Musk buys Twitter
Elon Musk officially completed his purchase of Twitter Oct. 27, and the deal has caused quite a stir. He has fired hundreds of employees and higher-ups at the company in the transition. Since Twitter has been accused of hiding information that criticizes the left, some people on the political right celebrate this takeover while those on the left bemoan the change.
Musk disbanded Twitter’s board and fired four of the top executives immediately after taking charge, according to CNN. Musk intends to change the way the company moderates content and remove bans on certain individuals. Much of the way Twitter operates will be changed as Musk settles into his new leadership position.
After much speculation that Musk would be laying off a high percentage of employees, he fired roughly 3,700 Twitter employees out of 7,500. Musk promises to introduce new staff that has more diverse views on topics such as politics, The Hill suggested. He does not want Twitter to be as polarizing as it has been in the past.
Musk wants Twitter users to be able to use their free speech without being penalized for doing so. According to The New Yorker, Musk will likely ban people less often for violating policies with their tweets, further encouraging free speech. In the past, Twitter users, such as former President Donald Trump, have had their accounts banned.
Another new policy Musk will potentially be bringing in is allowing users to purchase verification for a monthly fee, CNBC announced. In the past, and on most other platforms, verification has been reserved for famous and significant people, but Musk plans to open this up to everyone. His theory is that this will rid the site of bots, and the only opinions that will be posted will be the opinions of real people.
While verification will be paid, celebrities and politicians will now have a different symbol next to their name to show their status. Purchased verification will allow users to appear higher up in feeds, and they will not be shown as many ads as people with free accounts. If they are caught interacting with spam accounts, their account could
be suspended.
Many companies are not pleased with the new changes coming to Twitter. Interpublic Group’s Mediabrands division has been asking its clients, which include Spotify, American Express, Levi’s and other massive brands, to remove their ads from the platform, according to Morning Brew. Musk does not seem to care that the large number of layoffs is upsetting many people.
In a world where everyone is divided by opinion and only interacts with their side, it is about time we have a social media platform that is welcoming to each side. No one deserves to have their voice cut off with nowhere to express their feelings. Musk has always floated in the middle of political parties, voting for and donating to both sides.
He says that he prefers to stay out of politics, but in recent years, he has leaned more heavily to the right while holding some Democratic views. There are not many people in influential positions today who are not incredibly divisive. He is the person we need in charge of a major platform, even if he is not the most-liked.
Carter is an opinion writer for the Liberty Champion