"Elon Musk Dreaming of a Brighter Future" by jurvetson is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

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Once upon a time, Elon Musk tweeted on his then-new social media platform, “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy.” He, of course, was referring to the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which declares that “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.”

Yet Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” has not kept to his promise to adhere to free speech for all on X, formerly known as Twitter.

It’s a fact of contemporary life: social media is the most popular way for people of all ages to get their information. Heaven forbid the internet goes out! We’d miss out on checking our favorite stories on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or even X.