Journalism Professor Roasted For Comparing Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover With the Rise of Hitler in Nazi Germany
Journalist and CUNY professor Jeff Jarvis drew intense public mockery by likening the atmosphere on Twitter to Germany’s last days before the Nazis rose to power.
Jarvis was among those on Thursday who commented on Elon Musk’s new quest to completely buy out Twitter. Musk recently became Twitter’s largest single shareholder, and while he declined to join the social media company’s board of directors, he remains free to purchase more stakes without being capped by Twitter’s 14.9 percent policy for board members.
Musk has been a vocal critic of Twitter for some time, and in his latest filing, he declared a lack of confidence in the company’s management.
Throughout the Musk-Twitter saga, news watchers have been hypothesizing about what could happen if Musk does assume control over Twitter. Some media figures believe Musk will overhaul Twitter’s policy to grant greater free speech protection to right-wingers. Conservatives are also slamming Washington Post columnist Max Boot for being among those who oppose Musk and say Twitter needs “more content moderation.”
As Jarvis tracked media reactions to the latest Musk news, he offered an observation on the current state of affairs.
“Today on Twitter feels like the last evening in a Berlin nightclub at the twilight of Weimar Germany,” he said.
Today on Twitter feels like the last evening in a Berlin nightclub at the twilight of Weimar Germany.
— Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) April 14, 2022
Jarvis’s comments were seen as hyperbolic by many, and they drew a flurry of bipartisan mockery:
not really https://t.co/iP1DSh1Y0m
— Max Tani (@maxwelltani) April 14, 2022
Yes, Hitler was indeed famous for his attempts to broaden the mechanisms of free speech, just like Elon Musk https://t.co/b1qHEPEdRR
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) April 14, 2022
yeah, no https://t.co/XhMidEaInP
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) April 14, 2022
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Cancelling my commitments for the day so I can watch liberals become more unhinged, hysterical and panicked over the prospect that they may not be able to wield censorship power on Twitter.
It’s only 11 am on the East Coast and we’re already at Nazi analogies: https://t.co/K21Gq8Ybpc
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 14, 2022
I’ve got a long list of beefs with Trump, but there were some long-term bad consequences for a big chunk of people in public life pretending they were “La Résistance” against the Nazis for four years of a controversial presidency. https://t.co/i7qjvmoWQz
— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) April 14, 2022
no it doesn’t lol https://t.co/4Y7xiBEA2t
— Liz Wolfe (@lizzywol) April 14, 2022
No it doesn’t https://t.co/uju10sPtsj
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) April 14, 2022
Today on Twitter feels like we are all Liv Tyler watching Ben Affleck play with animal crackers on our belly https://t.co/0iC3UIELCR
— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) April 14, 2022
One of the greatest tweets of all time. Bask in this. It’s like a comet. We may never see this again in our life times. https://t.co/Y2TvHukpCe
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) April 14, 2022
The left wing blue checks are panicked and Tweeting Elon Musk is Adolf Hitler. Because everyone who disagrees with them on anything is Hitler. https://t.co/w1xABFoJjj
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) April 14, 2022
Jarvis has noticed the criticism, and he’s responding with his own mockery.
Elon’s bois are out in force. https://t.co/jN3gkf0Q7P
— Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) April 14, 2022
Elon’s bois and bots are out. pic.twitter.com/d4y4q3zwOh
— Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) April 14, 2022
Yup, we’re seeing a preview of Elon’s Twitter. It’s just what you think it would be. Testosterone, spittle, and bile dripping off the walls. Ah, the smell of sweat and humorless stupidity in the morning. pic.twitter.com/pgQ0Qog4St
— Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) April 14, 2022
Gotta say this: Once Elon’s bois get their marching orders, they do goosestep in perfect sync. Impressive.
— Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) April 14, 2022
Jarvis’ invocation is an example of Godwin’s law: the commonly-held phenomenon that the longer an argument draws out, the more likely it is someone will eventually bring up Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. This kind of rhetoric is often considered unwise, as exemplified by the fallout when Musk himself made a Hitler comparison back in February.
