If elected president in November, Donald Trump says he will create a government efficiency commission led by tech billionaire Elon Musk [11] as part of his economic plan. Musk suggested the idea to Trump in a conversation on X, which he bought in 2022 when it was called Twitter. The announcement is the latest display of Musk's growing influence in politics. The self-proclaimed "free speech absolutist" is accused of censoring progressive opinions [12] while amplifying the voices of far-right networks [13]. So far, no one seems to be able to check his growing power, as his recent legal battles with Australia and Brazil [14] have demonstrated. Both countries tried to curtail content deemed harmful, but Musk ignored their requests. After Musk disregarded a judicial order to suspend dozens of X accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation in Brazil, the country's Supreme Court ruled to ban it [15] nationwide. Journalists, who have relied heavily on it, have expressed [16] a mixture of relief and regret at the ban.
From The New Humanitarian [20], Sept. 6
Note: Folowing this summer's xenophobic riots [21] in the UK, there were calls for Musk to be questioned by parliament for his role in enflaming the violence.
