Since the war between the United States and Iran began nearly two months ago, the conflict has extended beyond the battlefield and into social media feeds. Across X, several official Iranian embassy accounts have amassed hundreds of thousands of followers while adopting a striking new tactic: meme warfare. 
While there have long been accusations that Iran uses anonymous “bot” accounts to push propaganda, its new strategy with many of its official embassy accounts is far more blatant and transparent. Since early March, many of these accounts have shifted from sharing Iranian news or embassy-related information to posting aggregated headlines, AI-generated content, memes, snarky commentary, and personal attacks aimed at maximizing likes, reposts, and impressions. 
Without seeing the name of the account, one might assume it belongs to a Gen-Z partisan influencer rather than a government run by religious fundamentalists who are wary of the West.
Creative content includes everything from Lego-style war videos to Jeffrey Epstein cast as the devil manipulating Trump into war — pushed across more than 70 accounts reaching over 1.1 million followers.
They are leveraging the algorithm to attack the United States, President Donald Trump, and Israel — and doing so effectively.
One of the most inflammatory <a href="https://x.com/IRANinTJ/status/2044138040650805495">posts</a> came from the Iranian embassy in Tajikistan on Tuesday, which shared a video depicting Jesus killing President Trump by punching him into a fiery pit — racking up 11.9 million views and 78,000 likes. 
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called the effort “disgusting” and “detached from reality&#8221; Thursday in response to a question from The Daily Wire’s White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan.
“Iran says a lot of things in the propaganda space based on complete lies,&#8221; he said.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-1078667" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-3.40.13-PM-543x576.png" alt="" width="543" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-3.40.13-PM-543x576.png 543w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-3.40.13-PM-283x300.png 283w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-3.40.13-PM-768x815.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-3.40.13-PM.png 1184w" sizes=" (max-width: 543px) 100vw, 543px" /></div>
What explains the shift in strategy? The answer lies in both technology and audience.
As Iranian citizens remain in a near-total internet blackout now nearing 50 days, these official government accounts moved in the opposite direction.
Before Operation Epic Fury, many of these Iranian embassy accounts posted sparingly, often fewer than 10 times a day. Then a switch flipped. Data from 69 of the accounts shows a clear surge to between 50 and 200 posts per day, flooding feeds with a nonstop stream of content, according to data compiled by <a class="GI370e" href="https://networkcontagion.us" data-ved="2ahUKEwiTqN3XlvGTAxUh3RoGHYqBLGUQgK4QegQIARAB" data-hveid="CAEQAQ" data-processed="true">Network Contagion Research Institute</a> and shared with The Daily Wire.
<div id="attachment_1078721" style="width: 718px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1078721" class="size-large wp-image-1078721" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/a57a8014-8cdd-4edf-a9e7-381077a2eed2-708x576.jpg" alt="" width="708" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/a57a8014-8cdd-4edf-a9e7-381077a2eed2-708x576.jpg 708w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/a57a8014-8cdd-4edf-a9e7-381077a2eed2-300x244.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/a57a8014-8cdd-4edf-a9e7-381077a2eed2-768x625.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/a57a8014-8cdd-4edf-a9e7-381077a2eed2.jpg 1432w" sizes=" (max-width: 708px) 100vw, 708px" />(NCRI)</div>
That output is powered in large part by the rapid rise of generative AI. Content that would have required significant time, money and production resources can now be created cheaply and almost instantly. It relies heavily on what has come to be known as “AI slop” — low-cost, mass-produced AI-generated content that prioritizes speed and virality over polish or accuracy.
Much of the slopaganda still carries a distinctly American tone, closely tracking U.S. political discourse and online trends. This includes the embassies weighing in on controversies within pro-Trump circles, including a recent episode in which President Trump shared — and later deleted — a post that depicted him as Jesus healing someone.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-1078669" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-5.59.01-PM-515x576.png" alt="" width="515" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-5.59.01-PM-515x576.png 515w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-5.59.01-PM-268x300.png 268w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-5.59.01-PM-768x859.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-5.59.01-PM.png 1188w" sizes=" (max-width: 515px) 100vw, 515px" /></div>
The Iranian embassy in Tunis has also tapped into American military humor, <a href="https://x.com/IranembTun/status/2040324503352328320">posting</a> a meme built around the U.S. military’s own joking nickname for the Air Force — the “Chair Force” — showing American pilots ejecting from their jets. The timing was notable: it came shortly after a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down over Iran in early April.
These accounts produce a steady stream of posts calibrated to the rhythm of the American news cycle, echoing trending topics and even internal political debates. This results in them frequently going viral.
That pattern is borne out in the data: an analysis of 18,246 tweets shows a spike in mentions of the United States, Israel and President Trump beginning in early March, coinciding with the broader surge in posting activity and the start of the conflict.
<div id="attachment_1078785" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1078785" class="size-large wp-image-1078785" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/PHOTO-2026-04-15-22-35-47-1024x480.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="480" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/PHOTO-2026-04-15-22-35-47-1024x480.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/PHOTO-2026-04-15-22-35-47-300x141.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/PHOTO-2026-04-15-22-35-47-768x360.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/PHOTO-2026-04-15-22-35-47.jpg 1412w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />(NCRI)</div>
One of the Tajikistan-based account’s most <a href="https://x.com/IRANinTJ/status/2041615428884279572">viral posts</a> was a video using a popular meme format, depicting Israel slamming the United States’ face into a balloon meant to represent Iran — only for it to refuse to pop. Set to the Jewish song “Hava Nagila,” the clip drew roughly 3 million views.
Another <a href="https://x.com/IRANinTJ/status/2044111103609974849">post</a> from the Iranian embassy in Tajikistan reached more than a million viewers. It featured a crudely produced video depicting Jeffrey Epstein as the devil whispering in President Trump’s ear, urging him to attack podcasters Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens and Alex Jones and to start wars. The video concluded with a song by the American rapper Eminem.
One of the most prominent embassy accounts accused of being used by Iran’s Islamic regime is its mission to South Africa. With more than 168,000 followers, the account posts dozens of times a day and frequently goes viral, particularly when mocking President Trump.
In a Wednesday <a href="https://x.com/IraninSA/status/2044342594629517561">post</a>, the account shared an AI-generated image depicting Trump as a baby playing a video game titled “Hormuz Strait.”
“Not a game, kiddo,” the account wrote alongside the image.
In another post, the account shared an AI-generated video portraying Trump as an ’80s-style singer with a mullet, performing a parody of Desireless’s Voyage Voyage, renamed Blockade with the lyrics: “If you block me, then I block you.&#8221; The video received 8.9 million views, 13,000 reposts, and 56,000 likes.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-1078675" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-6.02.32-PM-478x576.png" alt="" width="478" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-6.02.32-PM-478x576.png 478w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-6.02.32-PM-249x300.png 249w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-6.02.32-PM-768x925.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-6.02.32-PM.png 1176w" sizes=" (max-width: 478px) 100vw, 478px" /> The message was echoed by the Iranian consulate in Hyderabad, India, which shared a map of the Strait of Hormuz declaring, “Iran will block the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.&#8221; This post that drew over 750,000 views. The Iranian embassy in Bulgaria posted a cartoon of President Trump wedged in the Strait and shouting “I can’t breathe!” — <a href="https://x.com/iraninbulgaria/status/2040517584294982123?s=46&amp;t=ghpHusspWPjTMisXwpsMaA">a post</a> that drew roughly 2.7 million views.
<a href="https://x.com/IRANinZIMBABWE/status/2043804966767214890">A post</a> from the Iranian embassy in Zimbabwe portrayed President Trump as a pirate in a fictional &#8220;Pedoflix&#8221; movie poster titled “Pirates of the Hormuz,” set against burning ships and chaos at sea, alongside the caption: “But they’re still just wandering around in the Indian Ocean.” The post drew over 196,500 views.
Another post from the Iranian Embassy in South Africa <a href="https://x.com/IraninSA/status/2044475025328099409">comparing</a> Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler received 75,000 views and 6,000 likes just under two hours after posting. It was joined with the caption: “Of course, this comparison is an insult to Hitler.”
The account also interacts with other X users in a highly unusual manner for a government-run account, at times sounding more like an edgy teenager in a YouTube comment section than a diplomatic mission. 
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1078677" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-6.06.23-PM.png" alt="" width="1020" height="286" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-6.06.23-PM.png 1020w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-6.06.23-PM-300x84.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-15-at-6.06.23-PM-768x215.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1020px) 100vw, 1020px" /></div>
In a March <a href="https://x.com/IraninSA/status/2033210860076683407">post</a>, the official Iranian embassy account in South Africa responded to a moderately followed user — purporting to be a political analyst from the United Arab Emirates — who had directed profanity at Iran’s spokesperson, writing: “I humbly ask you to shut your filthy mouth, you who are filthier than a dog.”
The regime has been explicit about why it is weaponizing social media. In a post on <a href="https://x.com/IraninSA/status/2044003277218443671">Tuesday</a>, the Iranian embassy in South Africa described social media as one of several “fronts of resistance,” alongside the battlefield, the streets and negotiations. These accounts are not just a sideshow, but a coordinated front in the conflict using modern propaganda warfare.

Iranian AI posts

Slopaganda: Iran Weaponizes Brainrot To Attack The United States

Donald Trump

Iran

Operation Epic Fury

Social Media

What does European censorship look like, and why should Americans care? I answered that question before the <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/europes-threat-american-speech-and-innovation-part-ii">U.S. House Judiciary Committee</a> this week.
The last time I <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/committee-activity/hearings/europes-threat-american-speech-and-innovation">testified</a> before the Committee in September, I highlighted the censorship potential of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which at the time still seemed theoretical. My message then was that this EU law controlling online speech was poised to censor lawful expression beyond Europe, including in the United States.
Many were not convinced.
But now we have moved from theory to practice. There can be no doubt now that the DSA is the tip of a massive censorship industrial complex with global implications.
I testified yesterday before the Committee that the enormous fines recently levied on X by the European Commission prove beyond all doubt that the EU means to strangle free speech by a systematic assault on US companies. This is corroborated by the Committee’s incendiary new <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/media/press-releases/new-report-exposes-european-commission-decade-long-campaign-censor-american" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a>, which shows that American companies are already having to adopt EU content moderation policies.
The EU has a multi-pronged strategy to open a slew of investigations, to add more and more regulations, to impose crippling fines, and, ultimately, to either break up or ban companies such as X, which are pro-free-speech.
Free speech is such a threat to European elites that they intend to either cripple X with fines and investigations or force them to bend the knee at the altar of censorship. I hope X stands strong because we need free speech in Europe more than ever.
But it goes deeper; this censorship campaign is not just aimed at destroying free speech in Europe, it’s about imposing European Union speech laws globally.
Make no mistake, Europe’s draconian speech laws are being imposed across the world via global content moderation rules.
The EU’s obsession with eliminating free speech means that they are deploying a global campaign to ensure that all speech online bans “illegal content” and “prevents systemic risk” to the “discourse”.
And the costs are borne by real people, like my client Päivi Räsänen, a longtime Finnish parliamentarian, who has spent more than six years criminally prosecuted for peacefully expressing her Christian beliefs in a 2019 Bible verse tweet. Räsänen also testified alongside me before the Committee on her ordeal, as she awaits a verdict from Finland’s Supreme Court for “hate speech” charges under the national law for “war crimes and crimes against humanity”. Of course, “hate speech” has no meaning except speech that European elites hate.
This is what European censorship looks like in practice: the process itself becomes the punishment, designed to chill speech, exhaust dissenters, and warn others to stay silent. And if this is what happens to a sitting parliamentarian in a Western democracy, Americans should have no illusion that either American companies or their citizens will be spared if these censorship regimes are allowed to normalize globally.
* * *
Lorcán Price is an Irish barrister and legal counsel for ADF International.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Uncle Sam

How Europe Plans To Strangle American Free Speech

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)

Elon Musk

Europe

European Union

Opinion

Twitter

Elon Musk took to X to announce he&#8217;s seeking full custody of his one-year-old son after the boy&#8217;s mother made pro-trans comments.
Musk shares his son, Romulus, with Ashley St. Clair, the formerly conservative influencer. St. Clair has changed her stance on transgenderism, prompting Musk to make his custody claim.
“I will be filing for full custody today, given her statements implying she might transition a one-year-old boy,” Musk said early Monday morning.
St. Clair didn&#8217;t indicate on X any plans to allow her son to transition, but instead apologized to anyone she may have hurt with her anti-transgender comments in the past.
&#8220;I feel immense guilt for my role. And even more guilt that things I have said in the past may have caused my son’s sister more pain,&#8221; St. Clair <a href="https://x.com/stclairashley/status/2010328765503586572?s=20">said</a>. &#8220;I have been trying incredibly hard privately to learn + advocate for those within the trans community that I’ve hurt.&#8221;
The &#8220;sister&#8221; she is referring to is Xavier, who goes by Vivian. He is one of Musk&#8217;s 14 children and recently started identifying as a girl.
&#8220;I also haven&#8217;t said much on this because I have gone back and forth over whether my voice would be helpful on the issue since it will be framed as disingenuous or just turning because I&#8217;m &#8216;scorned.&#8217; Even this reply will become right-wing hysteria but yeah I am sorry. Let me know how I can help,&#8221; St. Clair said.
St. Clair previously worked for the conservative satire outlet The Babylon Bee when she met Musk on X, per a New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/02/15/us-news/ashley-st-clair-who-claims-to-have-had-musks-13th-child-reveals-life-of-secrecy/">report</a>. She wrote a children&#8217;s book on identity called &#8220;Elephants Are Not Birds&#8221; and was routinely outspoken on social media about Left-leaning policies. St. Clair attended Trump&#8217;s inauguration last year. Since having her son with Musk, however, she has walked back some of her beliefs.
&#8220;Twitter was way better when it was woke tbh,&#8221; St. Clair posted as a jab to Musk, who purchased the social media platform and renamed it X.
According to the <a href="http://news/article-15456693/elon-musk-custody-child-mother-transition.html?utm_social_handle_id=15438913&amp;ns_mchannel=rss&amp;ns_campaign=1490&amp;utm_social_post_id=650092280&amp;ito=social-twitter_mailonline">Daily Mail,</a> St. Clair filed a lawsuit against Musk last February, claiming he told her to keep the baby a secret. She says Musk then cut off communication with her and her son during child support negotiations, which forced her to take legal action.
Musk is famously known for having many children with multiple partners. He has twins, Xavier and Griffin, and triplets, Kai, Saxon, and Damian, with his first wife, Justine Wilson. He has X, Exa, and Techno with singer Grimes. He has twins, Strider and Azure, along with Arcadia and Seldon, with Shivon Zilis. He shares Romulus with St. Clair.

Credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFPANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images

Elon Musk Files For Full Custody Of Son After Baby Mama Makes Pro-Trans Comments

Social Issues

Transgender

U.S.

The situation surrounding Zohran Mamdani’s swearing-in as New York City mayor has produced an unusual quirk on social media: he has inherited the official @NYCMayor account along with all of the tweets posted under former Mayor Eric Adams — including Adams’s pro-Israel messaging. Because the account name and profile have now been updated to reflect Mayor Mamdani, those older tweets remain publicly visible under his name, even though they were written before he took office, creating a jarring and sometimes humorous mismatch between past content and the new mayor’s positions.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The NYC Mayor’s Twitter account is now under Mayor Mamdani’s name, but unlike the White House accounts, prior tweets are not archived or clearly attributed to past administrations. 
As a result, there are tweets still visible that are jarring when they appear under Mayor… <a href="https://t.co/lxgbmrEmY1">pic.twitter.com/lxgbmrEmY1</a>
&mdash; Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) <a href="https://twitter.com/yashar/status/2006655497668276386?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
For the record, Mamdani condemned Netanyahu when he appeared at UN and accused him of genocide. NYC needs to update its social media management.
&mdash; Rowan Scarborough (@RoScarborough) <a href="https://twitter.com/RoScarborough/status/2006669387227697654?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
This contrasts sharply with how official White House social-media accounts are handled during a presidential transition. As <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2017/01/20/so-what-happens-to-the-potus-twitter-account-now/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">The Washington Post</a> explained in 2017 when Donald Trump assumed office, institutional federal accounts such as @POTUS, @WhiteHouse, @FLOTUS, @VP, and @PressSec transfer to the incoming administration with their followers but not their content. The outgoing administration’s tweets are archived under separate, clearly labeled accounts (such as @POTUS44 for Barack Obama), while the new administration begins with a clean slate. This system prevents confusion about who authored past posts and preserves a clear public record.
New York City, however, treats @NYCMayor as a continuous government communications tool rather than a time-limited account tied to a specific mayor. The account is owned and managed by the City of New York through the Mayor’s Office of Digital Strategy under city social media policy. That means the account is not reset or archived when a new mayor takes office. Instead, it functions as a running institutional record spanning multiple administrations.
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible c-link--underline" href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=christmas&amp;utm_content=christmassale25" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=christmas&amp;utm_content=christmassale25" data-sk="tooltip_parent">Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
As <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/zohran-mamdani-x-account-eric-adams-new-york-mayor-israel-netanyahu-11293251?utm_source=chatgpt.com">Newsweek</a> has noted, the account has existed since January 2009 and now contains an extensive archive of posts from successive mayors. The result is that tweets written by Eric Adams remain fully visible even though the account now bears Mamdani’s name — a structural difference from federal account-transition practices that highlights how state and local governments often follow their own conventions when managing digital public records.

NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani Holds Press Conf. On Political Opponents

Mamdani’s Official X Account Flush With Pro-Israel Posts

Eric Adams

General

Politics

Zohran Mamdani

Five days after I left my short stint heading news partnerships at X, a friend texted me with the details of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Assuming I was cooling off after a long period of eating, breathing and sleeping Elon Musk&#8217;s social platform, this note was intended as a simple ICYMI to someone who didn’t miss much – one that I am grateful to have received.
I didn’t know Charlie Kirk, but every aspect of my recent job was influenced by his work. X is the home of countless communicators aiming to follow Kirk&#8217;s pattern of boldness, eloquence, and clarity. I haven’t done the math, but my guess is for every 100 aspiring Charlies, none manage to fill the mold.
Opening X on my phone Wednesday afternoon ushered me into a world I feared was becoming extinct. Post upon post was an appeal to pray. Pray for Charlie. Pray for Erika. Pray for the children. Pray for the hearts, the minds of young people. Pray for a nation divided. Yes, there was a lot of other noise on X – there always is – but the call for prayers was overwhelming.
This was a different call to action than the one I remember witnessing when my Twitter use was beginning to take flight. In 2012, with a 6-year-old, 2-year-old, and 2-day-old at home, I scrolled through post after post after the December 14 shooting at Sandy Hook, encouraging us to shelve the thoughts and prayers and focus on solutions instead of platitudes. As an editor in the Wall Street Journal’s newsroom at the time, I tended to agree the thoughts and prayers line was getting a little old.
I relived that nine years later when a 15-year-old shot up Oxford High School, a short drive from my house. Ethan Crumbley&#8217;s bullets killed and injured classmates, including one who had sat in the backseat of my car on road trips to gymnastics meets. Prayers seemed like a slice of the equation, but damn we needed to do something about guns.
In our world, there is an urgent need for prayerful petitions and also a need for action. But, there is a pecking order.
Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith explained that pecking order Friday during a press conference. After running through the predictable lists of shoutouts to law enforcement and public officials, he paused before saying, “Most of all, I would like to thank the public and specifically I would like to thank the public who turned to prayers and who turned to positiveness for us … we needed those prayers. That’s what we needed to get through this.”
If social media is, as Utah Governor Spencer Cox deemed it during the same event, “a cancer,” its rot lies in its stubborn insistence on trying to replace real life. These platforms can be a tool for good, enabling free speech and breaking down geographic, generational and socioeconomic barriers that limit or prevent physical relationships. However, these platforms – like most media – have little appetite for nuance and too often trick us into thinking that words only have meaning if they are shouted in a digital town hall.
This is delusional. And it is in delusion where evil most comfortably resides, camouflaging itself as anything it can to make its work feel less evil. Anyone who has been introduced to the advice C.S. Lewis’s senior devil Screwtape passes along to his nephew Wormwood, knows that evil is most content when it is considered banal and impotent.
Charlie Kirk’s assassination, specifically its aftermath, reminds us of two important things. One, even the best of us can’t always stand in the way of evil. And, the most effective way to confront evil is by doing the thing that feels most powerless in the fog of war: prayer.
While evil doesn’t walk around wearing a nametag saying “Hello, My Name is ____,” its influence and presence leaves an unmistakable mark in its wake. Cunning and relentless, evil tends to be as persistent as it is crafty. Evil will strike again and that strike will catch us by surprise like it did on 9/11 and nearly 24 years later on 9/10.
In this instance, we are wise to take advice ladled out on X in the wake of a martyr’s death. “Pray, fool, pray.” For our fight is not against flesh and blood but powers and principalities working to tear our union apart.
Imagine a world where social media, for all its ills, drives us to the increasingly unfamiliar spot of being on our knees in a relatively powerless position. That world gives us hope when we realize that being on our knees is actually the most powerful posture there is.
* * *
John D. Stoll is a writer based in Rochester, Mich. He worked for 13 years at Wall Street Journal as a reporter, editor and columnist, leaving in 2020. He most recently ran news partnerships at X.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

US-POLITICS-SHOOTING-KIRK

X’s Algorithm At Its Best: A Push For Thoughts And Prayers

assassination

Charlie Kirk

Prayer

Federal regulators on Thursday launched a probe into leftist “watchdog” Media Matters over reports that it illegally coordinated advertiser boycotts against Elon Musk&#8217;s X platform.
Media Matters for America, a non-profit <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/leaked-media-matters-donor-list-reveal-it-is-funded-by-democrat-mega-donors?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Leaked+Media+Matters+Donor+List+Reveal+It+Is+Funded+By+Democrat+Mega+Donors">funded</a> by various leftist institutions and billionaires, <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/20/soros-donates-1-million-to-media-matters/">including</a> George Soros, has had the mission to deplatform and drive advertisers away from conservative voices since it was founded in 2004.
The Federal Trade Commission demanded documents regarding Media Matters&#8217; communications with similar “watchdogs” dedicated to labeling conservative content as hate speech and misinformation.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, appointed by President Donald Trump, signaled potential action in December, stating the agency &#8220;must prosecute any unlawful collusion between online platforms, and confront advertiser boycotts which threaten competition,&#8221; Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/ftc-probes-media-matters-over-musks-x-boycott-claims-document-shows-2025-05-22/">reported</a>.
Musk’s X sued Media Matters in 2023 after the liberal group published an article <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-to-file-thermonuclear-suit-against-media-matters-over-contrived-story-on-x?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Elon+Musk+To+File+%E2%80%98Thermonuclear%E2%80%99+Suit+Against+Media+Matters+Over+%E2%80%98Contrived%E2%80%99+Story+On+X">claiming</a> that X was placing ads for major corporations such as Apple, Disney, and Comcast alongside Nazi-related content.
A press release from Musk at the time said that the Media Matters story “completely misrepresented the real user experience on X, in another attempt to undermine freedom of speech and mislead advertisers.”
Musk accused the group of creating a “contrived” experience by using an alternate account to curate what posts appeared on the timeline.
In fact, according to Musk, X logs indicated that of the 5.5 billion ad impressions the day Media Matters pulled its research from, less than 50 were served alongside the content highlighted by Media Matters.
“Despite our clear and consistent position, X has seen a number of attacks from activist groups like Media Matters and legacy media outlets who seek to undermine freedom of expression on our platform because they perceive it as a threat to their ideological narrative and those of their financial supporters,” Musk’s release said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The split second court opens on Monday, X Corp will be filing a thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters and ALL those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company <a href="https://t.co/55vl7PspaQ">pic.twitter.com/55vl7PspaQ</a>
— Kekius Maximus (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1725771191644758037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Attorneys representing X <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/ftc-launches-probe-far-left-group-media-matters-over-allegations-advertiser-collusion-against-musks-x">described</a> the report as &#8220;intentionally deceptive&#8221; as a means to cause the company financial harm.
Media Matters has denied these allegations and countersued X.
In a similar case, X sued the World Federation of Advertisers and several other brands for participating in an illegal conspiracy to curtail ad spending on X, the lawsuit states, per the New York Post.
The plaintiffs denied Musk’s accusations, arguing that each individual brand had concerns with X’s policies that led to their suspension of advertising.
The FTC&#8217;s demand represents a significant escalation in the case of Media Matters, shifting the dispute from civil litigation to potential government enforcement action.
Musk, a major contributor to Trump&#8217;s 2024 campaign and head of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative, has seen advertising on X decline since his 2022 acquisition, with Apple and IBM immediately pausing all ads on X following the 2023 Media Matters <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/musk-endorses-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-x-has-been-placing-ads-apple-bravo-ibm-oracle">article</a>.
However, research firm Emarketer projects spending will increase in 2025, per Reuters.
Since taking over Twitter in 2022, Musk has made sweeping changes to content moderation policies, reinstated previously banned accounts, and introduced a paid verification system. The billionaire has frequently criticized what he characterizes as a &#8220;woke mind virus&#8221; affecting media and technology companies.

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP-CABINET

Feds Probe Media Matters Over Plot To Defund Musk’s X, Silence Dissenting Voices

Big Tech

Censorship

Free Speech

Media Matters For America

Trump Administration

President Trump’s Tariffs On Aluminum Imports Impact Price Of Beverage Makers’ Aluminum Cans

Paid-Off ‘Conservatives’ Are Fighting For Your Right To Use Food Stamps For Soda

Paid-Off 'Conservatives' Are Fighting For Your Right To Use Food Stamps For Soda

Coca-Cola

Conservatives

Department of Health and Human Services

Food

Food Stamps

Matt Walsh

President Trump

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Taking a page out of X’s book, Meta <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2025/03/testing-begins-community-notes-facebook-instagram-threads/">announced</a> on Thursday that it would start testing Community Notes on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads in the United States on March 18.
Meta offered implied criticism of “third-party” fact checkers, on whom it had heretofore relied, writing, “We expect Community Notes to be less biased than the third party fact checking program it replaces because it allows more people with more perspectives to add context to posts.”
Meta <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2025/01/meta-more-speech-fewer-mistakes/">announced</a> in January it would move to a community notes-based approach, stating, “Starting in the US, we are ending our third party fact-checking program and moving to a Community Notes model. We will allow more speech by lifting restrictions on some topics that are part of mainstream discourse and focusing our enforcement on illegal and high-severity violations. We will take a more personalized approach to political content, so that people who want to see more of it in their feeds can.”
“Notes won’t initially appear on content,” Meta warned. “We will start by gradually and randomly admitting people off of the waitlist, and will take time to test the writing and rating system before any notes are published publicly.”
Meta acknowledged its debt to X, explaining, “Many of you will be familiar with X’s Community Notes system, in which users add context to posts. That’s the broad approach we are adopting. &#8230; Initially we will use X’s open source algorithm as the basis of our rating system. This will allow us to build on what X has created and improve it for our own platforms over time.”
Meta stated it would guard against bias in the notes by ensuring the notes would not be published unless “contributors with a range of viewpoints broadly agree on them. This isn’t majority rules. No matter how many contributors agree on a note, it won’t be published unless people who normally disagree decide that it provides helpful context.”
The notes are limited to 500 characters and require a link to support them. Contributors must be over 18 with an “account that’s more than 6 months old and in good standing, and either have a verified phone number or be enrolled in two-factor authentication.”

American Social Media And IT Companies Photo Illustrations

Meta Follows X, Will Start Testing Community Notes On Facebook And Instagram Next Week

Community Notes

Facebook

Fact Check

Instagram

Media

World

A movement has burgeoned among Reddit users to ban links to X, formerly known as Twitter, and Reddit has no plans to interfere with such actions.
“Since Tuesday, hundreds of subreddits have discussed and/or implemented bans against the site formerly called Twitter, as reported by 404 Media,” Ars Technica <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/01/reddit-wont-interfere-with-users-revolting-against-x-with-subreddit-bans/">reported</a>. “Reddit users in support of X bans like the one instituted by r/londonontario have pointed to various reasoning, including not being able to see tweet links without having an X account, Elon Musk appearing to make a Nazi salute at the presidential inauguration on Monday (as cited by r/Christianity’s and r/newjersey&#8217;s bans, for example), and general dislike for Musk and/or how he runs X.”
“NBC News has identified more than 50 subreddit communities where moderators have since announced that links from X, formerly Twitter, will no longer be allowed in new posts and comments. The communities protesting range in size from dozens of members to millions, totaling at least 40 million members,” NBC News<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/50-reddit-communities-ban-x-links-protest-musk-rcna188719" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> reported</a> on Wednesday. “Not allowing links to X in large subreddits could be a major way to suppress Musk’s platform’s reach when it comes to the communities on Reddit that are taking part.”
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Musk’s motion at the presidential inauguration has been mischaracterized by members of the Left, the media, and among Democrats as a Nazi salute when it was nothing of the kind; he was making a motion from his heart toward the crowd to show his appreciation.
“A Reddit spokesperson told Ars that decisions to ban or not ban X links are user-driven. Subreddit members are allowed to suggest and institute subreddit rules, they added,” Ars Technica stated. “Reddit has a longstanding commitment to freedom of speech and freedom of association,” the spokesperson added.
“As 404 Media noted, some Redditors are also pushing to block content from Facebook, Instagram, and other Meta properties in response to new Donald Trump-friendly policies instituted by owner Mark Zuckerberg, like Meta killing diversity programs and axing third-party fact-checkers,” Ars Technica noted.

In this photo illustration, the Reddit logo is seen

Reddit Has No Plans To Stop Users From Banning Links To X

Reddit

Technology

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/rob-reiner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rob Reiner</a> said he’s checking into a facility to find “peace and relaxation” after he left X for the Bluesky social media platform following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.
In a series of posts on Wednesday on <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:abhklfdwf5hfnjachaad5ugk/post/3lbgl4jfvsc2k?ref_src=embed&amp;ref_url=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.thewrap.com%252Frob-reiner-bluesky-maga-scum%252F">Bluesky</a>, the 77-year-old director accused what he called “MAGA scum” of coming over to the platform and ruining it after he and other Hollywood stars announced they had left Elon Musk’s X for the platform after Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris, <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/rob-reiner-bluesky-maga-scum/">the Wrap</a> reported.
“This platform is vile, racist and evil,” Reiner wrote. “It did not take long for MAGA scum to come spread their lies.”
“I have made the decision to take the next few days to check into a facility for peace and relaxation,” he <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:abhklfdwf5hfnjachaad5ugk/post/3lbgpvwshl22e?ref_src=embed&amp;ref_url=https%253A%252F%252Fwww.thewrap.com%252Frob-reiner-bluesky-maga-scum%252F">added</a> in a second post a short time later. “No phones, social media , no trolls, just calmness to heal my pain.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
After Trump&#8217;s victory in the 2024 election, some leftist celebrities are leaving the country.<a href="https://twitter.com/robreiner?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RobReiner</a> is checking into a nuthouse. <a href="https://t.co/v6ZFbDNXrp">pic.twitter.com/v6ZFbDNXrp</a>
— Matt Margolis (@mattmargolis) <a href="https://twitter.com/mattmargolis/status/1859606787789353308?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2024</a></blockquote>
Following the election, Reiner had celebrated making his new move to the platform after Trump won both the Electoral College and popular vote.
“I have decided to move here for a less hateful experience,” Reiner&#8217;s post read at the time.
The platform has seen a bump in users with many celebrities and members of the legacy media announcing their grand departure from X over Musk’s support of Trump in the election.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/msnbc-host-joy-reid-becomes-latest-lib-to-quit-x-following-trumps-triumph">MSNBC’s Joy Reid</a> recently wrote, “Hey guys, today I did something I&#8217;ve been meaning to do for a while. And the reason for doing it, and kissing goodbye to my 1.9 million followers over there. I hadn&#8217;t been posting for a long time &#8211; I just didn&#8217;t want to contribute content once it was purchased by its present owner,&#8221; as previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/msnbc-host-joy-reid-becomes-latest-lib-to-quit-x-following-trumps-triumph" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
“But, just having it there &#8211; I was only holding onto it because, I, you know, really didn&#8217;t want someone trying to take over that name and use it for nefarious purposes,” she added. “I was a little bit worried about that.”
“And also, every so often, I was just using it to look at news that was trending, what&#8217;s happening, and I just sort of used it as an aggregator,” Reid continued. “But I just realized it&#8217;s not really worth it. Because in order to do the news aggregation and just look at all, you have to wade through a lot of dreck and a lot of, just, abuse, and a lot of just, negativity. And it&#8217;s just not worth it.”
Former <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/don-lemon-jamie-lee-curtis-announce-they-are-leaving-x-following-trump-victory">CNN host Don Lemon</a> and actress Jamie Lee Curtis also made the announcement about leaving X after the election.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/don-lemon">Lemon</a> claimed it’s no longer a place for “honest” debate after Trump won and wrote that he has “loved connecting with all of you on Twitter and then on X for all of these years, but it’s time for me to leave the platform.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/don-lemon-jamie-lee-curtis-announce-they-are-leaving-x-following-trump-victory">The Hollywood actress</a> joined him in announcing on Instagram that she had left the X platform, without giving a specific reason why she made the decision, following Trump’s victory.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,” Curtis wrote on Instagram. “Courage to change the things I can. And the wisdom to know the difference.”

24th Annual Beverly Hills Film Festival – Day Three

Rob Reiner Says He’s Checking Into Facility To Find ‘Peace’ After Leaving X For Bluesky

Rob Reiner Says He’s Checking Into Facility To Find 'Peace' After Leaving X For Bluesky

Celebrities

Entertainment

Hollywood

Rob Reiner

Former CNN host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/don-lemon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Don Lemon</a> said the time has come to leave social media platform X as he claimed it’s no longer a place for “honest” debate after President-elect Donald Trump won, with the support of X owner <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk">Elon Musk</a>.
In two now-viral <a href="https://x.com/donlemon/status/1856726456438546501">posts</a> he made on Wednesday, Lemon wrote and then said in a video that he has “loved connecting with all of you on Twitter and then on X for all of these years, but it’s time for me to leave the platform.”
“I once believed that it was a place for honest debate and discussion, transparency and free speech, but I now feel it does not serve that purpose,” he added, without explaining further.
He then pointed to changes in terms and services on X that will become effective on November 15, which <a href="https://x.com/en/tos">states that</a> “all disputes related to These terms or the Services” that arise between users and X as a company “shall be brought exclusively in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, or state courts located in Tarrant County, Texas…”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
My statement on leaving Twitter <a href="https://t.co/9tYcfqHhhC">pic.twitter.com/9tYcfqHhhC</a>
— Don Lemon (@donlemon) <a href="https://twitter.com/donlemon/status/1856726456438546501?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
Lemon claimed that these new terms put all disputes on the platform “in courthouses that are a hub for conservatives, which experts say could make it easier for X to shield itself from litigation and punish critics.”
“I think that speaks for itself,” Lemon wrote, pointing to where followers could find his content like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, etc.
Hollywood star <a href="https://variety.com/2024/digital/news/jamie-lee-curtis-quits-twitter-x-1236208988/">Jamie Lee Curtis</a> also joined him in announcing on Instagram that she had left the X platform, without giving a specific reason she made the decision following Trump’s victory.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,” Curtis wrote on Instagram. &#8220;Courage to change the things I can. And the wisdom to know the difference.”
The U.K. news outlet The Guardian also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/nov/13/the-guardian-no-longer-post-on-x-twitter-elon-musk">announced</a> on Wednesday that it would no longer be posting on the platform due to its “often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism,” without providing any further information.
“The U.S. presidential election campaign served only to underline what we have considered for a long time: that X is a toxic media platform and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse,” the news outlet added.
Following news that Trump had indeed won reelection last week, outspoken leftist activist actress Bette Midler <a href="https://x.com/CalebJHull/status/1854189906475561026">deleted her account</a>.
TV host Piers Morgan appeared to mock the grand announcements from stars like Lemon and Curtis and instead announced that he would be staying.
“ANNOUNCEMENT:  I am not leaving X,” <a href="https://x.com/piersmorgan/status/1856745210601980225">Morgan wrote</a> in a now-viral post.

“Wilson” New York Screening – Arrivals

Don Lemon, Jamie Lee Curtis Announce They Are Leaving X Following Trump Victory

Don Lemon

One of the main lines of attack against Jair Bolsonaro, who served as president of Brazil until 2022, was one that we&#8217;re all very familiar with at this point. Liberals claimed that Bolsonaro was an &#8220;enemy of democracy.&#8221; Media outlets — both in the United States and Brazil — claimed that Bolsonaro was an autocrat who wanted to suspend the rule of law and use the force of government to punish his political enemies. This message resonated with Brazilians because some very prominent figures promoted it — including a former prosecutor-turned Supreme Court judge named Alexandre de Moraes. Among the Brazilian Left, de Moraes was something of a hero for taking on Bolsonaro. Most notably, the judge presided over a tribunal that banned Bolsonaro from running for office for 8 years.
Why? Bolsonaro allegedly spread &#8220;lies about voting machines,&#8221; which supposedly inspired a mob to ransack Congress, the presidential palace and other government buildings. It was basically Brazil&#8217;s January 6. So in the name of protecting democracy, the judge prevented people from voting for Bolsonaro for the better part of a decade.
He did to Bolsonaro exactly what the Left wanted to do to Donald Trump.
So what are the &#8220;defenders of democracy&#8221; up to in Brazil, just two years later? How are these crusaders for democratic norms faring in 2024?
As you may have heard, de Moraes just issued maybe the single most undemocratic and authoritarian court decision in the modern history of Brazil. He has unilaterally ordered a total ban on Elon Musk&#8217;s social media platform, X. No one in Brazil — a country where more than 20 million people used X — is legally allowed to use the platform. Anyone caught using a VPN to bypass this restriction can be fined roughly $9,000 per day, which is about 6 times the average Brazilian&#8217;s monthly salary. Additionally, de Moraes has fined X more than $3 million.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1437-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a></h4>
He&#8217;s also frozen the assets of Elon Musk&#8217;s company Starlink, which provides internet access to hundreds of thousands of Brazilians living in remote areas. The point was to compel Starlink, an independent internet provider, to ban X as well. And on top of that, the Brazilian court system is now pressuring SpaceX, even though they have nothing whatsoever to do with the company. So SpaceX now has to pull employees out of Brazil.
The judge has gone to war with X for a very simple reason: The company refused to block certain accounts that, in the eyes of the Brazilian government, &#8220;harmed democratic institutions in Brazil.&#8221; And then, X refused to appoint an in-person local legal representative in Brazil, because the judge had threatened to arrest the representative to extract concessions from X. So in order to &#8220;protect democratic institutions&#8221; supposedly, tens of millions of Brazilians can no longer access the single most popular news app in the country. They have to turn to the corporate press to learn what they&#8217;re allowed to hear. Only approved narratives are allowed in Brazil right now.
<h4><a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tickets for “Am I Racist?” are on sale NOW! Buy here for a theater near you.</a></h4>
For Elon Musk, the showdown in Brazil is obviously a major test. He&#8217;s long maintained that he&#8217;ll obey the laws of whatever countries his companies are operating in. But he maintains that Brazil&#8217;s judges are violating Brazil&#8217;s constitution, which isn&#8217;t exactly a hard case to make at this point. This week The Economist took a closer look at the judge who issued this order against X and Starlink. <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2024/09/03/the-all-powerful-judge-taking-on-elon-musk">Here&#8217;s</a> what they found:
<blockquote>Mr Moraes also has form: he is a man who likes and understands power. He has extensive contacts in the federal police, military and intelligence services. &#8230; Other decisions have made the court look authoritarian. In 2019 Mr Moraes was put in charge of investigating misinformation about the Supreme Court and threats against the court’s members and their relatives. These had spiked after the election of Mr Bolsonaro. The &#8216;fake-news&#8217; inquiry was contentious from the start. Normally investigations are opened by the public prosecutor or the police. By giving itself the power to initiate investigations the Supreme Court became victim, prosecutor and judge all at once. No time limit was set, there is no legal definition for disinformation in Brazil and Mr Moraes has not made public which accounts he has ordered shut and why.</blockquote>
This is a violation of one of the most basic principles of every functioning legal system, which is that courts are only supposed to resolve legal disputes that are brought to them. That is their one and only job. Some party — whether it&#8217;s a citizen or the government or some other entity — needs to bring a case to the courts. And then the courts rule on it.
Once the courts have the authority to generate cases on their own, and make up arbitrary rules to enforce, then they&#8217;re not really courts anymore. Instead of judges, you have de facto dictators. And that&#8217;s what&#8217;s happening right now to Elon Musk and his companies in Brazil.
You&#8217;d hope that an incident like this would trigger immediate condemnations from the State Department. After all, the Biden administration claims to care very deeply about democracy. It&#8217;s essentially all they ever talk about. But there has been no condemnation from the mainstream Left in this country. In fact, if you listen to the corporate press, you&#8217;ll find a handful of reports essentially blaming Elon Musk for objecting to what the courts in Brazil are doing. 
Here for example is the BBC, which for some reason is pretending Taylor Lorenz — who openly hates Elon Musk — is an impartial expert on this topic. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Brazil suspends social media platform X | BBC News" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J1jcDq0ywIg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&#8220;He could have prevented the ban, but he chose not to.&#8221; Notice how the Brazilian government — which just shut down an entire social media app for millions of people — has no agency in Taylor Lorenz&#8217;s analysis. A private company refused to do the bidding of the Brazilian government. And therefore, it&#8217;s the private company&#8217;s fault that they got shut down. That&#8217;s how Taylor Lorenz, who works for The Washington Post, is selling this decision by the Brazilian Supreme Court. It&#8217;s how the BBC is presenting the news.
It&#8217;s not hard to see what&#8217;s going on here. Brazil is the template for mass censorship in the United States. If they can pull it off in Brazil, they&#8217;re going to try to pull it off here. That&#8217;s why the corporate press is presenting Elon Musk as the villain in this scenario. The media has a vested interest in shutting down X because it&#8217;s one of their biggest competitors. Random posts on X get more viewers than CNN&#8217;s entire primetime lineup. So in order to lay the groundwork for shutting down X in this country, they&#8217;re saying Elon Musk had it coming in Brazil. 
And it&#8217;s not just the media that&#8217;s trying to send this message. Senior figures in the Democrat Party are doing it too. For example, Keith Ellison is the attorney general of the State of Minnesota. He&#8217;s the chief legal officer of a major state. He&#8217;s also closely aligned with Kamala Harris&#8217; campaign. He just spoke at the DNC a few weeks ago. Here&#8217;s what Keith Ellison says about what&#8217;s happening to Elon Musk&#8217;s companies in Brazil.
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obrigado Brasil!
&mdash; Keith Ellison (@keithellison) <a href="https://twitter.com/keithellison/status/1830720700019028109?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 2, 2024</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;obrigado Brasil,&#8221; which translates to &#8220;Thank you, Brazil.&#8221; 
Again, Keith Ellison is not some backbench politician from a no-name congressional district. He&#8217;s the chief law officer of Minnesota. And he&#8217;s endorsing the total shutdown of a major social media platform because it wouldn&#8217;t censor the political opponents of the government.
Politicians like Keith Ellison crave censorship because they&#8217;re corrupt. They only care about power. And they&#8217;re willing to lie in order to get it. Remember what Keith Ellison did during the George Floyd riots. Ellison&#8217;s office hid bodycam footage showing that George Floyd said, &#8220;I can&#8217;t breathe,&#8221; several times, while he was struggling with cops in the backseat of a police cruiser — long before he was on the ground with a knee near his neck. That was obviously relevant information because it suggested that Floyd was having a fatal overdose, and that he couldn&#8217;t breathe because he had taken a lethal quantity of fentanyl. So Keith Ellison&#8217;s office suppressed the footage.
Democrats like Keith Ellison want total control of social media platforms like X so that they can suppress information like that even more often, and even more easily. They want to be able to shut down any information or opinions that contradict their preferred narrative. That&#8217;s why they&#8217;re thrilled with what&#8217;s happening in Brazil. 
It&#8217;s also why they have no problem with what the Biden administration is doing to Tusli Gabbard. Gabbard has emerged as one of the most effective critics of the modern Democrat Party. She has what no prominent Democrat has, which is integrity. She was on the fast-track to be a senior official in the Democrat Party, even serving as vice chair of the DNC. But she threw all of that away because she wanted to follow her principles — particularly concerning foreign affairs — instead of seeking power. So, Tulsi Gabbard can&#8217;t be controlled by party elites. What&#8217;s their solution? They put her on a terror watch list. Watch:
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Kamala says she believes in freedom, but I was put on a secret terror watch list after I publicly criticized her. No one will be safe from political retaliation under a Harris administration. I put my life on the line for this country. Now the government calls me a terror threat. <a href="https://t.co/3xjgjmrLhD">pic.twitter.com/3xjgjmrLhD</a>
&mdash; Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) <a href="https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1831346487969698259?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2024</a></blockquote>
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This should be leading every nightly newscast in the United States. There is no reason for a political figure like Tusli Gabbard to be placed on any kind of terror watch list, or to receive 30 minutes of extra screening every time she tries to fly. The only conceivable explanation is that this is a federal program intended to harass and intimidate her. She&#8217;s not following the party line, so this is what she gets.
But she&#8217;s able to speak freely about what&#8217;s happening to her on X, at least for now. That&#8217;s the platform where Tulsi Gabbard posted that video I just showed you. It&#8217;s where she — and many other political dissidents in many other countries — can speak their minds, for the most part. At the very least, it&#8217;s a freer platform than any of the alternatives. That&#8217;s why the government, in both this country and Brazil, wants to shut X down. It&#8217;s also why France is trying to shut Telegram down and jail its founder. We are in the middle of a historic war on the freedom of speech, in countries where it would&#8217;ve been unthinkable just a few years ago.
<h4><a href="http://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH THE TRAILER FOR &#8216;AM I RACIST?&#8217; — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI</a></h4>
If they&#8217;re allowed to succeed in places like Brazil and France, it won&#8217;t be long until they try the same thing here. Our Constitution won&#8217;t protect us. Brazil and France have constitutions that supposedly protect the freedom of speech, and it&#8217;s not working out so well for them. The only solution is to do exactly what Elon Musk and Tusli Gabbard are doing, which is to respond to censorship and intimidation with more speech — call out what they&#8217;re doing. And in November, do everything you can to prevent these tyrants from seizing any more power than they already have.

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