Tucker Carlson, one of America's most influential conservative journalists, told The National on Saturday that Elon Musk has a "great" and positive influence on American society.
"Elon Musk has been great for American society so far in that he's allowed uncensored news coverage on X for which he paid $44 billion," Carlson told The National at the 1 Billion Followers Summit in Dubai.
He said that in the United States "the citizen has a right to say what he thinks" but had not always enjoyed that freedom, and Mr Musk created the space for that when he bought X. The company was originally valued at $22 billion, causing Musk $22 billion in losses.
"I think because he thought the promise of America's free speech and we didn't have it, so that is a historic addition to the United States," he added.
In a separate speech at the three-day summit, at which major social media companies and content creators are gathered, Mr Carlson said that the US prides itself on the principle of free speech, giving its citizens the right of freedom of expression.
"Every country is different, but there's one country on the globe that allows, as a matter of core principle free speech on federal, and that's the United States of America. And so you cannot let that erode," he said.
In 2022, Mr Musk acquired Twitter and merged it into his own company X Corp, with the social platform now known as X.
With social media reporting and citizen journalism taking over the media landscape, Carlson said that mainstream media are undoubtedly partisan influencers.
"During the Covid pandemic in the US or Europe, where were you getting the more accurate information? Looking back now that we know a lot of what we didn't know," he said.
He claims that mainstream American media perpetuate lies, making it hard to trust the content or pay for it. But on social media, there is a diverse range of voices that could be closer to the truth than news produced by media outlets, he said.
"The partisans on social media are no more partisan than the institutions they are replacing," he said in his speech at the summit.
Trump re-election might bring about positive change
Carlson told The National that Donald Trump approaching the beginning of his second presidency on January 20 is a moment that presents an opportunity for "positive change".
"Trump got re-elected for the second time with a four-year gap at exactly the moment that a lot of trends are coming to their natural end, like neoliberalism," Carlson said.
He remains hesitant to declare which of Mr Trump's promises will come true, and claims that the escalation of the recent California fires were a result of the alleged poor response from America's liberal administrations.
"It's just this amazing confluence of events … the current system is tapped out, ineffective, discredited," he added.
In a speech he gave at the summit, titled 'The New Rules of Influence,' he said that he supports democracy, but does not believe it cannot be effective for long-term decision making.
Although the world has already experienced Mr Trump's leadership, Mr Carlson believes his second term could be transformative, bringing about positive change.
"Trump, I mean, I think a lot could happen, a lot of really good things. If there was ever a time for positive change, it's now, and I'm hoping for it, of course," he said.
The years Ramadan fell in May
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
Mountain%20Boy
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LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
The Two Popes
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jonathan Pryce
Four out of five stars
McLaren GT specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed
Power: 620bhp
Torque: 630Nm
Price: Dh875,000
On sale: now
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The specs: 2018 Ford Mustang GT
Price, base / as tested: Dh204,750 / Dh241,500
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Gearbox: 10-speed automatic
Power: 460hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque: 569Nm @ 4,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.3L / 100km
Scoreline
Ireland 16 (Tries: Stockdale Cons: Sexton Pens: Sexton 3)
New Zealand 9 (Pens: Barrett 2 Drop Goal: Barrett)
Results
STAGE
1 . Filippo Ganna (Ineos) - 0:13:56
2. Stefan Bissegger (Education-Nippo) - 0:00:14
3. Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:21
4. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:24
5. Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) - 0:00:30
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 4:00:05
2. Joao Almeida (QuickStep) - 0:00:05
3. Mattia Cattaneo (QuickStep) - 0:00:18
4. Chris Harper (Jumbo-Visma) - 0:00:33
5. Adam Yates (Ineos) - 0:00:39
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 2
(Martial 30', McTominay 90 6')
Manchester City 0
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order
