Elon Musk

2022 - 10 - 28

Parag Agrawal Parag Agrawal

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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”.

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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.

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Image courtesy of "BBC News"

Elon Musk takes control of Twitter in $44bn deal (BBC News)

The New York Stock Exchange says the merger is "effective" as the billionaire axes executives.

Earlier reports suggested 75% of staff at the social media company were set to lose their jobs but those reports were "inaccurate", according to Ross Gerber, a shareholder in both Twitter and Mr Musk's other company Tesla. He made his fortune through the electric car company Tesla, and space exploration firm Space X. But he said the job losses could nevertheless extend far beyond upper management. There has been no comment yet from Twitter about its new management team. At the time, Twitter said there was a risk Mr Trump would incite further violence. There are fears that more lenient free speech policies would mean people banned for hate speech or disinformation may be invited back to the platform. "Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hell-scape, where anything can be said with no consequences!" Twitter co-founder Biz Stone appeared to confirm the executives' departure. But whoever becomes its next chief executive, it is clear that Mr Musk will ultimately be in charge of the company - a role he will have to balance with his management positions at both Tesla and SpaceX. Eventually Twitter executives took legal action to hold Mr Musk to his offer and while he recently admitted he and the other investors involved in the deal were "overpaying for Twitter right now", the deal does now appear to have gone through. he tweeted. Mr Musk tweeted "the bird is freed" and later said "let the good times roll".

Elon Musk to take on Twitter CEO role and reverse permanent bans ... (Dudley News)

It has been reported that the billionaire will take charge of the social media site in the short term and remove permanent bans issued to users.

But the billionaire has already made some moves in an effort to calm these fears. Social media expert Matt Navarra said he was not surprised by the reports and said the reversal of permanent bans to allow “some of the most polarising, controversial, trouble-making accounts” back on to Twitter was the “most likely” big change to make early in Mr Musk’s tenure. Many people have raised concerns over some of Mr Musk’s proposals for a Twitter platform under his management, most notably his stance as a “free speech absolutist” who would allow any content which was not illegal to remain on the site.

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