"The account, which WaPo traced to a man in India, constantly lavishes the site's owner with praise: boosting his business ventures, attacking his enemies, and sharing inane memes that Musk invariably loves. Two years ago, XFreeze's following was nonexistent, but today the account boasts over 200,000 followers, after assiduously courting the billionaire's attention."
"As the reporting gets into, it's a symbiotic relationship. Musk has a prominent mouthpiece that he can constantly boost to create the illusion of organic, popular support. And the account gets to cash in on the ridiculous amount of engagement that Musk's endorsements drive."
""Musk loves to be glazed, and this person is the doughnut factory," Joan Donovan, assistant professor of journalism and emerging media studies at Boston University, told WaPo."
"XFreeze's constant adulation of Musk is a "cultural hack," she added. "It's very clear to me that this communication is for one person alone." On top of exemplifying Musk's long-held pattern of surrounding himself with yes-men, it's also an example of Musk's tireless quest to reshape reality around himself, and drive narratives that support his worldview."
An anonymous X account named XFreeze has interacted with Elon Musk more than any other user this year, and its posts focus mainly on Musk. The account was traced to a man in India and grew from almost no following two years ago to more than 200,000 followers. XFreeze repeatedly praises Musk, boosts his business ventures, attacks perceived enemies, and shares memes that Musk engages with. The relationship is described as symbiotic: Musk gains a prominent mouthpiece that can appear to reflect organic support, while the account benefits from the high engagement generated by Musk’s endorsements. The pattern is framed as part of Musk’s broader effort to reshape narratives around his worldview.
Read at Futurism
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]