Musk’s purchase: Three changes coming to Twitter under Elon Musk
Elon Musk’s $44bn deal with the media giant Twitter has garnered news headlines for the past couple of months after the deal nearly never went through. With the deal now finalised, Musk is both the richest person in the world according to the Forbes billionaires list and now owns the biggest and most visited social networking site on the internet. It had been long expected that Musk would seriously deviate from past Twitter policy under the previous two CEO’s Parag Agrawal and Jack Dorsey with a stronger focus on allowing more controversial figures on the platform. Here are some of the main changes coming to Twitter on Musk’s watch.
Musk in 2013. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Reinstatement of controversial figures on the platform
While it’s yet to be confirmed, many predictions have been made about who will be allowed back onto the platform. One of the big names mentioned is former US President Donald Trump. When Musk initially agreed to the purchase of Twitter in May 2022, he promised the former president would be unbanned. Trump was banned in the days following the Capitol riots after he was accused of inciting protestors to invade the main building of the US government. Musk typically describes himself as a “free speech absolutist” and this couldn’t be tested more by the likes of Ye, commonly known as Kanye West, who was suspended after anti-Semitic tweets. Should West continue his controversial statements, it will certainly gauge how the platform’s free speech policy works under Musk’s direction.
Content moderation council
A recently revealed idea of Musk’s is to have a council with a wide range of ideas and views that will decide on decisions in relation to content and account reinstatement, giving a great amount of power to the hands of whoever is selected. Musk assures that the makeup of the council will have a wide array of ideas and opinions, so it doesn’t fall into one specific political camp. This could also be an attempt by Musk to calm advertisers who may be looking at jumping ship because of the changes to free speech. Advertisers make up nearly 89% of Twitter's sales and Musk is likely shoring up any potential advertisers who have their doubts as well as directly assuring them that he doesn’t want Twitter to be a “free-for-all hellscape.”
Purge of the Twitter leadership
It was widely reported and expected that Musk would make big changes at the top and lo and behold, it became true. Upon his takeover, Musk immediately fired CEO Parag Agrawal, relations between both men deteriorated during the takeover. CFO (Chief Financial Officer), Ned Segal was also fired as well as Twitter’s head of legal policy Vijaya Gedde, who reportedly headed up the decision to have Trump banned from the platform. With those who would disagree with Musk’s free speech openness now gone, he will likely be appointing figures in the management who will be far more accepting to his views.
Twitter is in the most tumultuous moment of its entire history and with a new owner directing the media giant, only time can tell if the Twitter bird will fly or fall.