Here’s a thought experiment: Imagine you’re the richest man in the world. For a good half-year, you’ve made “MAGA” a major part of your identity. You spent $290 million to help get Donald Trump elected, cratering the value of your e-car company. Still, no regrets: You’re a MAGA true believer who even rolled up his sleeves, moved to D.C., and personally spearheaded a campaign to slash government waste. Thanks to you, billions of dollars of the taxpayers’ money returned to the people.
It was great! For a few months, all was well. Maybe even… perfect.
But in a flash, everything changed: The “Big Beautiful Bill” was, in your opinion, antithetical to both the interests of your e-car company and fiscal conservatism — and your choice to lead NASA was inexplicably torpedoed, almost certainly for petty political reasons.
So you go on an X rant, saying (among other things): “President Trump is in the Epstein files.” A week or so later, the Epstein controversy was all over social media. One by one, all the media dominoes fell into place, until the Epstein story was above the fold in every major newspaper — and the lead story on every newscast. A long-dead pedo named Jeffrey Epstein was miraculously resurrected and promptly weaponized against the president.
Question for the Audience: How much of this Epstein “outrage” do you think is authentic, and how much is Elon Musk monkeying with the X algorithm?
Musk claims he spent $44 billion to acquire Twitter/X to protect free speech — and that was definitely a big part of it. Pre-Musk, the tech giants were banning conservatives en masse and deplatforming Democratic critics. Musk’s boldness shattered the “Woke” ideology that had infected Facebook, YouTube, and the rest.
For that reason alone, conservatives owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude.
But it would be naïve to assume that Musk was solely motivated by preserving free speech for you and me. He didn’t become the world’s richest man, after all, without aggressively — and unapologetically — pursuing his own self-interests. (Indeed, there’ve been credible reports of Musk shadowbanning his X critics, including pro-Trump conservatives.)
Protecting free speech was certainly part of it. The other part?
Controlling speech.
All social media algorithms are arbitrary. You can tweak ‘em, tinker with ‘em, and get ‘em to do whatever you want. It’s not about right or wrong, good or bad, or anything else. Most social media algorithms are optimized to maximize user engagement, so whatever we show an interest in, we see more frequently: If Facebook can keep your eyeballs glued to its platform by bombarding you with political stories, that’s what you’ll see. And if photos of puppies and kittens are more effective, your feed will be filled with Fluffy and Fido.
But that’s not the only way to play the game.
Ever hear of promoted posts? Almost all the social media giants, including X, offer users an opportunity to pay extra money, and their posts will suddenly be more visible! Neat, huh?
What this means, of course, is that social media giants will gladly manipulate their own algorithm, but only if you pay ‘em. It’s now a huge part of their profit model: Facebook generated over $160 billion in advertising revenue in 2024.
Like I said, these algorithms are completely arbitrary. You can make ‘em say or do anything you want.
And if you wanted to push the Epstein story, you could strap a rocket to its back and shoot it to the frickin’ moon.
The former “First Buddy” hasn’t been shy about expressing himself on the matter:
Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who earlier this month feuded online with President Donald Trump after stepping down as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, has been flooding his social media feed with criticism of Trump and his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Using his X platform, Musk has been on a posting spree since Wednesday, posting or reposting criticisms of Trump’s handling of the Epstein files more than 35 times. [emphasis added]
Let’s return to the thought experiment at the beginning of this essay: Imagine you’re Elon Musk.
For all your boasts of launching a third party, you actually spent another $5 million on a Donald Trump super PAC, plus $10 million to help the GOP keep control of Congress. Realistically, launching a successful third party is next to impossible; you’d almost certainly end up with egg on your face.
If anything, it would split the fiscal conservative vote and elevate the radical left — the same people who call you a Nazi.
So, with all the resources at your disposal, what would be the simplest, most cost-effective way to protect your interests — and also make it clear that if you screw with Elon Musk, you’re gonna pay a price? (Even if you’re the president!)
It would probably be to manipulate the X algorithm.
The upside is considerable: You could extract your “ounce of flesh” in vengeance while still maintaining plausible deniability. (Tinkering with an algorithm you already own is a helluva lot cheaper than launching a nationwide third party, too.) And just maybe, if you leak enough info to enough people, perhaps you could trade an Epstein détente for some sort of federal concession.
With its vast size, scope, and reach, the X platform is a $44 billion “leverage point.” And whatever else you might think of Elon Musk, I assure you, he didn’t claw his way to the top by foregoing leverage when he has it.
So why would he start now?
There are half a dozen conspiracy theories about Epstein. Some claim he was with Mossad. Others insist he was controlled by the CIA. There are even reports that Ghislaine Maxwell was the mastermind, and Epstein was the unwitting fall guy. The water is so muddy, it’s impossible to see clearly.
But the most credible conspiracy theory of all is probably this: The Epstein story is being promoted for reasons other than its newsworthiness, and Elon Musk is playing fast and loose with the X algorithm.
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