Michael Hiltzik: Elon Musk's engagement with the far right on Twitter is out of control
In the first days after his acquisition of Twitter on Oct. 27, Elon Musk rattled the platform's users and advertisers with a series of tweets associating himself with far-right memes.
These included a grotesque conspiracy claim about the violent assault on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, and an accusation that "activist groups" had pressured advertisers into abandoning Twitter.
He invited former President Donald Trump, who had been banned from Twitter for his support of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, back onto the platform.
Although Musk deleted some of his more incendiary tweets, including his apparent endorsement of the conspiracy theory regarding the attack on Paul Pelosi, they have become the most commonly cited indicators of his and the platform's rightward swing.
Yet Musk's more recent tweeting is even more disturbing. He has openly and approvingly engaged with some of the most extremist far-right figures on the internet, including overt advocates for misogyny and white supremacy.
He has
