Elon Musk’s X: A Platform with a Right-Wing‌ Lean

WP Analysis Reveals Republican Lawmakers’ Tweets Receive ‍Twice the Views of ⁤Democratic Party

(Los Angeles = Yonhap News) Correspondent​ Mina Lim = An ⁣analysis by the US daily Washington Post (WP) has⁢ shed ⁢light on the changing dynamics of⁣ Elon Musk’s X, formerly known‌ as ‍Twitter.

Based⁤ on data provided by the non-profit organization National Citizens’ Conference, the WP investigated the number ‌of followers and post views ⁤of 50 accounts related to Republican and Democratic ‌lawmakers⁤ on X since July of​ last ⁤year. The⁣ results show‍ that⁢ most of the 33 tweets with ‌a ‌total number of views exceeding 20 million were posted by Republican figures.

Some of the most widely⁤ spread⁣ posts include a tweet by Jim Jordan (Ohio), Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, ‌which stated “You are not safe in Democrat-run Philadelphia” and included memes ​related to ‍former President ‌Donald Trump’s ‍claim that ‘they⁤ eat people’. Additionally, 17 of the 20 accounts with‌ the ⁣largest increase in followers ⁤on⁣ X belonged to Republican lawmakers.

Looking at the number of views, Republican lawmakers’ ‍posts were ‌viewed⁤ an ⁢average‍ of 7,900 times last month,⁤ which is nearly ⁤twice as many as the average of Democratic ⁢lawmakers’ posts, ​which was 4,100 times. The average number of views ‍per post on ​the⁣ White House ⁢account has plummeted from⁢ 200,000 in July of⁢ last‍ year to 100,000 currently.

As X has become increasingly popular among conservatives, right-wing‍ political ads on this ‌platform have also increased, with the amount spent on ads supporting Republican candidates being three times that of⁤ ads supporting Democratic⁣ candidates, WP reported.

Shannon ⁣McGregor, a ⁢professor at‍ the University of North Carolina who studies social ⁣media platforms, noted that‍ “This platform is not a‌ right-wing platform, but⁤ a‍ right-wing ⁢led platform.” He further explained that “In the⁣ past, political actors on both sides‌ of ⁤the aisle⁣ viewed Twitter ​as a place where they could get news reports and people’s ⁣reactions, but ​it no ⁤longer has a political focal point. It has become a place for partisan signaling⁤ to show that⁢ one is​ a good member of the Republican Party.”

Musk acquired⁣ Twitter for $44 billion ‍(about 60.94‍ trillion won) in October 2022 and renamed it X. Fidelity, an asset management company that provided some funding at the time, ⁤assessed X’s corporate value as having fallen 79% from the time of Musk’s acquisition​ as of the end of August.

Musk has publicly expressed his support ⁢for former ⁢President⁣ Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, and has recently been providing full support⁢ as the presidential election day approaches.