Elon Musk’s role in Donald Trump’s administration, at least the public nature, is to face To the cuts and expenses within the US government. In the last 48 hours there have been two circumstances that reflect The climate of a certain chaos that is breathed at the passage of the richest man on the planet. It all started when he shared a controversial message in X.
Excuse Hitler. Last Friday morning, Musk shared in X a publication that claimed that Stalin, Hitler and Mao They were not directly responsible Of the millions of deaths that occurred under their regimes, but the guilt fell to public sector workers. Obviously, the post was received with an immediate reaction and generalized criticisms, being seen as a trivialization of genocides and an anti -Semitic narrative.
Given the growing pressure, Musk eliminated the publication, but the damage already seemed done: historians, human rights organizations and thousands of users They condemned him for giving visibility to historical distortion.
Political ties and affinity. The truth is that it was not the first time that Musk faced accusations for sharing or supporting controversial content on his network. Also, for example, supported an anti -Semitic postwhich led to a massive leakage of advertisers of the platform. In another case he generated controversy by suggesting that it was “strange” that no one would have tried Killer the former president Biden Oa Kamala Harris, shortly after the trump murder attempt in the elections.
In addition, Musk has openly shown sympathy for Right and extreme right leaders worldwide. He has praised and backed figures such as Javier Milei (Argentina), Jair Bolsonaro (Brazil) and Narendra Modi (India), all leaders in countries where he has commercial interests. Recently, he even offered A platform to the ultra -rightist Alternative for Germany (AFD), organizing A Town Hall Online With your chancellor candidate.
Unions and organizations in arms. No doubt, the apology message was perceived as an attack on public sector workers in the United States aligning with Musk’s rhetoric against the federal government. In recent months, he has accused public employees of hiding fraud and waste resources, encouraging that give up their positions.
The Public Employee Union (AFSCME) strongly rejected the publicationarguing that public servants such as nurses, firefighters, teachers and librarians cannot be compared to genocides. In turn, the Anti -Diffamation League (ADL) described Musk’s action as “Disturbing and irresponsible”since it contributes to minimizing historical crimes and encouraging dangerous narratives. Musk defended himself alleging that his critics were the true allies of Nazism and suggested that there was a conspiracy against him.
A strange dismissal. Shortly after, it was made public The last “cut” that has taken the firm of Musk. It all started last February 3When Musk published in X a message stating that 18F, an unknown office of the US government dedicated to technological services, it had “eliminated.” His tweet was an answer to A publication by Alex Lorussoa right -wing activist and producer of conservative influencer Benny Johnson, who falsely said that 18F was a group of extreme left in charge of making bureaucrats prepare the tax statements of citizens.
What seemed like a harmless comment on social networks unleashed confusion and alarm within 18F, as we said, an unknown agency that works on technological projects to improve government efficiency and, paradoxically, to reduce costs. The employees did not know if the office had really been dissolved, what would happen to their ongoing projects and/or how to respond to other agencies that depended on their work.
The definitive closure. As The Guardian told This weekend, already in March, weeks after Musk’s controversial tweet, 18F employees received an email at 1:00 am notifying them that they would be fired and that the office would close. The order came from the high levels of government and the administration of general services (GSA), the agency that supervised 18F.
The official motive given by the government was that employee’s time costs They were too high and that hiring external consultants would be cheaper. However, 18F ex -women and GSA current employees pointed out that this explanation was false, since the office saved money by avoiding unnecessary contracts with private companies. Obvious, many suspect that the closure was A political decision promoted by Musk and its anti -government ideology.
Disinformation. As in the case of the publication of the Defense to dictators18F is Another example of what seems like a recurring pattern in the way Musk handles X. Since he acquired the platform, he has used his influence to amplify messages from the radical right and attack government institutions. His tweet on 18F was an example of how misinformation in social networks can translate into real and harmful actions within the government.
Lorusso, activist whose tweet Musk amplified, was A nearby collaborator of his political campaign and has worked as Consultant paid for your Super Pac. His post over 18F was denied by X itself, which clarified that the agency did not prepare taxes, but had developed a free platform in the shadow for citizens to They will present their statements without paying third parties.
Hence, the disappearance of 18F seems to fit with the objective of Musk to dismantle state structures in favor of private solutions, even when the data shows that the agency saved money to taxpayersas he pointed out The Guardian. In addition, the danger of misinformation in media figures networks, where one day the story is modified by spreading dangerous narratives, and others end up closing offices with all their workers.
Image | Heinrich Hoffmann, Ministrium of communication
In Xataka | In his efforts to cut and fire workers in the US, Elon Musk has gone one step further: Italy
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