Recently, Elon Musk had hit headlines after buying Twitter for 44 Billion dollars. There have been speculations about Musk buying Twitter until it was confirmed yesterday.
Photo courtesy. Elon Musk
Elon Musk has promised to reduce censorship on Twitter. However, this has raised questions about what his strategy will mean for the “digital town square” and what it means for the new usage.
Additionally, human rights groups have put forward questions about the rise in hate speech.
“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,” Mr. Musk said in a statement announcing the deal. “Twitter has tremendous potential — I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”
Few individuals have been suspended from using twitter before. Among them is Donald Trump who was the former US president. On that note, Twitter users are still inquiring if such people could be allowed back.
Screenshot of Donald Trump banned Twitter
What will Change?
In a statement, Mr Musk said that he hopes that even his powerful critics will stay on the twitter “because that is what free speech means”.
Yesterday, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters that US President Joe Biden “has long been concerned about the power of large social media platforms”, whoever owns or runs Twitter.
Nonetheless, Twitter has in the recent past become a striking rod for debate, as some users spread misinformation to the public
On the other hand, democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren said the deal was “dangerous for our democracy”, while pushing for a wealth tax and “strong rules to hold Big Tech accountable”.
On the contrary, Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn welcomed the agreement as “an encouraging day for freedom of speech”.
Some of the well known media personality like
British actress Jameela Jamil, who is best known for her role in TV series The Good Place, said she expects the platform to “become an even more lawless, hateful, xenophobic, bigoted, misogynistic space”.
“I would like this to be my… last tweet,” Tweeted Jameel.
What Elon Musk wants
Twitter has millions of active users every day. Elon Musk wants to “transform” the platform as earlier said by encouraging more free speech and giving users more control.
Photo courtesy
Also read Why Elon Musk Wants To Buy Twitter
Precisely, Twitter has more than 217 million daily users. On the other hand, Facebook and Instagram has more users than Tweeter. Political leaders, nonetheless, have always used Twitter as a platform to update their supporters and share their projects. While companies, celebrities and others have used it for image-making and brand building.
