Elon Musk buys Twitter: what now?

With this purchase, in which the number of bots on Twitter has been at stake, there will be more changes. Musk promises to be a champion of free speech, but what will change?

a new twitter

After six months of legal battles, Musk closed the deal before the deadline and avoided a high-stakes trial in Delaware Court. The billionaire has promised sweeping and immediate changes to the way Twitter is run, as part of his grand ambitions to quadruple the number of active users on the platform to one billion and turn the social network into a global digital town square.

Also listed among his plans include loosening content moderation controls, removing bots, restoring banned accounts, and removing what he describes as Twitter’s “far left” bias.

And that is only the beginning. In tweets and text messages to investors, Musk has said he wants Twitter to become an “everything app,” where users perform daily tasks, from encrypted messages to peer-to-peer payments, e-commerce shopping and social networking.

Elon Musk

@elonmusk

Dear Twitter Advertisers https://t.co/GMwHmInPAS

October 27, 2022 • 15:08

593K

18.7K

“I wanted to reach out personally to share my motivation for acquiring Twitter. There has been a lot of speculation about why I bought Twitter and what I think about advertising. Most of it has been wrong. The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important for the future of civilization to have a common digital public square, where a wide range of beliefs can be discussed in a healthy way, without resorting to violence.”

“Currently there is a great danger that social media will split into far-right and far-left echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society. In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much of the mainstream media has fed and catered to these polarized extremes, believing that’s what makes money, but in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost ,” Musk said.

More freedom of expression?

In his first hours at the helm of Twitter, Musk is putting greater freedom as the cornerstone of his new policy for the birdie’s social network . In fact, he has celebrated his arrival on Twitter with the message “the bird has been released.”

Elon Musk

@elonmusk

the bird is freed

October 28, 2022 • 05:49

784K

22K

Musk has called himself a “free speech absolutist” (despite blocking many of his critics on the social network), and has suggested that Twitter should allow any content that doesn’t violate local speech laws .

Elon Musk

@elonmusk

@Cernovich Like I said, my preference is to hew close to the laws of countries in which Twitter operates. If the citizens want something banned, then pass a law to do so, otherwise it should be allowed.

May 09, 2022 • 15:20

37.4K

1K

“My preference is to abide by the laws of the countries in which Twitter operates. If the citizens want something banned, then pass a law to do it, otherwise it should be allowed,” he tweeted on May 9.

Content moderators have tried to control racism, misinformation and insults on the social network. By opening the floodgates, experts warn that Musk could pose a risk to newcomers.

Now he’s been a bit more lukewarm about it: “Obviously Twitter can’t turn into a hell where everyone can say anything without consequence! In addition to adhering to the laws of the country, our platform must be warm and welcoming for everyone, where you can choose the desired experience according to your preferences, just as you can choose, for example, to watch movies or play video games. ranging from all ages to maturity.”

Musk complained about the number of bots or spam accounts on Twitter while trying to cancel the acquisition and vowed to clean the site of fake content. He believes that removing the fake accounts would go a long way in making it a more attractive platform. Musk also suggested that he would make the algorithm publicly available for users to view and suggest changes.