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Max Boot, a Russian-American lecturer, noted conservative commentator and military historian, hit back at Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene after Greene called him a "communist" for expressing his reservations about billionaire Elon Musk possibly buying Twitter.
News outlets reported on the morning of April 14 that Musk made a $43 billion cash takeover offer for Twitter, arguing that the social media company needs to go private if it wants to become a platform for free speech.
In a tweet, Boot said he is "frightened by the impact on society and politics" should Musk actually acquire Twitter and spoke in favor of "more content moderation, not less" if democracy–and free speech–is to survive.
I am frightened by the impact on society and politics if Elon Musk acquires Twitter. He seems to believe that on social media anything goes. For democracy to survive, we need more content moderation, not less.— Max Boot \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Max Boot \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1649936642
Boot's post prompted a response from Greene, who called him a "communist" because he is "actually scared of people freely discussing ideas and saying words."
As for the impact a possible Musk takeover would have on political discourse, Greene claimed that this is only a concern for Boot because he is afraid of what the platform might look like "when truth isn't censored."
Kill freedom of speech to save democracy?\n\nSay you\u2019re a communist.\nJust say it.\n\nYou\u2019re actually scared of people freely discussing ideas and saying words.\n\nYou\u2019re terrified of the impact on politics when truth isn\u2019t censored. \n\nI\u2019m offended by your weakness.https://twitter.com/maxboot/status/1514570168730636290\u00a0\u2026— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene) 1649941564
Boot mocked her in response, saying:
"Jewish space laser lady thinks I'm a Communist."
Jewish space laser lady thinks I\u2019m a Communist. https://twitter.com/repmtg/status/1514590815431106563\u00a0\u2026— Max Boot \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Max Boot \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1649941629
Boots' response refers to one of Greene's more high profile rants.
Last year, Greene was widely condemned for espousing the belief that the 2018 California wildfires were not caused by climate change but some kind of "space laser" that had set the state ablaze.
The term "Jewish space lasers" began to trend on Twitter after one of Greene's older Facebook posts—in which she shared the conspiracy theory—resurfaced.
In it, she said Pacific Gas and Electricity (PG&E) and renewable energy startup Solaren sent solar power generators to space funded by the Rothschilds, a family of Ashkenazi Jewish billionaires who have often been the target of antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Others also criticized Greene.
Aren\u2019t you the one that tried to sic the FBI on Jimmy Kimmel because he told a joke about you?https://twitter.com/repmtg/status/1514590815431106563\u00a0\u2026— Aaron T. Starks \ud83c\udf0a (@Aaron T. Starks \ud83c\udf0a) 1649959351
Say you're a lying, treasonous, un-American racist.\nJust say it. \n#MTGhttps://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1514590815431106563\u00a0\u2026— Real Women Support Ukraine \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Real Women Support Ukraine \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1649957785
"Saying words."\nNotice she doesn't discuss truth vs. lies, information vs. disinformation.\nBut she wants people "saying words."\nLofty goal, there, Marj.https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1514590815431106563\u00a0\u2026— I hope we passed the audition. \ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9b\ud83c\udf3b (@I hope we passed the audition. \ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9b\ud83c\udf3b) 1649960893
Correct me if I\u2019m wrong\u2026 didn\u2019t she contact the police over a comedian cracking jokes? They were just words Marge. Where\u2019s Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s freedom of speech? https://twitter.com/repmtg/status/1514590815431106563\u00a0\u2026— Crystal J \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Crystal J \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1649960898
I\u2019m not killing freedom of speech, but please, just shut up. Your rantings \u2014that\u2019s right, rantings \u2014 are pathetic.https://twitter.com/repmtg/status/1514590815431106563\u00a0\u2026— Gary Shapiro (@Gary Shapiro) 1649961944
This tweet proves that freedom to be this stupid isn\u2019t being regulated and that\u2019s saddening.https://twitter.com/repmtg/status/1514590815431106563\u00a0\u2026— Just A. Native (@Just A. Native) 1649957404
What really stupid is an elected congresswoman that doesn't know private businesses are not subject to the 1st Amendment!https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1514590815431106563\u00a0\u2026— Joe Flink (@Joe Flink) 1649955843
You equate free speech to \u201cfree lies\u201d. Democracy does not support free lies. \n\nJust say you\u2019re a Facist.\n\nJust say it.https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1514590815431106563\u00a0\u2026— Amazing (@Amazing) 1649955927
Twitter has acknowledged that it has received Musk's bid, which comes out to $54.20 a share. The company confirmed in a press release that its board of directors had received the offer and "will carefully review the proposal to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the Company and all Twitter stockholders."
Last week, Musk disclosed a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter that makes him the company's largest shareholder. Prominent conservatives appeared emboldened by the news, particularly because Musk had questioned Twitter's content moderation rules in the days before his disclosure.
At the time, there was significant speculation that Musk would join Twitter's board of directors, a move that would potentially broaden his influence over the platform and its policies.
Republicans, spurred by former President Donald Trump, have often accused Twitter of limiting prominent conservative voices on its platform.
In 2018, while still in office, Trump claimed that Twitter is "SHADOW BANNING prominent Republicans" in response to a news story that alleged accounts owned by Republicans were showing up in a general search of the website but not automatically populating when typing their names in the drop-down bar.
Twitter later issued a response, attributing the issue to a platform bug.