Elon Musk

2022 - 10 - 28

Parag Agrawal Parag Agrawal

Post cover
Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Twitter braces for Donald Trump's return as Elon Musk takes over ... (The Guardian)

Civil rights advocates fear proposed rule changes will turn site into 'a supercharged engine of radicalisation'

Companies have [already hinted](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/business/media/elon-musk-twitter-ads.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur) at moving their advertising dollars elsewhere if Musk changes the platform’s safety and misinformation policies. [90% of its revenue](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/business/media/elon-musk-twitter-ads.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur). Allowing him to return would amplify his reach at a time when social media firms are [already struggling](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/oct/06/disinformation-in-spanish-facebook-twitter-youtube) to tamp down election misinformation, experts say. YouTube has not put forward a timeline on Trump’s ban but said it will be lifted “when risk of violence decreases”. Allowing Trump to return in particular could have a huge impact on content. As such, she is the staff member most identified with the suspension of Trump, and her exit speaks to Musk’s future plans. It alienated the country and did not result in Donald Trump not having a voice. “I think that was a mistake. [tried to contact advertisers](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/oct/27/elon-musk-twitter-advertisers-donald-trump) and reassure them that his desire to promote free speech would not result in the company becoming a “free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences”. [are thus far vague](https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/elon-musk-twitter-speech-rules-users-advertisers-rcna24613) but focus on moderating content less closely in the name of “freedom of speech”, [risk making the platform](https://www.mediamatters.org/elon-musk/angelo-carusone-twitter-under-musk-will-become-supercharged-engine-radicalization) “a supercharged engine of radicalisation”. [reverse that ban](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/may/10/elon-musk-pledges-overturn-twitter-ban-donald-trump), calling Twitter “left-biased”, and on Thursday he reportedly sacked the executive responsible. [removed Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/08/donald-trump-twitter-ban-suspended) in January 2021, saying the former president’s tweets were “highly likely to encourage and inspire people to replicate the criminal acts that took place at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021”.

Post cover
Image courtesy of "Wired.co.uk"

Elon Musk's Twitter Will Be Chaos (Wired.co.uk)

The entrepreneur's laundry list of ideas includes scrapping content moderation, charging subscription fees, and even branching out beyond social media.

“A Musk-owned Twitter could be disastrous for women and marginalized communities already facing abuse and targeted harassment on the platform,” says Christopher Bouzy of Bot Sentinel, a popular bot-detection system. In the US, this would translate to an ethos of just about anything goes. That may sound laudable to many, but while Twitter, like other big social platforms, currently tries to remove harassment and other objectionable content, Musk has said he is opposed to any “ If Musk carries through on his ideas even partly, Twitter users could see big and confusing shifts in the platform’s features and social dynamics. Segal has since updated his bio to “former CFO and current fan” of Twitter. Many have triggered concerns from people who use, study, or work at Twitter that the world may lose an imperfect but uniquely open online space.

Explore the last week