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Elon Musk has amplified a theory that only “alpha males” can be trusted to make good decisions, and should therefore be the ones to participate in democracy.
On Monday the billionaire entrepreneur re-posted a post on X, formerly Twitter, by an account called Autism Capital which included a screenshot of a theory that referred to “people who can’t defend themselves physically (women and low T men),” suggesting they are “very malleable to brute force manufactured consensus.”
The post, from September 1, said that only “high T alpha males and aneurotypical people” are able to question new information, concluding, “This is why a Republic of high status males is best for decision making. Democratic, but a democracy only for those who are free to think.”
The screenshot dates back to at least 2021 when it was posted on 4chan. The recent X post was labeled “the Reich effect,” presumably in reference to the official name of the German state until the end of World War 2.
In his repost, Musk wrote, “interesting observation,” which has been interpreted by many as potential support for the ideology. It has since accumulated 18.4 million views, and proven extremely controversial. Many users who identify as women expressed offense at the idea that they are unable to form their own opinions, and many others suggested it relied on outdated stereotypes.
Chief AI specialist at Meta Yann LeCun replied, “So, you’ve gone full-throttle sexist now?” and went on to cite inaccuracies in the theory.
Elon Musk and Autism Capital have been contacted by Newsweek for comment.
The following day, Musk shared a meme on X which expressed a similar concern that people are increasingly failing to form their own thoughts and opinions.
Musk, who took over X, then known as Twitter, in October 2022, has hailed the platform under his leadership as a home for free speech. He has reinstated the accounts of various controversial figures including Infowars founder Alex Jones and Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.
He also reinstated Donald Trump’s account, which was banned in January 2021 due to posts regarding the attack on the Capitol. He recently endorsed the presidential candidate, and conducted an interview with him that was streamed on X, giving Trump a platform to discuss his views on immigration, the economy, climate change, and more.
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