urgently needs its own infrastructure (social media, space, AI, …) in order to play a role in the world. Unfortunately, I don't see much hope at the moment…
Content comes from an expert from the FOCUS online EXPERTS Circle. Our experts have a high level of specialist knowledge in their field. You are not part of the editorial team. Learn more.
