Twitter, Elon Musk, and the Great Reset

 

Since Elon Musk made his (very generous) offer to buy Twitter — ostensibly on the basis that it aggressively bans conservative voices (Donald Trump, The Babylon Bee, LibsofTikTok,  Defiant L’s) and suppresses the free exchange of ideas — an interesting Confederacy has emerged in opposition.

  1. Unhinged Leftists
  2. The Left-Wing punditry, who have compared the prospect of free speech on Twitter to Nazi Germany and claimed it opposes a grave threat to freedom and democracy.
  3. Corporate media, which dramatically have declared that the prospect of free speech on Twitter will lead to “massive, life and globe-altering consequences.”
  4. Never-Trumpers employed by corporate media, with Max Boot declaring that social media isn’t censored enough, and David French frets that no longer censoring the Babylon Bee will make Twitter “more toxic” and agrees with Boot that Twitter should be censored more. Ironically, up until last week, both of these were firmly aligned with the “Twitter is a private corporation and can censor whoever it wants and if you don’t like it, start your own Twitter” corporatist, Bush-Republican philosophy.
  5. Gigantic Financial Enterprises including Vanguard, Black Rock, and Saudi Arabian Billionaire Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud are all moving to block Musk’s acquisition.
  6. The Biden Administration, which has sicced the hounds of the SEC and DOJ on Musk for … (checks notes) … filing the wrong form when he initially purchased his 9 percent share of Twitter.

What do all of these players have in common? Obviously, all of them hate Donald Trump worse than cancer. But the other common factor is all of these groups aligned against Elon Musk — against free speech on the internet, really — are invested in the Great Reset. Twitter, despite being embraced by only about 10% of the American population, has a disproportionate influence in business, media, and politics (which are increasingly the same thing). The global elites whose ultimate objective is to rule over a public that “owns nothing and is happy” feel a need to control this tool and its influence.

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  1. Victor Tango Kilo Member
    Victor Tango Kilo
    @VtheK

    Here is the TLDR version of my post. 

    • #1
  2. DrewInWisconsin, Oik! Member
    DrewInWisconsin, Oik!
    @DrewInWisconsin

    See also:

    • #2
  3. Fake John/Jane Galt Coolidge
    Fake John/Jane Galt
    @FakeJohnJaneGalt

    Twitter has now taken a poison pill

    https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-elon-musk-shareholder-rights-board-of-directors-35b7210a6c847d055ba690167a9092fb?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP

     

    • #3
  4. MarciN Member
    MarciN
    @MarciN

    I wonder how this will play out over the next year. Zuckerberg’s net worth is about $76 billion. Elon Musk’s net worth is about $265 billion. I think Zuckerberg has been far more aggressive with Facebook censorship than Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s Indian foreign national CEO, has been with Twitter. Current number of Facebook subscribers: 3.5 billion; current number of Twitter subscribers: 330 million. I don’t subscribe to either one, just on principle–I don’t like censorship unless it’s voluntary, as it is on Ricochet. I wonder if Zuckerberg will back off from his censorship efforts now. It will be interesting to see.

    When Obama handed off the U.S.-controlled Internet to an international governing body, it was a new day on the Internet. I don’t notice any difference day to day, but I’m sure it’s had an impact on the free un-spied-upon exchange of information. (Trump’s adamant refusal to adopt China’s 5G, and his inspiration to Western Europe to similarly refuse, was a speech for the ages.)

     

    • #4
  5. hoowitts Coolidge
    hoowitts
    @hoowitts

    This is mirror universe / SpongeBob Opposite Day,  sorta stuff.  Are there any psychologists out there with a shred of professional curiosity to thoroughly analyze this phenomenon? Or are they all canceled? Dr. Drew? Dr. Abigail Shiver? 

    For too long I thought TDS was a great troll term. Or simply ‘poke the bear’ for butt-hurt, pearl-clutching, fragile, can’t deal with reality, self-indulgent sheep.

    But this is real. The timing can’t be denied. As much as I’d like to give Trump credit, he is probably just the Avatar for something that ran deeper in these individuals. DJT simply exposed it. One of only a few human beings with the resources and indifference to ‘do his own thing’. Bill Gates and George  Soros went the other direction

    The parallels between Trump and Musk are undeniable. They are exposing the same raw nerve. I’m genuinely curious what are we experiencing? What are the underlying currents that pressure these folks to such disconnects from reality? The whole mass delusional psychosis has more merit every day.

     Not to poke the bear but I’m curious if a certain Ricochet Biden voter agrees that Musk is a similar danger as our previous president?

    • #5
  6. Dbroussa Coolidge
    Dbroussa
    @Dbroussa

    Anytime David French beclowns himself is…all the time?  Yep.

    • #6
  7. No Caesar Thatcher
    No Caesar
    @NoCaesar

    Fake John/Jane Galt (View Comment):

    Twitter has now taken a poison pill

    https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-elon-musk-shareholder-rights-board-of-directors-35b7210a6c847d055ba690167a9092fb?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP

    Interesting.  It’s hard to see how the components of this poison pill are in the general interests of shareholders.

    • #7
  8. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    No Caesar (View Comment):

    Fake John/Jane Galt (View Comment):

    Twitter has now taken a poison pill

    https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-elon-musk-shareholder-rights-board-of-directors-35b7210a6c847d055ba690167a9092fb?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP

     

    Interesting. It’s hard to see the components of this poison pill are in the general interests of shareholders.

    Aren’t poison pills usually bad for the general interests of the shareholders?

    • #8
  9. No Caesar Thatcher
    No Caesar
    @NoCaesar

    kedavis (View Comment):

    No Caesar (View Comment):

    Fake John/Jane Galt (View Comment):

    Twitter has now taken a poison pill

    https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-elon-musk-shareholder-rights-board-of-directors-35b7210a6c847d055ba690167a9092fb?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP

     

    Interesting. It’s hard to see the components of this poison pill are in the general interests of shareholders.

    Aren’t poison pills usually bad for the general interests of the shareholders?

    Not necessarily.  It depends on the nature of the offer, and the alternatives for the company.  In this case Musk’s offer is pure cash at a serious premium,  It is really hard to argue against that on a fiduciary basis.  It would be different if it were an LBO or a stock for stock offering.  

    • #9
  10. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Victor Tango Kilo (View Comment):

    Here is the TLDR version of my post.

    Are you of the body?

    • #10
  11. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    hoowitts (View Comment):

    Not to poke the bear but I’m curious if a certain Ricochet Biden voter agrees that Musk is a similar danger as our previous president?

    Trying to buy it is insurrection, and owning it is to overthrow the legitimate government of the United States of America.

    Days of infamy ahead.

    • #11
  12. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    hoowitts (View Comment):
    Not to poke the bear but I’m curious if a certain Ricochet Biden voter agrees that Musk is a similar danger as our previous president?

    Have the Bulwark and The Dispatch told him what to think, yet?

    • #12
  13. GlenEisenhardt Member
    GlenEisenhardt
    @

    Musk has exposed that these people aren’t about good business, profits, their shareholders, or any other principle other than manipulation and power. The right needs to understand this is where corporate America is and taxing and bringing them down through government action by reducing their power and control of markets, government, and culture is moral and needs to happen. 

    • #13
  14. Unsk Member
    Unsk
    @Unsk

    Excepted from Zerohedge post:”Twitter Boards Adopts “Posion Pill” to Thwart Musk Takeover, Exposing itself to “Titanic” Legal Liability”:

    “As was widely expected and reported in the aftermath of Elon Musk going hostile on Friday morning, on Saturday morning Twitter adopted a measure that will shield it from hostile acquisition bids in a desperate step to prevent billionaire Elon Musk’s offer to take the company private and make it a bastion of free speech.

    The board set up a shareholder rights plan, also known as a “poison pill” which as we clarified yesterday for the benefit of the company’s overly dramatic, overly literal and overly snowflake employees, is not literal…”

    ... and which is exercisable if a party – read Elon Musk – acquires 15% of the stock without prior approval, lasting for one year (if the pill had expired the day after the midterms it may have been a bit too obvious). The plan seeks to ensure that anyone taking control of Twitter through open market accumulation pays all shareholders an appropriate control premium, according to a statement Friday.

    For a company that has struggled greatly with value creation – on Friday TWTR stock closed at $45.08, or 18 cents higher than where it closed on its first day as a public company, or $44.90 – a poison pill defense strategy allows existing shareholders the right to purchase additional shares at a discount, effectively diluting the ownership interest of the hostile party. Poison pills are common among companies under fire from activist investors or in hostile takeover situations.

    “Previewing the poison pilll defense, on Thursday, Cameron Winklevoss, founder of the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange, tweeted (of course) that “Twitter is considering a poison pill to thwart @elonmusk’s offer.” Elon in a tweet:

    “If the current Twitter board takes actions contrary to shareholder interests, they would be breaching their fiduciary duty. The liability they would thereby assume would be titanic in scale.”

    Winklevoss alleged in his tweet that, by adopting the poison pill tactic, Twitter was demonstrating its commitment to preserving the status quo even if it has a negative impact on existing shareholders.

    “They would rather self-immolate than give up their censorship programs. This shows you how deeply committed they are to Orwellian control of the narratives and global discourse. Scary,” he wrote. 

    Adam Candeub, a law professor at Michigan State University, said that Twitter’s board could face legal consequences if they turn down an offer that’s financially lucrative to shareholders.

    “Twitter’s owned by shareholders, and the directors have to act in a way that’s in their best interests, not in the way that allows them to keep control of the corporation,” Candeub told The Epoch Times.

    “If they turn down a very favorable price, there will be dereliction of their legal duty, and there could be lots of legal consequences.”

    • #14
  15. Judge Mental Member
    Judge Mental
    @JudgeMental

    Unsk (View Comment):
    a poison pill defense strategy allows existing shareholders the right to purchase additional shares at a discount, effectively diluting the ownership interest of the hostile party.

    This is the part I don’t get.  Musk is an existing shareholder.  Can’t he buy the discounted shares too?  And if not, is it legal to exclude him in that way?  If that happens, they are stealing his valuation and ownership stake.

    • #15
  16. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Judge Mental (View Comment):

    Unsk (View Comment):
    a poison pill defense strategy allows existing shareholders the right to purchase additional shares at a discount, effectively diluting the ownership interest of the hostile party.

    This is the part I don’t get. Musk is an existing shareholder. Can’t he buy the discounted shares too? And if not, is it legal to exclude him in that way? If that happens, they are stealing his valuation and ownership stake.

    Yes, I was wondering about that when they said that courts haven’t overturned a poison pill strategy for 30 years.

    • #16
  17. Retail Lawyer Member
    Retail Lawyer
    @RetailLawyer

    This presents a perfect “whos who” of those whose positions are threatened by free exchange of information and ideas, and those whose positions will be bolstered by the same.

    Those who want to manipulate the citizenry vs those who want to inform the citizenry.

    Those who don’t trust the citizenry vs. those who trust the citizenry.

    I do not recall the positions being laid out so clearly.  Do not forget the details of this amazing time.

    • #17
  18. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Retail Lawyer (View Comment):

    This presents a perfect “whos who” of those whose positions are threatened by free exchange of information and ideas, and those whose positions will be bolstered by the same.

    Those who want to manipulate the citizenry vs those who want to inform the citizenry.

    Those who don’t trust the citizenry vs. those who trust the citizenry.

    I do not recall the positions being laid out so clearly. Do not forget the details of this amazing time.

    Or it could be just one group who wants to manipulate people one way, and another group that wants to manipulate people a different way.

    • #18
  19. Neil Hansen (Klaatu) Inactive
    Neil Hansen (Klaatu)
    @Klaatu

    Where did David French say anything about censoring The Babylon Bee?

    • #19
  20. Derek Tyburczyk Lincoln
    Derek Tyburczyk
    @Derek Tyburczyk

    Just goes to show that you cannot reason, or rationalize with those who are irrational, and unreasonable. 

    Zealots, and and fanatics unfortunately, have been given too much license, and influence. Infantilized adults, very much acting as children.

    It’s unfortunate that they can’t be sent to their rooms, without supper. So that they may reflect on their bad behavior.

    • #20
  21. Roberto Inactive
    Roberto
    @Roberto

    Unsk (View Comment):

    Adam Candeub, a law professor at Michigan State University, said that Twitter’s board could face legal consequences if they turn down an offer that’s financially lucrative to shareholders.

    “Twitter’s owned by shareholders, and the directors have to act in a way that’s in their best interests, not in the way that allows them to keep control of the corporation,” Candeub told The Epoch Times.

    “If they turn down a very favorable price, there will be dereliction of their legal duty, and there could be lots of legal consequences.”

    It sounds this DOJ/SEC investigation is specifically designed to let the directors get away with this without facing consequences.

    • #21
  22. Flicker Coolidge
    Flicker
    @Flicker

    Derek Tyburczyk (View Comment):

    Just goes to show that you cannot reason, or rationalize with those who are irrational, and unreasonable.

    Zealots, and and fanatics unfortunately, have been given too much license, and influence. Infantilized adults, very much acting as children.

    It’s unfortunate that they can’t be sent to their rooms, without supper. So that they may reflect on their bad behavior.

    Welcome to Ricochet Derek.

    • #22
  23. hoowitts Coolidge
    hoowitts
    @hoowitts

    Derek Tyburczyk (View Comment):
    Infantilized adults, very much acting as children.

    So much THIS. Jordan Peterson hammers this home frequently when describing the woke mobs that have tried to cancel him. Forget failure to launch…it’s a refusal to mature. And Peterson also points out the previous generation is not without culpability due to coddling in an attempt to be ‘best friends’ instead of accountable parenting.

    • #23
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