-
-
Calling himself a “free speech absolutist”, Elon Musk has made it pretty clear that he is not happy with how Twitter handles the freedom of speech on the platform. Earlier, he had tweeted, “Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle? Musk will tweak the content moderation policies of the platform as he believes that they are too stringent.
In his big to buy Twitter, he wrote, “I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy.”
-
-
According to Musk, a social media platform’s policies are good if the most extreme 10 percent on the left and right are equally unhappy. This makes us think that the billionaire is likely to bring back former President Donald Trump to return to Twitter. For the unversed, Trump was banned from Twitter for life, back in January 2021, due to assault on the US Capitol by his supporters. He was banned to avoid “the risk of incitement of violence”.
However, Donald Trump has already announced that he will not leave his own social media platform TRUTH Social. As per his statement to FoxNews.com, “We’re taking in millions of people, and what we’re finding is that the response on TRUTH is much better than being on Twitter. Twitter has bots and fake accounts, and we are doing everything we can.” According to Trump, Elon Musk is a “good man” who can improve the service.
Image: Pixabay
-
-
The Tesla CEO had earlier tweeted complaining about crypto scams on Twitter. Last week, he said that these bots are the “single most annoying problem” on Twitter. He further tweeted, “If our Twitter bid succeeds, we will defeat the spam bots or die trying!” and “authenticate all real humans”.
Back in January, he pointed out that Twitter was developing profile pictures that showcase NFTs, “while crypto scammers are throwing a spambot block party in every thread!?”
-
- Many social media users believe that algorithms are responsible for enticing them to spend more time on the platforms. As per a statement by Musk at a recent TED conference, he wants to convert Twitter to an open-source model. According to him, that will bring more transparency by allowing users to see and examine the code and analyze why certain posts are prioritised in their feeds and that there is no “behind-the-scenes manipulation.”
-
-
Back on April 4, Musk had tweeted asking users if they need an edit option. In this tweet, he had set up a poll with yes and no options. He smartly misspelled “yes” hinting that this feature will allow users to correct typos. To this poll, more than 4 million users voted for “yes”. The next day, Twitter confirmed to introduce the much-requested Edit option for tweets on the platform.
Twitter communications team further announced, “no, we didn’t get the idea from a poll”. Notably, Musk has not given his views on the subject. (Image Credit: BBC)
-
-
Elon Musk has already expressed that he is not a big fan of Twitter ads as it gives advertisers too much power on the platform. Although it is not financially viable for Twitter to halt the advertisements on the platform abruptly, Musk has hinted at another solution to this. According to him, subscription-based Twitter instead of an advertising-supported version.
For the unversed, Twitter has already rolled out its subscription-based Twitter Blue service that offers premium features in some parts of the world. Chances are, Musk might tweak the service so that more users are attracted towards it.
Faqs
Musk, the C.E.O. of Tesla and the richest man on earth, plans to take the social-media company private, and has said that he wants Twitter to adhere more closely to the principles of free speech, which, in a statement, Musk called “the bedrock of a functioning democracy.”2 hours ago
Elon Musk Buys Twitter Money Offered Musk revealed his funding arrangements with the investment bank Morgan Stanley and a group of other lenders in a securities filing made public on Thursday.16 hours ago
Musk, the C.E.O. of Tesla and the richest man on earth, plans to take the social-media company private, and has said that he wants Twitter to adhere more closely to the principles of free speech, which, in a statement, Musk called “the bedrock of a functioning democracy.”2 hours ago
After Twitter said it has reached an agreement to sell the company to Elon Musk for around $44bn, the platform’s former chief and co-founder Jack Dorsey has called the billionaire’s takeover of the company the “singular solution” he trusts.12 hours ago
Musk will pay for Twitter using $25.5 billion in debt and margin loan financing along with $21 billion in equity commitments. Shortly before the stock was halted, investors were still pricing Twitter roughly $4, or 7%, below Musk’s bid price.21 hours ago
$44bn
Conclusion
Elon Musk is a free speech absolutist and has expressed his dissatisfaction with how Twitter handles freedom of speech. He intends to tweak the content moderation policies on the platform for being too stringent and wants to see things like extreme left and right political opinions equally unhappy. For this reason, he’