Is Elon Musk influencing global opinion: Modulating minds, controlling society to capture global narrative

By Shams Ur Rehman Alavi

This post is about an influential man and it needs to be read, seriously. 

As we see how Elon Musk labels groups, cleverly re-packages his 'thoughts' and sell them to appear as 'patriotic' feelings or racial supremacism in order to influence minds, the extent of his actions are getting more clear and visible. 

It seems that Musk is doing it systematically--one group at a time, then next and so on. It is not fair.

Anyone who is otherizing communities, in a manner that it could drive a wedge in society, must be confronted. This is our job as a journalist. 

Just see his posts. There is a lot of exaggeration and the tweets that can create panic, turn groups against each other, revealing his thoughts about one group after the other group, in order to steadily strengthen his hold over narrative. 

Perhaps, there is a wish to control everything in the world--narrative, countries, people's opinion, power, be leader of wester world, and have his 'will' prevail over all. 

All the rhetoric that the Western White man likes to hear, is reflected in his posts on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. It is deeply problematic and I feel that this must not happen at this level. 

My personal view is that a person who was once seen as a tech genius, working for overall good & an innovator, is now, seen as a person with deep racist hate. The manner in which he is generalizing and expressing his views about communities, is a tragedy. 

Right now, he appears to be possessed. Tears of kids in Gaza didn't seem to affect him & he supported Israel. Earlier, also, it was constant anti-immigrant rant from him, otherwise it is about the Blacks or Africans or the focus on 'border'. When he recently posted a black guy's video, it was seen as a dog whistle against Africans and the blacks.

My view and that of many others like me [though these may count or not, affect or not], is that xenophobia and hatred must be stopped. If there is extraordinary level, then we must be alarmed. It must be placed on record, mentioned and it must be known, lest it's forgotten that how a tech company owner who also builds cars, sends rockets to space, can come to this level.

The liking once a few had for him, even a cent of trust, all he has damaged himself. As he owns the platform, he uses it in a way, he wishes to use it. But it is not an ongoing Crusade or a civilizational war. It is really surprising that a person, who is himself an immigrant from South Africa, can be take such harsh anti-immigration line.

That too in US--the land of the immigrants. Influential people whose words can affect lives of people in other countries, as propaganda and hate do affect different sections of society. Majorities often blame minorities and peddle hate against the latter. These include conspiracy theories and misleading claims. 

That's the cause of concern for people in any country. Unfortunately, democracy too has failed to solve the issue. If majority in any sense--race, language, religion, class, community or section, is made to feel insecure because of 'growing minorities' or propaganda about the 'other', then the result is horrible.

Germany witnessed it in the last century. Hitler was an elected leader and a popular leader. The level of torture the children and women, suffer in Palestine, has been one of the worst in centuries and your point of view, is well-known.

Actually, it appears that 'Apartheid' or Nazi ideology pr White Supremacist belief can't be owned up at this level, so one after the other, targeting each group and otherizing in a way that it is seen as 'Patriotism' or MAGA mission. 

There may be 125,000 rapes in US and tens of thousands of murders in his own country. No one even needs to cherry pick, just start posting names and photographs of 200-300 of the rapists and murderers or serial killers and those who shot kids in schools, all will be clear. 

Who commits most crimes! But as he has 'reach', he can take a case of Haiti or a case of Honduras, push it daily, ensure that it reached millions, tens of millions.  

Man repackages apartheid, but separates it as 'anti-Black', 'anti-Muslim', 'anti-Africa' & 'anti-immigrant' sentiment, time to time, repackages, all disguised in patriotism or MAGA mission. No public personality can admit to be Hater, Racist, Zionist or Fascist, believer in Apartheid. 

So, he may play the game differently and pose as a patriot. Making other groups feel 'insecure' & on the basis of it, turning into a cult leader, strengthening his voice through conspiracy theories that have too much impact, and ultimate aim to have a huge bunch of followers, 'say' in world affairs, misusing his money and platform, ultimately to gain more and more money, prominence and power.

READ: Modulating Minds, Spreading prejudices, Elon Musk aims to control the world through global opinion?

White Supremacist Terror stuns America: 22 killed in El Paso, 9 shot dead in Dayton

White Supremacist Terrorism has once again come back to haunt United States of America.

In El Paso, a town in Texas in USA, a lone wolf went on a shooting spree that led to 22 deaths.

The initial figure was 20 but later two more people succumbed to injuries.

"Seven Mexican citizens, 13 US citizens, one German citizen and one victim whose nationality could not yet be determined were among the dead in El Paso, authorities confirmed on Monday".

"The 22 victims ranged in age from 15 to 90 years old", reported the Guardian.

The shooter had posted anti-immigrant manifesto before the shooting and had a stone-cold look when he was arrested, reports New York Post, a newspaper known for often giving twist reports in case of white supremacists.

And also for linking it to mental disorder or making them appear as innocents by their focus on their 'good behaviour' elsewhere, that would sound them 'normal' and 'humane', unlike the image of a killer.

The second incident occurred in Dayton in Ohio. Nine persons were shot dead in an attack that came just 13 hours after the El Paso incident, the assailant has so far given no clue to his motivation.

The Dayton police chief, Richard Biehl, confirmed that the victims of gunman Connor Betts include his own sister, 22-year-old Megan Betts", the paper further mentioned.

Connor Betts fired 41 shots in less than 30 seconds, killing nine people. He used a .223 calibre high capacity rifle that had 100 round magazines. Over a dozen people were injured in the attack. He even shot dead his own sister.

Betts was armour-wearing and masked when he fatally shot these people in a bar-cum-restaurant. Described a 'bully' since his schooldays.

Also, he kept a hit list and 'rape list'. In this case, probe is on to find what was the motive and whether he was a supremacist too, but Connor  Betts is a White American.

The newspaper reports again used the terms, 'gunman' and 'shooter', not TERRORIST or the attack as Terror attack.

It has been a long-standing issue in US media that white men who are involved in majority of domestic acts of extremism are not called Terrorists and their acts not termed 'Terrorism'.

LINKS:

1. Terrorism in US: White man is always shooter or gunman, NEVER a terrorist

2. Insane gunman or Temple shooter but NEVER a terrorist: Media must de-link terror from religion

3. When 'White terrorist' kills 10 students in Oregon, US media calls him lone wolf or gunman

4. Florida airport firing: Once name was known, 'terrorist' became 'gunman', headlines diluted

5. Majoritarianism, racism: Why Dylann Roof not called terrorist despite killing people in US?

6. Alexandre Bissonnette attacked mosque, killed people, was fan of extremist right-wing leaders but he was not called terrorist

Terrorism: After 17 deaths in Florida school shooting, accept 'White Supremacist Terror' as big threat to society

Shams Ur Rehman Alavi

Will it now be acknowledged that 'White Supremacist Terror' is one of the biggest threats to the society?

It is a threat to society, not just in United States of America (USA), but outside too [including Europe].

As many a 17 persons including mostly students and staff, were shot dead in the massacre that has shocked the entire world.

Nikolas Cruz, a former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, entered the school premises, opened fire, killing 17 people and injuring over 14.


Cruz used an AR-15 style rifle for the coldblooded murders on the school campus.

In fact, a month before the shooting, FBI had received a tip that Cruz had made a threat but due to 'error', this information wasn't taken seriously.

Most of the victims in the horrific school shootings were students who were teenagers.

Alyssa, Martin, Nicholas, Jaime, Luke, Cara, Gina, Alaina, Meadow, Helena, Alex, Carmen, Peter--they were all in the age group of 14-17. There were others Chris, Scott and Aaron, from the staff.

WHEN TERRORISTS DIDN'T FIT 'MEDIA-CREATED IMAGE'

There has been a long list of White men involved in shootings, massacres and killings in United States of America (USA).


Gun violence is one of the biggest problems for America. However, these people are often termed 'insane shooter', 'gunman', 'madman', but NOT terrorist.

The list of these 'gunmen' is long:

Anders Breivik killed 77 persons in Norway
Devin Kelley who killed 26 people in a Church
Wade Michael Page who killed devotees in a Sikh Gurdwara
Dylann Roof who killed nine blacks
Timothy McVeigh who killed 168 in Oklahama
James Holmes who killed people in a theatre
Robert James Talbot, Esteban Santiago, Alexandre Bissonette, Chris Harper Mercer, among others.

1. MUST-READ ON THIS SITE: White men not termed Terrorist, called 'shooter' or 'gunman'

2. DOUBLE STANDARDS: Insane gunman or shooter: Media must de-link religion from Terror

3. MAJORITARIAN RACISM: Why Dylann Roof was not termed Terrorist in US Media

Links about Florida school terror attack:

Victims of Florida School Shooting, names and photos
Wikipedia page on Stoneman Douglas school shootings in Florida
Florida gunman said he wanted to be a 'professional school shooter' and FBI were warned

Terrorism in America, West: Major terror attacks by White men, media terms them 'shooter' or 'gunmen'

As many as 50 persons were killed in one of the worst shooting incidents in American history.

But media was not using the word 'Terror'.

The person--even after his name appeared, remained a 'suspect'. That's how media functions.

If a brown, black, Asian is suspect, he is quickly the terrorist. Else, the word Terror is not even thought of. Even terms like 'extremist' are not used.

Wade Michael Page, Anders Breivik, James Holmes and Dylann Roof are never described as terrorists.

Rather, they are called 'Insane gunman', 'White supremacist', 'Temple shooter', 'Extremist' or 'Fundamentalist' in the media reports.

This practice is followed in all respectable TV channels, newspapers and websites.

There is quick conclusion that the White man was 'psychologically upset' or had a 'disturbed' childhood or was a 'lonely person'. Hence, terms like White supremacist, Insane gunman or Shooter are used.

That's journalism in 21st century. For more, do check posts on this blog.

LINKS:

1. Insane gunman or Temple shooter but NEVER a terrorist: Media must de-link terror from religion

2. When 'White terrorist' kills 10 students in Oregon, US media calls him lone wolf or gunman

3. Florida airport firing: Once name was known, 'terrorist' became 'gunman', headlines diluted

4. Majoritarianism, racism: Why Dylann Roof not called terrorist despite killing people in US?

5. Alexandre Bissonnette attacked mosque, killed people, was fan of extremist right-wing leaders but he was not called terrorist

Florida firing: Once name was known, 'terrorist' became 'gunman', headlines got diluted

What's in a name? Everything is the name now.

A man began shooting indiscriminately at an airport in Florida in United States of America.

The wire reports, tweets suddenly started appearing on smartphones.

Soon it became clear that five persons had been killed and many more wounded.

Till now, there was panic and everyone was worried what it might turn out to be. Mercifully, the killer was arrested soon. He was taken into custody. 

The person's identity was also known. The name was Esteban Santiago.

The person is an Army veteran. Immediately, it was known [that it was understood know] that this was not a 'terror attack'! Strange, isn't it. Yes, that's how the world, the international media functions in this era.

Santiago was described as 'gunman', 'shooter' or just 'suspect'. The reports were set to be diluted and headlines no longer sensational. It was termed 'the incident at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida'.

One headline said, '5 dead, 8 wounded in Florida airport shooting; U.S. vet arrested'. The other read, 'Fort Lauderdale shooting: five dead as suspect identified as Iraq veteran'. Clearly, no alarm was needed, anymore.

READ: Lone wolf, shooter or madman but never terrorist

It is always like that, isn't it? The man is called 'Lone wolf' or 'shooter' or 'gunman' because the person is not Muslim.

There is an 'understanding', a code which is unwritten but observed all over the media world--everyone knows what words to be used to describe after religious identity is known.

Esteban Santiago

The follow-up reports started coming fast. NYT got this report, within hours, 'Florida Airport Assailant May Have Heard Voices Urging Violence, Officials Say'.

Of course, he must be 'insane'. No talk about his links or modules or connections or motive.
How can he do it?

Other reports included Al-Jazeera that gave the headline, ;Gunman kills five at Florida's Ft Lauderdale airport'.

Leading newspaper Guardian reported, 'Fort Lauderdale shooting: five dead as suspect identified as Iraq veteran'. Do check the reports to understand the double standards on terror and reporting such shootings.

READ: Media must de-link terror from religion, consider all criminals alike

Isn't time that media organisations take a serious note of these double standards, introspect and go by the book--ethics, rules and norms of journalism! Irresponsible and biased journalism affects opinion of millions, turns people against entire race and religion, spreads poison in society.

Intention or association with any group could be known only after probe but what happens is that NAME is enough to decide what words would be used to describe him and how much sensationalism, coverage would be given to the event.

Hence, it is dire need of the hour that same vocabulary should be used for the same crime or extremist act. If a person is Muslim, Christian, Hindu or Jew, his religion must not be criterion for his criminal nomenclature.

All the posts on the media's 'LONE WOLF' syndrome can be read on this blog HERE

India erupts after Saddam Hussein's execution: Photos of trains stopped in Lucknow, anger in Bhopal & Bangalore

Tens of thousands of Indians came out in scores of Cities and towns across the nation, to protest the hanging of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. 

Mostly Muslims, leftists, Samajwadi Party workers and citizens from various walks of life cutting across religious lines, hit the streets.

Following are some of the photographs to capture the mood from Lucknow, Bangalore, Bhopal and other cities of the country.

Now, read about the protests, demonstrations and the display of public anger in cities of the country.

Though lakhs have already died in the war, Saddam Hussein's hanging on the eve of Eid-ul-Zuha, enraged Muslims.

People from other communities, especially, those with Communist background, were seen participating in the protests.

Slogan against George Bush

In fact, it was Saddam Husain as a symbol of the anti-imperialistic resistance that also brought such a large number of people out on streets. 

Hindus were heard ruing the death of a friend of India. In first photograph Samajwadi party activists are seen atop a train on the outskirts of Lucknow which they stopped. 

Trains were stopped elsewhere also to protest the killing of Saddam Hussein. There were huge rallies taken out.

In other photo, a woman, a surviving victim of Bhopal gas tragedy* holds a placard with message against-George Bush message, written in Urdu. 

In the third photograph, United States of America's president George Bush's effigy set ablaze in Bangalore. 

However, in Lucknow a section of Shias today celebrated. Most of these demonstrations and protests were peaceful.


The protesters were sad but calm and there was no destruction of property or arson reported from anywhere. 

There were huge protests in South India also. Ulema had urged Muslims to exercise restraint. 

The figure of number of protest is yet to come but over a hundred demonstrations were reported. 

Many cities had over a dozen demonstrations each and on Sunday many marches are planned.