Summarised by Centrist
As Elon Musk stares down from the virtual drawbridge of X’s Europe HQ in Dublin at the barbarians laying siege at the gates, he must be wondering where it’s all going to end.
State-funded left-wing activists in Europe admit a loss of influence over X’s (formerly Twitter) European headquarters in Dublin following Elon Musk’s takeover of the platform. They cite cutbacks in content moderation and Musk’s libertarian bent towards free speech.
Journalist Thomas O’Reilly writes: “The social media giant’s operation was previously staffed by former Irish officials and civil advocacy groups and has been repeatedly plagued by accusations of covertly cooperating with the Left in Ireland.”
With X’s shift, progressives are reevaluating their strategies, redirecting attention to platforms like TikTok and involvement in the Digital Services Act rollout. Musk’s management style and corporate purge of leftist influences within X, including free speech pledges for employees, have prompted legal battles.
This is happening while Ireland emerges as a central hub for tech censorship amid rising challenges to hate speech legislation. The recently established Digital Services Act (DSA) grants significant regulatory authority to the 75 person Coimisiún na Meán, based in Dublin, to oversee online content moderation for the EU population of about 450 million people.
O’Reilly notes it is “seen by many as Europe’s nerve centre for monitoring and removing allegedly hateful content, ahead of a busy election cycle.”
