Elon Musk’s Critics Stripped of Verification Badge After Publicly Challenging Billionaire
Charlie Nash, Mediaite, December 27, 2024
Several conservative critics of billionaire Trump surrogate Elon Musk were stripped of their verification badges on X after publicly challenging Musk’s stance on immigration.
Trump ally Laura Loomer, New York Young Republican Club president Gavin Wax, InfoWars host Owen Shroyer, and the pro-Trump ConservativePAC were all stripped of their verification badges after criticizing Musk’s controversial remarks about American workers and foreign H-1B visa holders.
“[Musk] has removed my blue check mark on X because I dared to question his support for H1B visas, the replacement of American tech workers by Indian immigrants, and I questioned his relationship with China,” wrote Loomer in a post on Musk’s social network X, formerly known as Twitter.
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Responding to the suggestion that her verification check was removed for an unrelated reason, Loomer wrote, “I mean right after @elonmusk called me a troll today, my account verification was taken away, my subscriptions were deactivated and I was banned from being able to buy premium even though I was already paying for premium. Clearly retaliation.”
Wax – one of the most vocal critics of Musk’s stance on H-1B visa immigration – was also stripped of his verification badge around the same time on Thursday evening.
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In another post, Wax joked, “Okay let me try this and see if I get my badge back: Americans are stupid and lazy and have created nothing. India is a superpower and has the smartest and best talent the world has ever seen. America needs 1 billion new migrants to bring us the fruits of civilization. We are stupid and must repent!”
After being stripped of his own verification badge, Shroyer expressed concern about “the current situation with censorship” on Musk’s platform.
“This feels like the beginning stages of censorship on X. It feels like early-stage censorship on X,” he warned.
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