Elon Musk and His Limits

The new owner of Twitter, Elon Musk, only recently lifted the company’s ban on several figures. He did so under the mantle of “free speech,” and according to him, anyone who is opposed is an enemy of exactly that. It’s that simple for the world’s richest man. The fact that this gives far-right figures a voice again does not seem to bother him.

Now, someone has tested Musk’s limits. The Twitter account of the controversial American rapper Kanye West is blocked. Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband did not miss the opportunity to post a swastika. The sympathy he has expressed for Adolf Hitler has also caused an uproar elsewhere. In a show on the rightwing website Infowars, West allegedly suggested that not everything about the Nazis was bad. In his view, people should stop dissing them. The video from the show hosted by the American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones can be viewed online and apparently features West wearing a sock-like mask. It is therefore not completely clear if it is him.

Regardless, posting Nazi propaganda must, of course, result in a ban. That does not need to be discussed. The justification Musk gave is the confusing part. He has “tried everything,” but that is not OK, explained Musk. Why so tentative? When you draw a line, you can absolutely do so with the clarity required, and there is no need to apologize in the same breath. That is unreasonable.