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Meet the Enablers: How X Executives Support Musk-Trump’s Misinformation Machine

Much has been written about the role of Republicans in Congress enabling former president Donald Trump. Albert R. Hunt wrote for U.S News & World Report: “Trump’s Reckless GOP Enablers are Paving the Way for Election Violence: Two-thirds of Americans fear campaign violence. Republican rhetoric is catnip to the Proud Boys and other extremists.”

Now that X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk is openly partnering with Donald Trump to get him elected as Führer, what is the role of X executives as enablers?

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Photo credit Rokas Tenys via Shutterstock

On October 4, X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk falsely posted to his 201 million followers: “And FEMA used up its budget ferrying illegals into the country instead of saving American lives. Treason.”

Federal emergency (FEMA) response workers in North Carolina working on recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene were told to evacuate last week over concerns that an armed militia was “hunting FEMA” in the area.

Damage control is underway.

“North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper says he’s directed the state’s department of public safety to coordinate law enforcement assistance for FEMA workers in the wake of misinformation-fueled threats against hurricane response workers,” reported ABC News.

Musk’s misinformation about FEMA and immigrants is on-brand with the Trump campaign. The billionaire owner of X has gone “all in” to get Trump elected, as The New York Times reported. Musk has used his platform to “advance election misinformation and the baseless claim that Democrats are engaging in “deliberate voter importation” and “fast-tracking” immigrants to citizenship to gain control over the electorate.”

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Image via Shutterstock

Election Misinformation May Lead To Violence

Musk has amplified election misinformation. The Washington Post reported in September about how election officials are worried that Musk’s false posts, amplifying election information, could lead to violence:

“Musk’s online utterances don’t stay online. His false and misleading election posts add to the deluge of inaccurate information plaguing voting officials across the country. Election officials say that his posts about supposed voter fraud often coincide with an increase in baseless requests to purge voter rolls and that they heighten their worry over violent threats.”

Two out of three Americans say they are concerned that political violence could follow the Nov. 5 election, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found in May. Are Musk’s false posts targeting immigrants and spreading lies about the election a kind of stochastic terrorism?

David Corn wrote in his newsletter for Mother Jones: “Donald Trump, Stochastic Terrorist.” Corn wrote: 

“If you’re not familiar with the term ‘stochastic terrorism,’ now is a good time to bone up, for the leading Republican candidate is a stochastic terrorist. Stochastic terrorism is defined by conflict and law enforcement experts as the demonization of a foe so that he, she, or they might become targets of violence.” 

In the wake of an assassination attempt on Trump in September, Musk posted: “no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala.” He later deleted the post.

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Trump’s Return To Twitter/X

Musk re-platformed former President Donald Trump who had been banned by Twitter in 2020 due to “risk of further incitement of violence.” Trump continues to hammer the Big Lie, saying that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen – the premise for the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, where 140 police officers were injured. Trump posted on his Truth Social on October 2: “I didn’t rig the 2020 Election, they did!” He is laying the groundwork for 2024 with his election-denial playbook.

In a 2022 Salon interview, cult expert Steven Hassan said he saw a ninety-five percent chance of worsening pro-Trump violence. He said up to one-third of Trump’s faithful are ready to support violence. Hassan said, “I wish the news media would understand the danger we’re in. The people who believe that Donald Trump is an agent of God are going to be the ones committing most of these violent acts.”

In his Stop the Presses column, Mark Jacob wrote: “Trump will keep lying as long as journalists enable it: News outlets need better countermeasures to defend the public from disinformation.”

Musk will keep lying for Trump as long as X executives enable it. And he isn’t merely the chief purveyor of Trump’s lies on X. The world’s richest man is also a top funder of the Trump campaign. The Washington Post reported that Musk has given his pro-Trump PAC $75 million. Musk is bankrolling the candidate most likely to incite violence.

Why do enablers enable Trump and Musk?

Albert Hunt wrote: “Any Republican who dares to urge respect for the law, like former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, now a candidate for U.S. Senate, has been ostracized by a GOP that’s abandoned the values of its party and sits in the pocket of Trump.” (I wrote previously for The Queen Zone about how ostracizing is deployed as a bullying weapon.)

I spoke with Dr. John Gartner, psychologist and host of the podcast Duty to Warn, and reported for The Queen Zone. Dr. Gartner said the term “malignant normality,” coined by Yale psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, describes how a malignant narcissist leader can change the values of the culture. Lifton’s research looked at Nazi Germany and asked “how did this happen?” Enablers and bystanders play a major role in normalizing a leader’s bullying.

Dr. Jennifer Fraser, author of the book The Bullied Brain and the forthcoming book, Shattered Brains: How Gaslighting Impacts Our Minds & Proven Ways to Stay Safe & Sane, told me that enablers and bystanders serve to empower the bully. Dr. Fraser said of enablers who see the bully’s attacks and tell themselves, “’I don’t want to be the target of that.’” Sometimes, the enablers will join the bully in further attacks when the target speaks up, engaging in victim blaming. 

Dr. Rachel Taylor, a cognitive neuroscientist, wrote about “the role of the enabler in all abuse.” Dr. Taylor emailed me, saying, “Aa workplace can mirror a domestic abuse situation. Toxic work environments can exhibit similar patterns of control, manipulation, and emotional abuse. This can include bullying, intimidation, gaslighting, and creating a culture of fear and silence.”

Linda Yaccarino
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Linda Yaccarino, Chief Enabler

Musk’s chief enabler is X CEO Linda Yaccarino. She uses “free speech” as a ruse, a guise and shield for the Trump-Musk machine, as I wrote for The Queen Zone. X banned journalist Ken Klippenstein and locked my account for posting links to the hacked JD Vance dossier, a 271-page vetting document. Other X executives keep soldiering on. Perhaps they can relate to this: Adolf Eichmann, architect of the Nazi Holocaust, said he shouldn’t be held responsible for his actions because he was following orders.

However, some X employees and executives have left X, though they largely remain silent about why (they may have signed NDAs). Notably, departures include Nick Pickles, Head of Government Affairs and Communications, Joe Benarroch, Yaccarino’s hand-picked operations general, and Carrie Stimmel, Head of Global Agencies, Claire Atkinson reported: “A source said [Stimmel] had told friends she was upset about Elon Musk’s comments that were described broadly as antisemitic.” 

I wrote about antisemitism on X for the Hill Reporter in May. The Auschwitz Memorial had excoriated X for failure to act on Holocaust denial posts, asking if X is engaged in ‘protection of hate speech.” 

Enablers remain silent

Dr. Taylor told me, when I asked about the role of Musk’s X executives and their silence, “Executives might act as enablers for a toxic boss by ignoring or downplaying abusive behavior, failing to hold the boss accountable, or even supporting their actions.”

Some X executives are presumably aligned with Musk’s support of Trump. Yaccarino was urged by advertising industry executives to resign in 2023 after advertisers like IBM, Disney and Apple stopped advertising on X in the wake of Musk’s antisemitism.

Despite the heightened risks, some executives have chosen to join X. In September, X announced the hire of former Hyundai Chief Marketing Officer, Angela Zepeda as Head of Global Marketing for X. In April, Hyundai paused X ads over pro-Nazi content on the platform. NBC News reported: “The move came after a Hyundai ad appeared next to antisemitic posts from a user who has posted pro-Hitler content.” Ms. Zepeda has not responded to my inquiries.

Enablers and sexual predators

The role of enablers of sexual predators is well known. Donald Trump is an adjudicated rapist. A judge said Trump raped E. Jean Carroll. George Conway tweeted a video from his Anti-Psychopath PAC: “Meet Amy Dorris.  She was assaulted by @realDonaldTrump.  She has something to say about him.” Trump has made a career of using litigation to silence his accusers.

Psychologist Bill Eddy told me about movie mogul and sexual predator Harvey Weinstein’s enablers. He “had a whole team of lawyers that would come down on someone if they spoke up. Classic bullying. Victims turn against themselves. The bullying activates immobilization and self-anger.”

Musk has also deployed litigation as a tactic to silence his perceived adversaries. Musk sued nonprofit watchdog Media Matters for America after the organization reported ads next to hateful content. Musk also sued the nonprofit the Center for Countering Digital Hate, attempting to silence their reporting (CCDH won; a judge dismissed the suit). The organization tweeted with link to LA Times column: “CCDH research found that Musk’s misleading claims about the US elections have been viewed over a BILLION times. These claims undermine the U.S. electoral process & democracy.” 

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The Guardian reported in August: “Twitter has been ordered to pay a record fine of more than €550,000 (£470,000) to a former senior employee at its European headquarters in Ireland, after it was found to have dismissed him unfairly when he failed to respond to an email from Elon Musk calling on staff to be ‘extremely hardcore.”

The former employee, Gary Rooney, messaged me, saying that the ruling is in appeal so that, so he couldn’t comment. A rep from Media Matters also messaged me, declining to comment, saying litigation continues. So apparently, Musk is “successfully” weaponizing litigation to silence his critics.

So what should X executives do?

Domestic violence expert Taryn De Vere messaged me: “Choosing to take on an abusive person with a lot of power and influence is an incredibly brave act that has great potential to make change, but it’s far from the easy path. Few have the courage of their convictions, and few are prepared for the sacrifice required. Those that do speak out – the Upstanders who stand up for themselves and others – should be celebrated in our world. They rarely are in reality, but at least they can sleep well at night, knowing they did all they could to do the right thing.”

And Dr. Taylor messaged me: “Walking away from a paycheck is a difficult decision, especially when financial stability is at stake. However, if staying in a toxic environment compromises one’s values, mental health, or well-being, it may be necessary to consider leaving. Executives have a responsibility to lead by example and prioritize ethical behavior.”

Tom Peters, coauthor of seminal business book, In Search of Excellence, decided to prioritize ethical behavior. Peters tweeted in August:

“Farewell. I joined Jack Dorsey’s Twitter in December 2008. I have   enjoyed virtually every Twitter-minute in the subsequent 15+ years. But   the time has come to say goodbye.  I cannot allow myself to be in any way connected to an Elon Musk venture.  Musk’s vigorous support for a  34-time convicted felon aiming to reclaim the White House is a [loooong] [loooong] bridge too far.  Hence my departure. My very best wishes to all of you who have been part of my ‘Twitter family’”

It is high time for Twitter executives to stop enabling the Trump-Musk machine and join Tom Peters in saying farewell to Twitter X.

No executives from X responded to my inquiries

Author

  • Nancy Levine Stearns

    Nancy Levine Stearns is author of the four-book series starting with The Tao of Pug (Penguin Books / Skyhorse Publishing). As a freelance journalist, her bylines include Sports Illustrated, the Hill Reporter, Rantt Media and Grateful Web. Her reporting has been cited by The New York Times, NBC News, Forbes, and others. For more than twenty years, she was an executive recruiter, starting at American Express Company in New York. Her one-woman show Leaving Scarsdale workshopped at the HBO Workspace in Los Angeles a long time ago.

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