IT seems that the dark days of the freewheeling internet have returned.

Two of the largest global social media companies have already abandoned important efforts and initiatives aimed at moderating speech on their platforms in a sign of their capitulation to alt-right mega-influencers and their war on ‘woke media’.

The backsliding seems to have started when multi-billionaire Elon Musk bought out Twitter in 2022, seemingly with an eye on leveraging its reach to influence the 2024 American presidential election. As part of his plan to remake the platform in his own image, part of which was to rename it ‘X’, Musk has gradually removed restrictions for accounts violating various platform policies, especially on racial, gender and religious equality. X has resultantly turned into a toxic cesspool of hate.

It may be recalled that US president-elect Donald Trump was barred from Twitter, Facebook and multiple other platforms following the brazen attack on the United States Capitol in January 2021. Now, with Mr Trump about to make a defiant re-entry into the most powerful office in the world, those tech companies seem to be scrambling to get back on his good side.

The new ‘X’, under Mr Musk, has already proven its loyalties by pushing Mr Trump’s campaign and getting him elected. This has earned it enough favour that Mr Musk has even been invited to join the new government. Meta now seems eager to catch up: it has announced that it is abandoning third-party fact-checking initiatives and easing moderation of sensitive topics because its founder believes Mr Trump’s election has signalled a “cultural tipping point” towards free speech over moderation.

There have been enough signs of what the future holds: on X, Mr Musk has, in recent weeks, led repeated attacks on immigrants, Muslims and British Pakistanis, using abhorrent crimes like child grooming and sexual violence to paint a highly offensive picture of these groups for millions of his followers. It seems that this trend will now spread on other social media platforms as well.

No matter how it is being window-dressed, the “cultural tipping point” in fact seems to be dangerously tilted towards out-and-out xenophobia endorsed by powerful moguls in America’s Silicon Valley.

Mainstream media, which has been relentlessly abused and discredited by the self-appointed shepherds of the social media masses, will need to resist going the same way merely to protect its interests. Indeed, we are now entering a period where responsible journalism and adherence to factual reporting will be critical in keeping the world sane as social media companies abdicate their responsibility and cosy up to the new regime.

Mainstream media must step up and embrace the responsibility of shaping global discourse, especially around flashpoint issues, in ways that prevent or at least limit harm to the alt-right’s targets.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2025