Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted early Saturday morning that Starlink has been told by some governments to block Russian news sources, but Musk said, “We will not do so…”
In contrast, Apple on March 1st censored Russian state media, RT News and Sputnik News, pulling them from the Apple App Store outside Russia.
Spacex and Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted early Saturday morning that Starlink has been told by some governments to block Russian news sources. However, Musk said, “We will not do so unless at gunpoint. Sorry to be a free speech absolutist.”
Starlink is operated by Spacex. The service “provides high-speed, low-latency broadband internet across the globe,” its website describes.
Many people on Twitter commended Musk for not giving in to government requests.
Replying to this tweet, a Twitter user told Musk, “Russian ‘news’ resources are propaganda resources.” The Spacex boss replied, “All new sources are partially propaganda, some more than others.”
Starlink has been told by some governments (not Ukraine) to block Russian news sources. We will not do so unless at gunpoint.
Sorry to be a free speech absolutist.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2022
MacDailyNews Take: Don’t be a bit sorry.
Important warning: Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine, so probability of being targeted is high. Please use with caution.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 3, 2022
Obviously, this would negatively affect Tesla, but sustainable energy solutions simply cannot react instantaneously to make up for Russian oil & gas exports.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2022
Also nuclear is vastly better for global warming than burning hydrocarbons for energy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 6, 2022
MacDailyNews Take: Musk is correct to stand against censorship, in stark contrast to Apple, which is wrong and, tellingly, rather quick and willing to censor – which is ironic, given the company’s famous “1984” ad (below).
We commend Musk’s stand against censorship. We do not support Apple’s move to censor Russian news outlets.
Musk is right. Cook is wrong.
Musk believes people can actually think for themselves, are not stupid, and do not need to be lead by the nose by Big Tech or anyone else.
Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties. ― John Milton, Areopagitica, 1644
Musk trusts people’s intelligence. As evidenced by his quick move to censor, Cook clearly does not trust people’s intelligence, which is simply antithetical to Apple’s founding ethos.
Musk’s refusal and Cook’s knee-jerk move to censor speak volumes about each each man views other people.
We believe people are smarter than Apple seems to think and that propaganda can and should be seen, not censored, as it tells us more about the perpetrators and their motives than does a vacuum created by censorship.
Apple should rethink their relatively newfound knee-jerk propensity to censor. Apple should not treat their customers as if they’re stupid, unable to handle ideas or discern truth. Apple, or any other Big Tech company, should not be playing Big Brother, arbiter of “truth.”
People who are confident in their ideas and values do not need to impose silence on anyone.
• RT News: https://www.rt.com
• Sputnik News: https://sputniknews.com
People who are confident in their ideas and values do not need to impose silence on anyone.
Sunlight is the best disinfectant.https://t.co/bRFpDInHC0
— MacDailyNews (@MacDailyNews) March 1, 2022
As we often write, the best way to consume “news” is to cast a wide net.
As always, readers of “news” need to consider the sources and interpret what they are are being told accordingly. The more disparate sources you can find, the better. And we don’t mean different newspaper, network, website brands that are all owned by the same conglomerate. Determining the actual ownership of your “news” sources is an investment that requires a bit of time, but it is very enlightening. — MacDailyNews Take, June 17, 2015
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