The News on the Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk on Thursday, dated October 27, 2022, is still breaking news!
The sudden, immediate reaction against the slashy news might have disappeared, but the trance is still lurking around.
After a lengthy phase of doubts and discussions, Elon Musk finally reached the decision to take over Twitter and rule over the social media platform like a true leader. Now, the concern is whether the decision will lead to a brighter path on a larger scale. The blog intends to focus on if the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk has been the right decision, with a strong emphasis on the recent events and their consequences.
Since last week, almost every newspaper portal worldwide has published the takeover incident as one of the biggest events in the social media realm. Yes! The world’s richest personality Elon Musk completed his $44 billion purchase of Twitter, which he, along with a group of investors, has financed. However, the news has sparked flames of controversy among youngsters across the globe, where individuals from lame to professionals (especially the digital marketing community) are offering their standpoints on the occurrence. Before the acquisition, Musk repeatedly changed his mind about the deal, tweeting poop emojis and making weed jokes. Right now, the ownership of the platform by that very person is real, like nothing. The response and reaction of social media users are vital, indeed. It is as well evident there are individuals who have attained massive social, financial, and political benefits, and, on the other side, there are ones who are at significant economic risk due to the takeover. The series of information try to analyze the event’s prospective positive and negative end results, impacting the future of the social media platform, its employees, and its users.
Musk presents himself as a “free speech absolutist” and has expressed his core intent behind the acquisition to transform Twitter into a more liberal platform where individuals can share their beliefs and standpoints. The new owner has stated, “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.” US politicians like Mejorie Taylor Greene and Ted Cruz are delighted with Musk’s takeover, as they welcome the new owner as an unwavering support for them in establishing Twitter, a platform biased against right-wing content. Elon Musk has been known for breaking business rules. In the course, he has gone through problems with regulators, but he continues to do what he wishes. Even when he was penalized for posting a misleading tweet regarding his plan to take Tesla private, Musk continued to stretch the limits of his settlement by constantly posting unauthorized tweets.
Social media platforms always represent something revolutionary, and users worldwide are still learning about the effect that they have on people’s cognitive and behavioral abilities since the pandemic hit the world and that these platforms can be destructive of truth, democracy, and humanity. However, Musk has expressed his philanthropic attitude by stating that he owned Twitter to “help humanity whom I love.” On quite the contrary, he acknowledged to the advertisers, “Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!” Big social media companies, including Twitter, have been under much public pressure in recent years. While the conservatives are happy with the takeover news, the latest Twitter policies have sparked concerns among liberals and activists regarding loosening content moderation standards. Musk has declared he would cut off the platform’s workforce by three quarters soon. The billionaire carries the record of silencing his critics many times. In Elon’s rocket ship company, he terminated the jobs of five employees who raised their voices against him by calling him “a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment.”
Just after the acquisition, Musk fired Parag Agarwal, the first Indian-origin CEO of the company appointed to the designation only one year back in 2021. The New York Times report has mentioned Agarwal had criticized the chief twit about the takeover, both publicly and privately. Musk also terminated Vijaya Gadde, the head of the legal policy, trust, and safety department, who was behind the permanent suspension of Trump on Twitter in January 2022. Musk’s rapport with Donald Trump indicates that he would soon restore the latter’s Twitter account.
Hence, it may not be true that Musk promotes free speech; rather, the platform is about promoting Musk’s standpoint. Musk’s political views are clear, and his acquisition of one of the world’s most powerful social media platforms is a true event. As he has taken the company private, he won’t be answerable to the public stakeholders for any of his decisions or actions. Moreover, Musk did not comment on whether there will be any changes in how Twitter will deal with the Authoritarian Countries that censor social media.
At the precarious situation of the Russia-Ukraine war, Musk asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to a ‘single combat’ by saying, “Stakes are Ukraine,” about Russia’s attack on the country. The businessman has been vocal about his support for Ukraine since the dispute began in February 2022, reflecting this courage. On the contrary, Ian Bremmer, Eurasia Group Founder and President said he talked with Musk two weeks back. That time, Musk told him that Putin told him he was “prepared to negotiate” under the conditions that Crimea remains under Russian control. However, Musk later denied that. Hence, the doubt kept hovering around. Despite every mentioned fact, it is pretty evident that Musk did not delete or dismiss anyone’s Twitter accounts, reflecting his liberal approach on the platform.
According to some, the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk to be private is a good decision. He is the world’s wealthiest individual; hence, he has the right to buy whatever he wants or is capable of. However, by the end of the day, Twitter is a pretty niche platform, and most people worldwide don’t even care about the acquisition news. For years, Twitter has noticeably been a hub of misinformation, and there is a hope that Musk might change the social media platform from a niche service to a mainstream media powerhouse. Altercations and controversies will go on. It is only to look forward to witnessing the ultimate consequences.
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