Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter will not guarantee free speech
By now, you have read that Elon Musk purchased Twitter for a whopping $44 billion. As the world's wealthiest billionaire and business magnate, he is reshaping the social media stakes.
Twitter has struggled in the first quarter this year. As reported by Reuters, the microblogging site reported weaker than expected revenues and user growth for the quarter. Naturally, with the purchase, it revitalizes the game and influences in favor of Twitter at a time when TikTok is the new town square.
Another reason why this acquisition was made is that TikTok will surpass both Twitter, of course, and surprisingly Snapchat for ad revenue. A new status quo is in the works, and freedom of information is not at all what it is about.
Why Musk’s buyout of Twitter will not bring free speech back
Do not get it twisted about the claims and observations that I am making in this post. Musk as an entrepreneur and business mogul has accomplished a lot for Tesla and SpaceX. However, the fact this purchase was made publicly and stemmed from stories that he had become the majority owner is right out of a playbook.
Not so surprising, at least to me, is the fact that Jack Dorsey, co-founder, and former CEO, commented on the purchase as a very good move for the company.
Taking Twitter back from Wall Street does not mean it is in better hands. Now that it belongs to someone, he will choose what to do with it. We know the deal has conditions for all the parties involved in this partnership, and it may have political implications for the 2024 presidential elections.
We know that former President Donald Trump, in light of the January 6th, 2021 Capitol Attack, was permanently banned from Twitter and Facebook. He founded Truth Social, which for him is meant to be better than Twitter.
How does Twitter compare to other right-wing social media clones? According to Statista, Twitter outpaces them overall in several categories.
When it comes to free speech, Musk has had a shaky history. According to the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR), Musk has a history well-known by now, how he has acted with his managerial style at Tesla and SpaceX.
“At Tesla Inc. and SpaceX, Musk has a long track record of silencing or punishing anyone who goes public with criticism of a project or practice,” According to Bloomberg.
Takeaways from the purchase
We are in a new era where social media is the mass outlet and where everybody comes to connect. There is a bitter rivalry between U.S-based social media companies like Twitter, Facebook, and Google with the likes of TikTok. What it comes down to is how much popular one single platform like TikTok has rewritten the status quo.
All of this will lead to more consolidation of billionaires like Musk who will control the principles of journalism (who, what, when, where, who, and why), and disregard these tenets. This is the byproduct of geopolitics and the diminishing of speech. The freedom of information will not be as transparent.
Is it possible that Twitter will remain free or have to pay a subscription? The other idea floating around is Musk has a connection to Trump, and it is not excluded that given his new venture, he could try to bring him back on the platform as an excuse for free speech.
Leave in the comments what are your thoughts on this purchase of Twitter.
