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Wait, you guys know that was a joke, right? Is it okay to not do due diligence on claims because we don’t like a guy?

(Which isn’t to say it makes the market feel better, but come on…)




Well, by Popehat's Law of Goats, Jonathan Swift is just cannibal apologist ...


No, because Jonathan Swift wasn't actually eating people in the service of satire. "Goat fuckers" actually fuck goats even when they do so "ironically." If you spread Russian propaganda for the lulz you're still spreading Russian propaganda.


Are people who quote-tweet Musk tweets to dunk on them spreading Musk propaganda? “Satire is bad because it spreads the thing being satired” is a fun take, but no one in the media seriously believes it enough to be consistent about it.


Except we're talking about Twitter, which is designed to do exactly that, and Elon Musk, who should know by now that any thread he replies to will go viral. In this case, "satire" is bad because is spreads the thing being satirized, yes.


It's pretty clearly an attempt at humor, but there's still room for troubling conclusions within that framing.

For one, the fact that Musk is even being recommended that kind of content is concerning. Twitters algorithm is set up in such a way that to get exposure to that kind of content, you have to be intentionally engaging with pretty delirious circles of narratives.

Additionally, of all the possible jokes to make on all the possible pieces to riff off of, he chose a pretty mediocre joke on an almostly tepidly incoherent take - his joke isn't necessarily endorsement, but it's still an intentional choice that doesn't really signal the kind of responsibility investors are probably looking for.


The “Epic thread” post could easily be used as Russian propaganda as an endorsement. I tend to think someone with as much power as Elon has some duty to be serious when engaging in potentially dangerous geopolitical issues.


If he wants to joke, he should give up the CEO's office for a clown gig.


And then he can use as much drugs as he wants without it introducing new and interesting avenues for geopolitical instability.


Yeah but Ambien tweeting is so much more thrilling when you’re a billionaire CEO. We’ve all been there.


"Sleeping pills" is classic celebrity cover for harder stuff.


You forgot to add the 'mic drop' ;)


It means as little as people joking about whether Tesla’s and Starlink antennas will get bricked if we don’t laugh at his jokes.




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