Is it merely counter-promotion? Is it akin to “counter-programming”?
Since acquiring Twitter last year, Tesla head Elon Musk has received praise for moves to purge tens of thousands of accounts deemed dangerous to child welfare and/or associated with child-predation, but he also has been criticized for not doing enough. Similarly, after some evident hiccups, Musk also successfully saw “What Is A Woman?” the Daily Caller documentary questioning the Trans “gender fluidity” narrative, streamed to tens of millions, and he has given conservative former Fox News host Tucker Carlson a platform to release quarter-hour videos that are being seen by millions.
Now, mixing his anti-child-predation pronouncements with his claims to value free (or, at least, free-er) speech on the social media platform, Musk has taken to Twitter to suggest a new streaming debut that could make conservatives applaud (and shouldn’t EVERYONE?)
Musk’s move comes in response to a May 18 tweet from the Sound of Freedom Movie Twitter Feed, promoting the July 4 theatrical release of the new “Sound of Freedom” motion picture starring Jim Caviezel – a dramatic film based on real people and events that delves into the horrific, frighteningly lucrative, underworld of child trafficking.
Musk appears interested in promoting the film so that it will have a very large audience, responding to the film company tweet with his own:
“I recommend putting it on this platform for free for a brief period or just asking people to subscribe to support (we would not keep any funds)”
It comes as a powerful endorsement, of a kind. It gets the film more exposure, simply from Musk focusing on it in a tweet, and it promotes Twitter’s recent move to feature more streaming video, while, at the same time, promoting Twitter’s additional move to allow users to start paid subscriptions to extra material that other users release.
Musk is making moves to challenge YouTube in the field of streaming video content, and, given that Twitter users already have made the platform a meeting place for news links, memes, and swift communication (often with heavy censorship of pro-liberty messages prior to Musk arriving, and with the current hope/doubt that Twitter will continue to reduce that censorship) Musk’s anticipation of this film release appears to contribute to his theme of being against child-predation and in favor of freer speech.
The official Sound of Freedom tweet to which Musk responded states:
“Sound of Freedom comes to theaters July 4th.
Help us get 2 million people into theaters opening week to remember the 2 million children who are trafficked each year.
Tickets on sale now: http://Angel.com/freedom
#2MillionFor2Million”
And, as IMDB notes, the film focuses on the real efforts of real people to rescue children from the dark world of kidnapping, slavery, and sex-trafficking. The promotional notes read:
“The incredible true story of a former government agent turned vigilante who embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue hundreds of children from sex traffickers.”
And Musk’s suggestion comes as a welcome idea to many who have responded to his Tweet.
Twitter user Gail Alfar said:
“Good movie trailer! 🔥 Really important to see. I hope you will show it on Twitter.”
And while a user going simply by “Thomas” observed:
“I’m willing to buy this movie to watch online or on dvd/blu-ray but I will not support funding local theaters that don’t allow firearms in their establishments and that support ideals many of which are damaging to children as well! Give us other viewing options please!”
So, it seems that Musk’s idea might have a lot of support, and as he fights to expand Twitter as a video-hosting site, that will be essential.
Related: The Twitter Files: Dems' Claims of Russian Influence Were Bogus - and Twitter Knew It | MRCTV
Already, he has made high-profile moves to welcome DailyCaller and Tucker Carlson, and he also has reached out to well-known conservative Canadian psychologist and author Jordan Peterson to stream a recent video that was banned by the still-absurdly censorious YouTube (owned by Google/Alphabet). The Peterson video featured an interview with British author Helen Joyce, who recently released a book questioning major key portions of the postmodernist Trans political movement.
With these moves, Musk continues to make himself a target for leftist barbs and political attacks, especially in the EU, which has seen EU bureaucrats and “parliament” members call for Twitter to be banned if the social media platform does not conform to EU “government” censorship demands.
It remains to be seen how far Musk will take Twitter. Questions regarding the sincerity behind his rhetoric. But with each move, continued monitoring by free-speech advocates, and alternatives such as Substack and Gab allowing free-market alternatives, we who support liberty appear to be in a much better position than a year ago.
Now, if we could just get the politicians to keep their “regulatory” and “hidden payments” hands out of it…
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