Will Twitter Change with Elon Musk in Charge?

Twitter has been the centre of political discussion for some time now. Described as the “town square” of the world, it is a place where people connect and share ideas. Recently, Elon Musk, famous for Tesla, SpaceX, and PayPal, made an offer to buy the platform. The deal which will cost Musk $42bn was accepted by the board but will take time to ratify. However, many users on Twitter have said they will quit, whilst others are optimistic about what the future holds.

With Twitter, Musk has mentioned that companies and governments may have to pay a small fee, as ultimately they are on the platform for marketing purposes. This is a good idea, especially for the commercial interests of Twitter. The king of advertising is Facebook, and there is plenty to learn from its CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Nonetheless, many have argued that with Twitter, the value in owning it is controlling the flow of information. The platform dictates the news cycle, as it always breaks first on Twitter.

One key topic that Musk has hit on time and time again is free speech. The notion of censorship repulses him, and as long as a Tweet does not promote violence or harm to a person, it should be OK. Nonetheless, he has a massive job, if he wants to rewrite the guidelines of what you can and cannot do on Twitter. There have been many dubious bans for many types of people, mainly on the right-wing of politics. The most famous is Donald Trump. Musk thinks that Trump's ban was silly and that he should be reinstated to the platform. But Trump has other ideas, launching his own social media network called Truth. He has even said publicly that he doesn't even want his Twitter account back. But, if he decides to run in 2024, he may need it to reach a wider audience.

The issue with Trump's Truth Social is it will just be an echo chamber, everyone agreeing with one another. That is the beauty of Twitter. Yes, sometimes it can be very childish and even brutal, but overall there are some great debates on the platform.

Banning or censoring things rarely works either as people still figure it out away. In many places in the world, regular things are banned such as alcohol or gambling, but it is still possible to partake. For the latter, in places like New Zealand, some of the funds are designated to help local communities, so Kiwis have access to all the best gambling sites. To help, there are comparison sites that provide guides on everything. These range from casino no deposit bonus reviews to the best operators for slots. On the page, players can find a great bonus and read comprehensive reviews on each casino. Additionally, there are in-depth explanations on how to claim different bonuses.

Whatever happens, Musk has a huge job on his hands. He has made himself a major public figure now, and we all know how crazy some people are on Twitter. For so long, social media has been controlled with a left-wing bias, and that seems to be changing. Many users such as Shaun King said he will quit and never return, only to come back a week later.

Twitter is such a great tool for building a profile, especially if you have a book or a Substack to sell. So, it seems many will say one thing and do another. One interesting development is the future of its founder and ex CEO Jack Dorsey. He was firstly ousted from the company he founded and later returned as the boss. Whether this will happen again, remains to be seen.

Musk – and Twitter has always said they will comply with any local laws on hate speech, but this is a delicate subject, especially with Americans. It is very difficult to define, but many governments around the world have tried, with some people being prosecuted for things they said on the platform. For example, Twitter users in the UK can be jailed for sending offensive Tweets. This is out of Musk’s purview but whether it will be a fair and free place to discuss ideas? Only time will tell.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes.