Howard Kurtz: Media thinks Elon Musk's free speech approach is going to ruin Twitter
'Media Buzz' host Howard Kurtz gives his take on Elon Musk's Twitter takeover on 'The Story.'
Politico editor and MSNBC contributor Sam Stein was flamed for warning Elon Musk against criticizing Democratic politicians, and now prominent media voices are sounding off on the widely discussed Twitter exchange.
On Friday, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., posted an official Senate letter addressed to Musk, the new owner of Twitter, complaining that a Washington Post reporter had been able to create a verified account impersonating him.
"I’m asking for answers from @elonmusk who is putting profits over people and his debt over stopping disinformation. Twitter must explain how this happened and how to prevent it from happening again," Markey tweeted.
Elon Musk has wasted little time making his mark on Twitter since he took over last month.
Musk then responded to Markey, quipping, "Perhaps it is because your real account sounds like a parody?"
Soon after, Stein tweeted at Musk, and jumped into the conversation by warning him that it was "risky" to publicly "attack" a sitting member of Congress.
"Always risky to attack members of congress. Especially risky with Dems assured of Senate power. Curious play by Musk here. He has many interests before Congress," he told Musk.
The tweet from Stein has prompted intense backlash, with many wondering whether the journalist was afraid to criticize a politician, or worse, actively rooting for Musk to face consequences for chiding the government. Stein and Politico didn't return requests for comment.
The Federalist Editor-in-Chief and Fox News contributor Mollie Hemingway told Fox News Digital that Stein’s warning to Musk served as an example of how corporate media figures frequently help powerful government entities threaten Americans.
"Corporate media like to think of themselves as speaking truth to power, but they nearly always are speaking power to truth, helping powerful interests including Democratic senators and the CIA to bully and threaten American citizens who fail to tow the left’s preferred line," she said.
Journalist are supposed to do their work without fear or favor, and Stein's tweet to Musk could be an indication that the atmosphere at Politico is a "bit chilled," according to DePauw University journalism professor Jeffrey McCall.
"Journalists absolutely must challenge powerful political establishments, or they aren't serving their watchdog role as surrogates for the public. Congress can well abuse its power by threatening investigations or regulatory harassment of journalists. But if that happens, all journalists should call it out and not simply warn each other to lay low, so as to avoid pushback," he added.
Sam Stein on MSNBC. (MSNBC / Screenshot)
In a discussion with Fox News Digital, conservative Seattle talk show host Jason Rantz said that he could not stand Stein and referred the news site to a tweet ripping into the liberal journalist.
"One thing we ought to be grateful for: Twitter has helped expose left-wing partisan hacks who masquerade as journalists," Rantz wrote.
Fox News Digital reached out to Poynter and Columbia Journalism Review for comment as well but didn't hear back.
Joe Concha, a Fox News contributor and media/politics columnist for The Hill, questioned whether Stein would have made a similar comment to Musk if it was a Senate Republican, rather than a Democrat, who had been mocked.
"Ask yourself this: Would Sam Stein be warning Elon Musk against offending Senate Republicans if the shoe was on the other foot? Rhetorical question," Concha said. "And this isn’t some blogger, this is the managing editor for politics for [a company] that bills itself as an objective publication, Politico."
DEM SENATOR FRUSTRATED OVER YELLEN CLAIMING 'NO BASIS' TO PROBE ELON MUSK'S TWITTER PURCHASE
Last week, Musk wrote that the "media elite" would do anything in its power to prevent Twitter from elevating "citizen journalism." Musk’s tweet to his 115 million followers quickly prompted outrage from prominent media figures, including Vox’s Ryan McCathy, Politico Magazine’s Bill Scher, and Cian Maher, a journalist with bylines from The Washington Post, Vice, and more.
Additionally, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday appeared to confirm the Biden administration is considering investigating Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.
One day earlier, Biden was asked by a reporter whether Musk is a threat to national security, to which the president said that the Twitter CEO’s cooperation’s and relationships with other countries are "worthy of being looked at."
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Musk has long been the subject of ridicule from members of the media, with a number of less-than-flattering pieces written on the tech mogul since he publicly expressed interest in purchasing Twitter.