Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has voiced strong criticism of Elon Musk's leadership at X, formerly Twitter. Buterin stated that the platform, which was once seen as a champion of free speech, has increasingly become a venue for orchestrated hate campaigns. He believes these campaigns could potentially undermine the very principles that Musk claims to uphold.
In a series of posts made on Tuesday, Buterin observed that recent surges of online hostility, particularly those directed at Europe, appeared "unhinged." He characterized these attacks as being closer to "a coordinated attempt to delegitimize" rather than genuine debate. Buterin pointed to what he described as an "apocalyptic attitude" and broad generalizations about the region. He contrasted this with his own experience, noting that he has spent "an average of two months every year there for the last decade."
Concerns Over "Coordinated Hate Machine"
Buterin directly addressed Musk, urging him to reconsider his role in shaping the platform's discourse. He stated,
"I think you should consider that making X a global totem pole for free speech, and then turning it into a death star laser for coordinated hate sessions, is actually harmful for the cause of free speech. I’m seriously worried that huge backlashes against values I hold dear are coming in a few years."
He warned that the platform's capacity to mobilize large-scale hostility under the guise of open expression could provoke significant political and cultural backlash. This backlash, he suggested, might ultimately weaken broader commitments to free speech. Buterin also implied that Musk is influencing the platform's visibility algorithms in ways that exacerbate polarization. He commented that Musk appears to be "actively tweaking algorithms to boost some things and deboost other things based on pretty arbitrary criteria."
Buterin proposed that as long as such control over algorithms exists, it would be preferable "to boost niceness instead of boosting ragebait." His remarks come amid intensifying debates about how major social platforms, which are increasingly concentrated in ownership, manage content moderation, influence public discourse, and define the boundaries of acceptable speech. These comments also surface at a time when Farcaster, a decentralized social network that Buterin had previously endorsed, is undergoing a significant directional shift, moving from a social-first design to a wallet-centric model.
Buterin's Continued Support for Privacy Tools
In a related development last month, Buterin demonstrated his ongoing commitment to privacy-focused communication tools by donating 128 ETH each to messaging projects Session and SimpleX. The Ethereum co-founder elaborated that these two platforms are actively working to enhance decentralization. They achieve this by offering end-to-end encrypted messaging that does not require phone number registration and by improving defenses against Sybil attacks and denial-of-service attacks.
He identified permissionless account creation and stronger metadata privacy as key priorities for the sector moving forward. Buterin also noted that both projects publicly disclose their donation addresses. While acknowledging that they are still imperfect, he highlighted them as representing tangible efforts to advance privacy-preserving communication technologies.