Twitter CEO Elon Musk threatened the reputation of “legacy media” in a cryptic tweet early Wednesday.
Musk responded to a clip of CNBC’s “Squawk Box” where Axios business reporter Hope King argued his reputation with Twitter is damaging his stocks and success in his other companies, particularly Tesla. The electric car company’s stock shares have dropped profoundly since his October 27 takeover of Twitter.
“The legacy media should worry about its reputation. We have only just begun,” Musk replied.
The legacy media should worry about its reputation. We have only just begun.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 28, 2022
Musk has sparred with corporate media since he finalized his $44 billion purchase of Twitter in April. Most recently, a handful of outlets raged at the tech mogul for suspending the accounts of eight journalists for “doxxing” his private jet’s location in mid-December. The New York Times called this act “questionable and unfortunate,” and The Washington Post asserted that it “directly undermines” Musk’s push for free speech on the platform. (RELATED: Elon Musk Criticizes Lack Of Border Crisis Coverage)
The Twitter CEO further launched the “Twitter Files” to disclose information regarding Twitter’s suppression of the New York Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story in October 2020. Journalists Matt Taibbi, Bari Weiss, Lee Fang and author Michael Shellenberger have released long threads which included information about the FBI’s communication and financial involvement with Twitter, and the social media company’s treatment of prominent conservatives.
Musk criticized “corporate journalism” for its alleged lack of coverage on the “Twitter Files” in a Tuesday tweet.
Why is corporate journalism rushing to defend the state instead of the people? https://t.co/uqR0MwiqCx
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 27, 2022
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 28, 2022
The FBI responded that the “Twitter Files” are an attempt to “discredit the agency” in a December 20 statement.
“The correspondence between the FBI and Twitter show nothing more than examples of our traditional, longstanding and ongoing federal government and private sector engagements, which involve numerous companies over multiple sectors and industries. As evidenced in the correspondence, the FBI provides critical information to the private sector in an effort to allow them to protect themselves and their customers. The men and women of the FBI work every day to protect the American public,” the statement began.
“It is unfortunate that conspiracy theorists and others are feeding the American public misinformation with the sole purpose of attempting to discredit the agency,” the statement concluded.