Now that Elon Musk has acquired Twitter, he centered his intentions for Twitter on the new moderation procedures he planned to implement.
Musk's Future Plans Concerning 'Free Speech'
According to a story published by The Independent, Musk proposes to improve the social media platform by adding new features, making the algorithms open source to promote trust, eradicating spambots, and verifying the identities of all users.
"Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," Musk said in his statement.
Since making that comment, Musk has articulated his perspective on free speech as follows: "If people want less free speech, they will ask [the] government to pass laws to that effect," he said in a tweet.
Negative Reactions to Musk's Idea of 'Free Speech'
The Independent reported that experts had called this unrealistic since it stands opposite to the rules of nations that take an authoritarian stance toward online criticism. It also runs contrary to the laws of countries that demand greater moderation.
The former director of sport at Twitter, Lewis Wiltshire, said that it is impossible to envision a larger oxymoron than free speech" and that it is a mistake to conceive it as one clean concept.
Musk also has plans to reinstate the accounts of high-profile users who were previously banned for spreading misinformation and violent messages. The most prominent of these users are likely to be former President Trump, as reported by The New Republic (TNR).
According to TNR, the dissemination of hate speech and false information has resulted in immeasurable deaths and suffering that might have been prevented if moderation had been in place. It claimed that misinformation on social media had caused considerably more death and destruction than acts of racism, antisemitism, and Islamophobia combined.
Conservative "thought leaders," as how TNR puts it, failed to educate the public while constantly feeding them with propaganda, half-truths, falsehoods, and misinformation on mostly uncensored social media. They were informed that Covid was fake or that it was no more dangerous than the flu.
Separate research found that Facebook was the primary source of potentially fatal disinformation regarding the virus. The report determined that Facebook's weak or nonexistent measures to eliminate misinformation were responsible.
Musk, the New Owner of Twitter
A filing by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) formalized the acquisition. According to Twitter, it took effect on Thursday, Oct. 27.
Musk had proposed an aggressive purchase of Twitter at a price of $54.20 per share with banks - specifically Morgan Stanley - funding $13 billion of the $44 billion buyout and himself paying the remaining $2 billion using Tesla shares and other personal assets.
The billionaire acquired 9.1 percent of Twitter in April, prompting the business to offer him a seat on its board in exchange for a limit of 15% on any future purchases. He first accepted the seat, refused it, and bid to buy the whole corporation.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Trisha Kae Andrada
