Montage: MSNBC, CBS, rip into Elon Musk over interest in controlling Twitter
A number of liberal media outlets criticized the idea of a Musk-owned Twitter, calling it a danger to free speech, among other things.
Podcast giant Joe Rogan offered his support to Elon Musk as the Tesla CEO continues his battle to take over Twitter.
There has been a cultural firestorm ever since Musk revealed he bought over 9% stake of Twitter, Inc., which was later followed by an offer to buy the entire company for $43 billion after declining a seat on Twitter's board of directors, which last week adopted a "poison pill" to block his efforts.
Musk's advocacy to turn Twitter into a true free speech platform has sparked praise among conservatives while members of the legacy media have decried the prospects of the outspoken billionaire taking over the tech giant, advocating for "content moderation" which Musk backers say is calling for censorship.
Elon Musk smiles at a press conference following the first launch of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy on Feb. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File | Reuters/Joe Skipper)
On Saturday's installment of "The Joe Rogan Experience," Rogan suggested Musk was among the "powerful leaders" Americans turn to for guidance.
"That’s why, me included, everyone is so excited that Elon Musk is trying to buy Twitter," Rogan said. "We’re like, ‘Yes! The great one!'"
"He's the super-intelligent leader-type character that seems to have great ethics and morals too," the podcast host continued. "And he seems to be, like, a guy that if you had a movie character, and the movie character was like this super billionaire who didn’t give a f---, but he was super f---ing smart, and he's really, genuinely working to save humanity, that’s that guy."
Comedian Joe Rogan responded to criticism over past racist comments. (Vivian Zink/Syfy/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
"Real Time" host Bill Maher similarly cheered on Musk's moves towards Twitter, exclaiming "I'm for it!"
"We live in a different age where Twitter is the public square now. If you deny someone's right to speak on Twitter, you're basically saying you don't have free speech rights," Maher said earlier this month. "We're not living in 1980 anymore. This is a different world we live in where social media controls this. So social media is sort of a… it's living in a space that's not exactly a publication, but it's not exactly a private company either… That's why it's so tricky."
"I think that's what Elon Musk wants to fix at Twitter," Maher later added.
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However, members of the legacy media have had a collective meltdown over Musk's latest aspiration.
Among the most outspoken are the staff of The Washington Post, which is notably owned by fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos.