Mark Cuban has responded to fellow billionaire businessman Elon Musk after he used a poop emoji to describe the Shark Tank star.
Cuban discussed Musk when he sat down for an interview with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central's The Daily Show that aired on Monday. During his conversation with Stewart, Cuban suggested that Musk has altered the algorithms on X, formerly Twitter, to suit his own preferences since purchasing the platform in 2022.
While discussing Musk's scope of influence, Cuban said that "when you go on X, you see a preponderance of right-leaning people," prompting Stewart to respond that he often sees such accounts on the platform, even though he has "never clicked on any of these f****** things."
"That's the way algorithms work," Cuban said. "When you write an algorithm—I haven't written a lot, it's been a while—but when you write one, you get to set the parameters of what you want to see happen."
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) August 14, 2024Mark Cuban and Jon Stewart slam 𝕏 and @elonmusk, accuse Musk of manipulating the algorithm to push his preferred narratives to influence the election:
Cuban: "He's trying to be the most influential man in the world...when you write an algorithm, you set the parameters of what... pic.twitter.com/uMLVHjZ7p2
"And he certainly has done that to the things he likes," Cuban continued of Musk. "But it's different on other platforms and the good news, 20 percent of adults in the United States are on Twitter, so there's 80 percent who aren't there."
A video clip of the comments was shared on X by the account @WesternLensman on Wednesday, catching the eye of Musk, who responded: "That was hilarious laughing emoji.] Unlike the other platforms, our algorithm is open source!
"And if you interact and argue with 'right wing' accounts, which Cuban does a lot, the algorithm will assume that's what you *want* to do and give you more of it lmao."
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 14, 2024That was hilarious 😂
Unlike the other platforms, our algorithm is open source!
And if you interact and argue with "right wing" accounts, which Cuban does a lot, the algorithm will assume that's what you *want* to do and give you more of it lmao.
Musk took things a step further when he responded to the poster of the video, who wrote, in part: "A single platform that provides uncensored information from all sides—and now has an owner that doesn't align with the left's preferred narratives—is the only issue in today's political discourse and electoral politics.
"Can't have that. So X must be attacked and destroyed."
"Exactly," Musk said in agreement. "Mark Cuban is a giant [poop emoji] in human form."
Cuban, who is an avid X user, reacted to the Musk's comments just minutes later. Opting to forgo any words, the entrepreneur responded with a trio of heart hands emojis.
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) August 14, 2024
Elsewhere on The Daily Show, Cuban discussed the level of Musk's influence politically. Musk recently endorsed former President Donald Trump, who is expected to face Vice President Kamala Harris at the polls this November. Cuban has publicly expressed support for the Democratic ticket this election cycle.
"Twitter is in almost every country," Cuban said. "And so Twitter gives [Musk] the ability to connect to the prime minister, the head of every country in the world. And that person, whoever's in charge of that country, has an interest in what happens on Twitter. And what happens on Twitter, because of the control, the algorithms being the biggest user is all dependent on Elon Musk. Literally, wherever his thumb wants to go, he gets to push as hard or light as he wants.
Stewart said that he had "no question" Musk would "leverage" the reach of his platform during this election cycle.
The comments come days after Cuban challenged Musk on X over issues related to freedom of speech and suppression of "truths."
On Saturday morning, Musk posted on the platform, "Freedom of speech is the bedrock of democracy. If the truth is suppressed, it is impossible to make an informed voting decision. The degree to which freedom of speech is being undermined around the world is extremely alarming."
Cuban shared Musk's post and wrote on X, "'Truth' You do realize that YOU make the decisions on how 'Truths' are amplified or suppressed on this platform? That YOU create the most CHAOS when it comes to what is factual or not because YOUR posts get the most amplification?"
Musk frequently posts his political opinions on the platform, sometimes sharing content that is not always verified. In late July, Musk posted a video featuring an AI-generated voice of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Harris. According to The Associated Press, the parody video included statements Harris did not make and gained widespread attention after Musk shared it without explicitly noting it was a parody. Musk later clarified that the video was satire and shared the creator's original post. He later replied, "parody is legal in America."
Musk has made numerous changes to X since acquiring it in 2022, including changing its name from Twitter last year. In addition to altering the logo and name, Musk has changed the site's functionality by removing article headlines, implementing monthly fees for verified accounts, and offering premium users more characters, among other initiatives.
Some users have reported that the platform is more divisive and less fact-based than before, while Musk argues it has the least restricted speech compared to other popular social media platforms.
A report from Columbia Business School published in 2024 revealed that, "accounts of fact-checkers and of unbiased media outlets are receiving 52% and 27% fewer interactions, respectively."
