Twitter announced that it has agreed to sell itself to Musk for roughly 44 billion dollars.
Musk plans to make it into an “inclusive arena for free speech.” In a TED live stream, he said “Twitter has become kind of a de facto town square, so it’s really important that people have both the reality and the perception that they are able to speak freely within the bounds of the law.”
Interestingly, Twitter already seemingly allows free speech. Of course, it disallows things like hate speech and COVID-19 misinformation. Musk is quite known to have wrong notions on COVID and the vaccine for the virus and had been anti-lockdown as well. It remains to be seen what Musk means when he talks about “free speech” when he refers to the platform.
As this news about Musk making a deal with Twitter became known to the public, two phrases trended on the very platform Musk wants to acquire: “RIP Twitter” and “Twitter HQ”. It seems like people aren’t too optimistic about the news, especially considering the type of person Musk appears to be. Let’s take a look at some people’s thoughts on Musk’s intentions to buy the platform.
People can still say what they want right?
If (when) Elon Musk buys Twitter, I'm not going anywhere, staying right here.
Someone's gotta hang around to say "fuck Elon Musk," right?
— BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) April 25, 2022
Left-winged Twitter users have expressed concern regarding the idea of Musk being in control of one of the most influential social media platforms, citing concerns about the possibility of the spread of misinformation on the platform.
Meanwhile, right-winged users are in favor of Musk getting ahold of Twitter, believing that the billionaire would be granting them freedom of speech if he takes ownership of the platform.
https://twitter.com/434BrandonJ/status/1518564335865450496?s=20&t=8PJAB1muLemdF5bWv0ULJA
I find it interesting how this situation has become another battle of the liberals vs the conservatives – the left-wing vs the right-wing. Anyone who scrolls through the “RIP Twitter” trending topic can see only two things: conservatives celebrating because they think Musk would give them the freedom to say whatever they want, and liberals worried about the spread of misinformation throughout the platform if Musk takes ownership. It’s not my job to take a side on that topic, but if Musk does buy Twitter, let’s hope that he would not encourage the spread of false information on an already messed up platform.
On a lighter note, Twitter users have been poking fun at the situation and giving us an inside look at Twitter HQ during their talks with Musk.
Live shot of Twitter HQ at this very moment pic.twitter.com/XceYVa0VLl
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 25, 2022
Elon might just fire every Twitter employee on sight after he buys it.
https://twitter.com/DeltaInvestech/status/1518563034025041921?s=20&t=8PJAB1muLemdF5bWv0ULJA
Elon walking into Twitter HQ today after the deal is announced pic.twitter.com/v2BsQAymVM
— Joe Schoen Fan Club (@Matt_Moose) April 25, 2022
Twitter HQ is so messed up right now.
Live from Twitter HQ: pic.twitter.com/HEUdB1fgGF
— Chet Lemond (@ChetLemond) April 25, 2022
Now, we sit and wait to see what happens to everyone’s favorite internet blue bird.
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