In 1897, the American newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst sent illustrator Frederic Remington to cover the Cuban War of Independence. When Remington relayed that "there will be no war," Hearst allegedly cabled back: "You furnish the pictures, and I'll furnish the war."
It's an old story with a well-known moral: Wealth confers power, and power begets a craving for more power. A familiar corollary follows: He who controls the means of mass communication controls how reality is constructed and conveyed.
The means of mass communication have changed since Hearst's time, but the behaviour of plutocrats has not. Having used Twitter quite effectively to promote his own businesses, Elon Musk recognises the platform commands significant influence in contemporary public life. While he has since tried to wriggle out of the deal that he signed to buy the platform, he may have no choice but to follow through. In any case, it is worth considering his stated reason for pursuing ownership of the company.
