Stacey Abrams Has Some Ideas on How to Stop Elon Musk and the Far Right in Georgia

Leah Feiger: I absolutely hear that. Obviously though, this is a different environment, right? We have experienced a fracturing of media and social platforms that we have never seen before.

Stacey Abrams: Absolutely.

Leah Feiger: In many ways, to me, it feels like tech platforms have abdicated responsibility in this election cycle.

Stacey Abrams: Yes, absolutely.

Leah Feiger: Elon Musk doesn’t just own X. He’s actually been using it to spread election conspiracies, and letting other major influencers do the same. How does the Harris campaign deal with that, and what do you make of the role that Musk has played in this election?

Stacey Abrams: So, the podcast I do called Assembly Required, we had Esosa Osa on to talk about disinformation. The reason this matters is that it’s not just Elon Musk. It’s that Meta and other platforms have weakened their filters. So, Elon Musk has been aggressively and intentionally a disinformation factory.

Leah Feiger: Machine, truly incredible to watch.

Stacey Abrams: He is becoming his own industry of life. So, he deserves his own specific place in ignominy.

Leah Feiger: Fair.

Stacey Abrams: Let’s put it that way. We should be angry. We should be concerned, but we should also be aware that while he is the loudest version of this terrible dark star, he’s not alone. So, to your point, our obligation is to hold all of these tech platforms accountable. You should not be permitted to weaken the protection that you owe the people. If you are going to hold yourself out as a purveyor of information, you are obligated to ensure that that information at least meet the basic smell test. Unfortunately, we have seen multiple tech platforms abdicate that responsibility. So, while I am more than happy to castigate and hold Elon Musk particularly accountable for taking terrible and making it worse, we also have the responsibility on the other side of this election to evaluate everyone who was willing to take this Wild West situation, and make it worse.

Leah Feiger: I mean, absolutely. Yesterday, we came out with a big article about how militias are organizing on Facebook, and you know what? Facebook is actually auto generating pages for militias. It’s messy to say the least. Obviously with the Musk thing, he comes with the benefit of just an absolute ton of cash. That has been also wild to watch about his cash for registration sweepstakes. There’s just a lot happening there that I am constantly wondering, “Is the Harris campaign doing enough to counteract, and can they?”