Elon Musk Defends Stripping Critics of Monetization Amid Free Speech U-Turn
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Billionaire Trump surrogate Elon Musk defended his decision to strip critics of their ability to monetize content on X after cracking down on dissent on the social network.
Responding to a supporter who defended “people getting demonetized for their inexcusable behavior,” Musk declared, “Exactly. The first amendment is protection for ‘free speech’, not ‘paid speech’ ffs.”
In another post, Musk responded to Nick Fuentes’ declaration that “Twitter censorship is back,” arguing, “Claiming censorship while simultaneously getting millions of views is the clearest possible evidence that Fuentes has [poo emoji] for brains.”
Musk stripped several of his critics – including Trump ally Laura Loomer – of their verification badges and ability to monetize last week after they publicly challenged his support for H-1B immigration visas.
The billionaire also suspended several lower-profile accounts.
Musk and DOGE co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy received heavy backlash from supporters of Trump after they expressed support for the hiring of foreign workers on H-1B visas.
Musk continued to receive even more backlash after he doubled down on his stance, endorsing a post which suggested Americans were too “retarded” to be hired for skilled positions and warning his critics in an expletive-laden rant.
“Take a big step back and FUCK YOURSELF in the face,” Musk told critics of the H-1B visa. “I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot comprehend.”
Despite the heavy backlash, President-elect Donald Trump took sides with Musk in the immigration debate, boasting that he had “always been in favor of the visas” and was currently employing many foreign workers on his properties.
