Elon Musk Is Doing The Bad Faith Dance Again

It’s a reflex that should be studied by both doctors and political scientists and historians alike: Every time the world’s richest man so much as gets lectured by a government official serving the people the rich man poisons with his social media empire, the rich man retreats behind the wall of free speech. 

You can't touch me here, he whines. Anything goes behind this self-serving wall.

Elon Musk is cowering behind that big, disingenuous free speech wall once again as the French government investigates Musk’s alleged violations of internet and privacy laws in France (and other countries that have internet regulations, which sound nice to American ears). Musk is calling the Paris Prosecutor's Office’s investigation a “political attack” against him, the centibillionaire smol bean who sees it as his mission to overthrow multiracial democracies and introduce a new era of global tribalism. His grandfather would be so proud. 

Musk’s alleged violations, in case you were wondering include complicity in the organized distribution, offering, or making available of images of minors of pornographic nature, violations of personal image rights through the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes, denial of crimes against humanity (since Holocaust denial is illegal in France), and manipulation of an automated data processing system as part of an organized group.

Bad Faith Times readers know a little something about that last accusation against Musk, who seized Twitter and transformed it from a democracy-friendly platform to an algorithmic weapon against representative democracy the world over. 

Musk, as he always does, quickly hid behind the bad-faith shield of free speech as French officials rolled out the various investigatory threads. In his mind and in the minds of other blackpilled fascists online, free speech means he can say anything he wants at any time without any repercussions. We know this free speech shield is used in bad faith because Musk does not actually care about free speech. Otherwise he would not work with the world’s worst people to suppress politically unfavorable speech. All of that suppressed free speech happens to be pro-democracy speech. It’s a weird thing. 

And it all goes back to the civil libertarian interpretation of the First Amendment, a view of free speech that leaves society totally exposed to bad actors who would use our freedoms against us and against the very idea of a democratic republic. Conflating free speech with reckless and dangerous speech, as Musk has done as a business model for the past few years as the purveyor of the official platform for international fascism, is intentional and effective. Holding up the First Amendment as an excuse to do and say anything at any time without regard for how these actions might affect other people is standard operating procedure for the bad-faith free speech warriors who have taken up this mantle because it's so very effective in destroying their enemies and poisoning the public discourse.

“Interpreting the First Amendment as a right of reckless speech has paved the way for the violent reaffirmation of racial patriarchy,” as Dr. Mary Anne Franks, author of the excellent book, Fearless Speech, told a Senate committee last year. "In the civil libertarian view, the more repulsive the expression, the more protection it deserves."

We Need A New Concept Of Free Speech, And We Need It Now

Rejecting the civil libertarian interpretation of the First Amendment is more important than ever

Bad Faith TimesDenny Carter

The civil libertarian view, at best, a naive way to interpret and apply free speech laws under the First Amendment. At worst, it’s actively harmful and demeaning to marginalized groups who are targeted by the powerful.

This civil libertarian interpretation of free speech – almost intentionally designed to be exploited by the right – doesn't hold much sway in most European nations. You can't weaponize speech, especially at the breathtaking scale at which Musk has done this, and duck behind that free speech wall. As an American, I'm jealous of this veritable firewall against bad-faith politics.

If anyone dares raise concerns about the effects of their hateful speech, the right-wing free speech bros cry censorship and gain compliance from institutions that could stop them from further eroding the bonds of American society. Only the rich and powerful insist they are being censored in these bad faith times. It is a “thought terminating” construction. 

I've said it before and, as Musk is finally investigated for his society-destroying business tactics, I have no choice but to say it again: Elon Musk's business empire can exist or democracy can exist, but not both. The X platform is in no way compatible with representative democracy with the world's foremost vector of information at the helm. Here's to hoping this French investigation is the first of many, and that it does not end in fines for a man with an endless ocean of money.

This Sunday, as you watch the Super Bowl with your friends and family, you may be cheering GO SEAHAWKS or GO PATRIOTS. That's fine. I'll be cheering GO PARIS PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE AND THE RULE OF LAW.

Follow Denny Carter on BlueSky at @dennycarter.bsky.social.