Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover
Elon Musk Credit:Daniel Oberhaus (2018), Creative Commons
After about 6 months filled with legal disputes and negotiations, Elon Musk completed his purchase of popular social media platform, Twitter, on Oct. 27. The initial process began on April 14, 2022 when Musk offered to buy Twitter, with the deal being accepted by Twitter’s board just a little over a week later.
Following this $44 billion purchase, Musk didn’t waste much time before implementing new changes. He has dissolved the nine-person Board of Directors, introduced his new plan to charge for verification and made known his intention to ease up on content moderation. This past May, before the purchase, Musk voiced his opinions on Twitter’s policies. He believed that Twitter should be more “reluctant to delete things” and “very cautious with permanent bans.” One of his priorities if the acquisition went through was to un-ban former President Donald Trump, who had been permanently banned after the Jan. 6 insurrection.
These new transitions have prompted backlash and concern from the community. The safeguards currently in place at Twitter include guidelines on moderating hate speech, violence and other offensive content posted on the site. The possibility of these being removed has generated worries about the future of Twitter, where disinformation and discriminatory language could fester.
In an on-stage interview this past April, Musk revealed his plan to deal with tweets that fall under a gray-area of controversy, saying, “if in doubt, let the speech exist.”
The overall American population seems to have similar views on the acquisition. A survey done by Preply.com of 2,000 Americans found that two in three people did not want Musk to take control of Twitter. Another survey done by OnePulse concluded that 55% of Americans believe Musk bought Twitter with personal interests in mind—like suppressing negative tweets about himself.
Many celebrities are also sharing their disapproval of Musk’s takeover. Toni Braxton, Grammy winning R&B star, tweeted in response to the new ownership, “I'm shocked and appalled at some of the ‘free speech’ I've seen on this platform since its acquisition. Hate speech under the veil of ‘free speech’ is unacceptable. Therefore I am choosing to stay off Twitter as it is no longer a safe space for myself, my sons and other POC.”
Other celebrities who’ve decided to leave the platform altogether include “Grey’s Anatomy” creator, Shonda Rhimes, and Grammy-winning singer/songwriter, Sara Bareilles.
Additionally, only three days after his takeover Musk used the app to vocalize his opinions and share disinformation on the Paul Pelosi incident.
Pelosi, husband to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was assaulted inside his home on Oct. 28. Hillary Clinton responded to the incident tweeting that “hate and deranged conspiracy theories” is what drives such attacks. In response to Clinton, Musk tweeted, “there is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye” accompanied by a link to an article from a notoriously false news outlet. This article contained far-right conspiracy theories on the attack.
Musk’s dissemination of disinformation, along with his proposed changes to Twitter, have led many to question Musk’s morals and character. For users, it’s uncertain what Musk’s leadership will mean for the future of the platform.