A Visit to Elon Musk’s New Mall of America

Elon bought Twitter. (You may have heard.) The analysis, hand-wringing, and general worrywart-ery about how bad it might be for media has been great for media, giving journalists and pundits lots to fill up pages and airtime. And to tweet about, of course.

It's a lot to take in, but for us, it helps to think about the whole thing as a visit to a mall in a state of flux. What will happen to the sunglasses kiosks? Or the fountain where everyone chit-chats? And will an attempted government overthrow begin in the Orange Julius?

Brandon & Stephen dig into what it might all mean, from Musk's stated opinions on Twitter to whether the app will be overrun by the worst elements of the internet. We also question Musk's idea of "free speech absolutism" and dig into the United States' history of letting people say what they want ... or not. Get ready for some hot socialist goss and the wisdom of using swears as the name of your business.

Lace up your Mall Walkers (those are shoes), and let's set off at a moderately brisk toddle through the all-important, all-American topic of who can say what, and whether Gary Busey is the ultimate test of free speech.

JOURNOS is produced by Heather "Eagle Ears" Wilson.

 

NOTES

Robert Reich thinks Elon just wants freedom from accountability // The Supreme Court and bad words // Disney, Florida, and Citizens United // Algorithms versus marginalized groups