We all knew the death rattles of a dying Twitter would be coming soon. Since Elon Musk’s takeover happened in October, the social media site has been descending into chaos. If confusing blue checkmark qualifications and fraudulent business accounts weren’t enough to signal the end, allowing Donald Trump back on the platform definitely did. Musk probably thought re-activating Trump’s cesspool Twitter feed would bring back some interest to his website. Spoiler—it didn’t.
Some people have stayed on Twitter like the band playing as the Titanic sank, determined to stay aboard until the very end. They are brave souls. But many have now accused Musk of making their last moments on the social media site even worse than it should be. Users have been accusing Musk of forcing their accounts to follow Trump.
Made you look.
Musk took over Twitter less than a month ago. (It feels like so much longer doesn’t it?) His new rules, massive layoffs, and general megalomania have sent people fleeing the website in droves. Many have moved to other platforms and left Twitter to burn. With interest in the site waiting, Musk brought back some train wreck users like Trump and Kanye West. Last weekend, Musk reinstated Trump’s account. So far, the accused criminal has not even returned to the platform but people claim Musk has forced their Twitter accounts to follow the disgraced politician.
In January 2021, Twitter permanently banned Trump from the website. Because of his incitement of violence and sedition both on and off Twitter, it made sense to bar him from globally broadcasting any thought that popped into his head. But mainstream media (and plenty of individuals) have a hard time looking away from Trump. Yet in the time since Trump’s 2020 loss, many people have lost interest in him and his penchant for lying.
This is all very likely just a bug in a system that’s now being run by a skeleton crew at Twitter but it also would not surprise me Musk himself made the decision to force people to follow Trump. Trump is one of the few people on this planet that can match Musk’s narcissism so I can see why Musk would be supportive of Trump and want his attention.
(featured image: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
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