Recently, Jon Stewart, a well-known liberal comedian, took a few jabs at Elon Musk during an episode of “The Daily Show.” Stewart was reacting to an interview Musk hosted with former President Donald Trump on his social media platform, X (formerly Twitter). Stewart and fellow billionaire Mark Cuban didn’t hold back their thoughts about Musk, but Musk wasn’t going to stay silent for long. He soon responded, setting the record straight about how X’s algorithm works.
Cuban and Stewart hinted that Musk had some hidden agenda when he bought X in 2022. They suggested that Musk might be using his power to control what people say on the platform. However, Musk has always been clear: he’s a big supporter of free speech and believes in allowing people from all sides of the political spectrum to express themselves on X.
Cuban kicked off the conversation by saying, “I mean, look at Elon, right? Elon, being one of the most powerful people, he’s trying to be the most influential man in the world. It sounds like a commercial, but literally, that’s what Twitter has given him.” Stewart added, “I’ve gotta say, I think he might already be that. I don’t even think he’s trying to be. When you’re setting up satellite links in war zones and controlling the conversation on one of the most important media platforms, you’re definitely the most powerful.”
Cuban then pointed out how big X really is. “Cause Twitter is in almost every country, right? And so Twitter gives him the ability to connect to the prime minister, the head of every country in the world. And that person, whoever’s in charge of that country, has an interest in what happens on Twitter.
What happens on Twitter, because of the control of the algorithms, being the biggest user, is all dependent on Elon Musk. He literally, wherever his thumb wants to go, he gets to push as hard as he wants.”
Stewart chimed in again, claiming that Musk is worried about civil war, particularly for white Americans. “I think he’s very clear that civil war is inevitable, and that white people are under the gun,” Stewart remarked. Cuban agreed, saying, “Frightening, concerning.”
Cuban then talked about algorithms, hinting that Musk has too much control over what people see on X. “When you write an algorithm — I haven’t written a lot, it’s been a while — but when you write one, you get to set the parameters of what you want to see happen. And he certainly has done that to the things he likes,” Cuban commented.
Stewart followed up, saying, “But isn’t this a certain amount of tech bro malpractice, that there is this incredible need in the marketplace for something that is slightly less biased or … toxic?”
Musk wasn’t going to let this criticism slide. He jumped into the conversation on X and explained how things really work on his platform. “That was hilarious 😂 Unlike the other platforms, our algorithm is open source! And if you interact and argue with ‘right-wing’ accounts, which Cuban does a lot, the algorithm will assume that’s what you want to do and give you more of it lmao,” Musk wrote, shutting down the idea that he manipulates the platform.
A popular account on X later shared the clip of Cuban and Stewart’s conversation, writing, “Mark Cuban and Jon Stewart slam 𝕏 and @elonmusk, accuse Musk of manipulating the algorithm to push his preferred narratives to influence the election.”
The account added, “Neither one of these guys have a problem with an entire media industry built to lie, manufacture hoaxes and flat-out manipulate information in service of their preferred candidate. A single platform that provides uncensored information from all sides — and now has an owner that doesn’t align with the left’s preferred narratives — is the only issue in today’s political discourse and electoral politics.”
What do you think about this situation? Share your thoughts in the comments!
