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Jannis Brühl, Simon Hurtz, Helmut Martin-Jung and Meike Schreiber
The US comedian Dave Chappelle was once again heavily criticized on the social network Twitter and commented in one of his appearances: “Twitter is not a real place.” The audience applauded: finally someone says it. Chappelle’s message: It doesn’t matter what happens on Twitter, don’t let it affect your life! But that’s not so easy. Because at the same time he confirmed how much this non-place occupied him. Twitter is used by far fewer people than the big networks Facebook, Instagram or Tiktok. And yet Twitter emanates a cultural and political power that is second to none. Celebrities, journalists and politicians fight here for the truth or for what they want to sell as truth. Twitter is a company that does not make politics itself, but politics is. In contrast to its political clout and its ability to influence the agenda of mainstream media around the world is the mediocre performance of the company itself, which Tesla boss Elon Musk is now set to buy. Some construction sites are waiting for him: