Elon Musk's Twitter: A Grim Future
A social media utopia becomes more of a distant dream
Elon Musk is making headlines with his $44 billion Twitter deal and subsequently taking on the position of CEO of Twitter in the wake of mass staff layoffs.
Twitter will never be the same – for better or worse is yet to be seen. However, the takeover and ensuing changes fan the flames of the dumpster fire Twitter already was.
In April 2022, Musk was revealed to be a major shareholder of Twitter and was offered a seat on its board. Although he initially accepted the offer, he ended up backing out and launched a hostile bid for the platform afterwards.
Musk again backed out of this deal, citing Twitter’s board's fraudulent metrics of the number of spam accounts. In turn, Twitter sued, leading Musk to continue with the $44 billion deal.
Ironically, Musk was no longer interested in buying Twitter but had little choice in the matter. Because he was most likely to lose Twitter’s lawsuit against him, he financed $46.5 billion for the deal, including a loan with $1 billion interest, in order to drop legal proceedings.
Although Musk is one of the wealthiest men in the world with a net worth of $210.1 billion, much of that worth is based on stock and company evaluations. Twitter has been on the economic decline as user engagement continues to drop, and it’s going to lose a lot more unless Musk can keep advertising money flowing.
Previously banned public figures such as Donald Trump may also be allowed back on Twitter as Musk’s board loosens policies which will trigger more disinformation and hate speech on the platform. Free speech may be a constitutional right, but the protection of users and the creation of a safe space is an essential element within this right. While these previously banned accounts will get user interaction up and be a step in the suitable direction for Musk’s vision of a free speech extravaganza, it could also lead to many brands and celebrities pulling out of Twitter’s realm.
Despite Twitter’s status as a hub for news and political activism, brands don’t need Twitter to sell their products. There’s Facebook, Instagram and Google that encompass prime advertising platforms; Twitter is just one of many ways for advertisers to get clicks, and a space with minimal moderation is not what companies want to align themselves with.
Since Musk’s takeover, the N-word has jumped in usage by 500%, according to the Network Contagion Research Institute. Slurs, sexist comments, and anti-LGBTQ tweets are proliferating on Twitter. These messages certainly are free speech, but they harm users and propagate the wrong message – messages advertisers don’t want to be part of and users don’t want to see.
Musk has already started firing top executives and other employees despite the enormous severance packages he has to pay to laid-off employees. He is distancing himself from advertisers and restructuring the whole company, starting with an $8 monthly fee for the blue check mark symbolizing Twitter verification status.
Musks’s vision of Twitter as a free speech social media platform is an idealistic dream. A landscape with no filter to moderate hate speech and threats means that fewer companies and users will want to be on Twitter. This spells out trouble, as Musk can only sustain the platform for so long without revenue.
As an experienced businessman, Musk will try to salvage his imminent loss of billions of dollars. His unpredictable moves and commitment to speech protections indicate that he’s not ready to take a hit to his ego by admitting that he’s bitten off more than he can chew.