Conservative actor James Woods said Wednesday he gained more than 70,000 Twitter in the two days following Elon Musk’s announcement he is buying the platform, and slammed company for its past suppression of free speech and “devastating” impact on the 2020 election.
Woods, a prolific tweeter with some 2.5 million followers, has tangled with the San Francisco-based social media giant in the past, drawing suspensions on multiple occasions for tweets deemed offensive. The Salvador” actor expressed confidence that Musk will follow through on his pledge to make the platform a true free-speech forum.
“I don’t think anybody has fully grasped the devastating impact the pre-election suppression of free speech has had on our nation,” Woods tweeted. “#ThankYouElonMusk.”
At the end of two days of #TwitterFreedom I’ve added 73,000 new followers.
I don’t think anybody has fully grasped the devastating impact the pre-election suppression of free speech has had on our nation. #ThankYouElonMusk
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) April 28, 2022
After news broke in early April that Musk had become Twitter’s largest shareholder, Woods wasted no time in offering two salient suggestions after Musk had tweeted that he was “looking forward” to “make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!”
Woods tweeted, “Dear @elonmusk, welcome to Twitter. I join millions of users in hoping your presence will restore integrity to this once valuable forum. Two thoughts: Remove all politically motivated algorithms from the site. Make people have to use their real identities to end abuse.”
Dear @elonmusk, welcome to Twitter. I join millions of users in hoping your presence will restore integrity to this once valuable forum.
Two thoughts:
Remove all politically motivated algorithms from the site.
Make people have to use their real identities to end abuse.
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) April 5, 2022
Woods has criticized bias not only in social media but among the legacy media as well; in late September 2020, after the first presidential debate between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden had come to its conclusion, Woods summed up the debate in one hilarious tweet, indirectly referring to moderator Chris Wallace’s penchant during the second half of the debate for challenging President Trump while leaving Biden’s remarks unaddressed, a performance that left many people highly critical of Wallace.
Woods wrote, “President Trump crushed his opponent Chris Wallace head to head in the debate. There was also another fellow wandering around muttering to himself.”
President Trump crushed his opponent Chris Wallace head to head in the debate. There was also another fellow wandering around muttering to himself.
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) September 30, 2020
During the debate, Woods opined, “Chris Wallace is shamelessly biased. It’s a beautiful demonstration of fake news in action. I’m actually glad it’s happening, because you can see it for yourself.”
Chris Wallace is shamelessly biased. It’s a beautiful demonstration of fake news in action. I’m actually glad it’s happening, because you can see it for yourself.
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) September 30, 2020
Woods added later, “Outnumbered and out gunned, Trump was an everyman tough guy who declared very clearly he wasn’t about to take any crap from a tired career political hack and his media gunsel. Imagine if Trump had been able to answer one question uninterrupted and Biden been forced to answer his.”
Outnumbered and out gunned, Trump was an everyman tough guy who declared very clearly he wasn’t about to take any crap from a tired career political hack and his media gunsel. Imagine if Trump had been able to answer one question uninterrupted and Biden been forced to answer his.
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) September 30, 2020
Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis gained over 200,000 followers this week, as The New York Post reported. Fox News host Tucker Carlson gained roughly 150,000 followers, and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) garnered over 60,000 followers, prompting him to say, “It really is something how conservative accounts are getting massive follower increases today….” The Post noted, “Donald Trump Jr. led the way in questioning the giant spike, which saw him gain 87,296 new followers by Tuesday — and another 119,022 by early Wednesday, after weeks of averaging only a few thousand each day.”
Trump Jr. pointed out, “While I’m awesome and totally deserving of 87,000 new followers a day it seems that someone took the shackles off my account. Wonder if they’re burning the evidence before new mgmt comes in?”