Elon Musk’s $3.5 billion purchase of Twitter stock and new seat on the Board of Directors came, at least partially, as a result of Twitter’s recent wave of censorship sparked by a Babylon Bee article calling male-to-female transgender Four Star Admiral Rachel Levine the publication’s “Man of the Year,” per that company’s CEO, Seth Dillon.
Conservatives celebrated Musk‘s massive purchase of Twitter stock and subsequent board appointment as the possible end to a years-long pattern of perceived censorship that began with Twitter’s ban of Milo Yiannopoulos in 2016 and eventually lead to the ban of then-President Donald Trump in 2021.
While Musk publicly asked his Twitter followers for their opinions on Twitter and how it handles the First Amendment before his purchase, Dillon says the platform’s special treatment of Admiral Levine may have had something to do with Musk’s decision to create the poll.
“Musk reached out to us before he polled his followers,” wrote Dillon on Twitter. “He wanted to confirm that we had, in fact, been suspended.”
“He even mused that he might need to buy Twitter,” wrote Dillon. “Now he’s the largest shareholder and has a seat on the board.”
Musk reached out to us before he polled his followers about Twitter's commitment to free speech. He wanted to confirm that we had, in fact, been suspended. He even mused on that call that he might need to buy Twitter. Now he's the largest shareholder and has a seat on the board.
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) April 5, 2022
Babylon Bee was the first of many accounts to be punished for calling Levine a “man” or the “Man of the Year,” which transgender people consider psychologically harmful. 41% of transgender people take their own lives, according to research.
Admiral Levine is the Biden White House’s Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services, and recently became the “first female four-star admiral in the history of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps,” as reported by the New York Times.
Many social conservatives questioned Admiral Levine’s appointment at the time, with many pointing out that Admiral Levine was born a biological male and that Levine raised a family while married to a biological woman and living as a man named Richard.
Musk was formally added to Twitter’s board earlier today, with Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal noting that Musk is both a “a passionate believer” in the platform and an “intense critic of the service,” and suggested the Tesla founder’s presence on the board will “make us stronger in the long-term.”
