--- title: "Free Speech Lover Elon Musk Seems to Be Throttling Exposure to Sites He Doesn’t Like on Twitter" description: "X-formerly-Twitter owner Elon Musk is seemingly limiting access to The New York Times on his platform, and engagement is tanking." date: "2023-09-12" modified: "2023-09-12" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/free-speech-elon-musk-throttling-exposure-twitter" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "free speech" - "the digest" - "twitter" --- # Free Speech Lover Elon Musk Seems to Be Throttling Exposure to Sites He Doesn’t Like on Twitter ![X-formerly-Twitter owner Elon Musk is seemingly limiting access to The New York Times on his platform, and engagement is tanking.]() *\Image: JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images\* ## Broken Engagement X-formerly-Twitter owner Elon Musk is seemingly limiting access to *The New York Times* on his platform, with engagement on X posts linking to the renowned newspaper tanking. As [*Semafor* reports](), engagement for other influential news accounts like *Politico* and *The Washington Post* has remained relatively consistent. But one *NYT* link shared by former president Barack Obama reached fewer than 800,000 users, while a Politico link he shared got nearly 13 million views. In other words, *Semafor*'s analysis strongly suggests that X is shifting away from what Musk perceives as left-leaning content and increasingly embracing conservative media. If so, the hypocrisy is striking. Musk, after all, is a self-professed "free speech absolutist" — so if he's throttling access to stuff he doesn't approve of, it represents a [glaring double standard](). ## Freeish Speech Musk has had it out for the *NYT* for a while now. Last month, he [lashed out at the newspaper]() over a report about the far-right backlash to an old South African anti-apartheid song. Shortly after, the site started making it more difficult to access content via external links on the social media platform by slowing down redirects to these sites. Affected sites included the *New York Times*, *Reuters*, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and Substack, the [*Washington Post* reported]() at the time. At the time, Musk [called]() the *NYT* a "declining, once-powerful, but fundamentally doomed to be regional and increasingly archaic legacy publication." And that's without getting into an earlier and equally ugly chapter: back in December of last year, roughly a month into his chaotic stewardship of the social media platform, when Musk [started mass suspending Twitter accounts]() of journalists who criticized him. ## Musk-Pocrisy In short, Musk has made it clear with his recent decisions that free speech is simply not a priority on the platform. His actions, which have historically spoken even louder than words, paint a troubling picture of what X is turning into: a Wild West where disinformation, [propaganda](), and [conspiracy theories]() flow freely. Whether [threatening to sue]() the Anti-Defamation League, [suing the state of California]() over a law requiring social media companies to publicize their content moderation policies, or [remaining silent]() after a man was sentenced to death for tweets critical of his government, add up to a winning strategy remains dubious at best. In fact, Musk himself [has admitted]() that X may be failing under his leadership — and he seemingly has only himself to blame. **More on X:** *[Elon Musk Says He Has to Sue Jewish Anti-Hate Group to Prove He's Not Antisemitic]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()