X is a Preferred Tool for American Propaganda. What Does It Mean?

X is a Preferred Tool for American Propaganda. What Does It Mean?

From The Tech Policy Press Podcast by Tech Policy Press

April 5, 2026 · 34 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the endorsement of Elon Musk's X by the US State Department as a tool for countering foreign propaganda.

Last week, The Guardian reported that United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has directed American embassies and consulates to counter foreign propaganda. Notably, the cable apparently endorses Elon Musk’s X as an “innovative” tool to help do it, even as it directs diplomats to coordinate with the US military’s psychological operations unit to counter what the administration deems as disinformation. Today’s guest is Kate Klonick , a law professor at St. John's University and a senior editor at Lawfare. In a piece on Lawfare last week, Klonick says that the State Department issuing a formal cable endorsing a specific social media platform for use in its messaging—and doing so in the same document that it encourages collaboration with military psychological operations—would have been nearly unthinkable until recent months. But it’s just the latest in a series of developments that suggest Elon Musk’s X is regarded as the preferred tool of the state. Let’s jump right in.

People in this episode

Guest: Kate Klonick

Topics covered

  • propaganda
  • social media
  • disinformation
  • government policy
  • psychological operations

Keywords

  • propaganda
  • X
  • Elon Musk
  • disinformation
  • US State Department
  • psychological operations
  • Kate Klonick

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Guardian, St. John's University, Lawfare, US military

More episodes of The Tech Policy Press Podcast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Tech Policy Press Podcast podcast page.