After months of negotiations fraught with drama and hardship, Elon Musk officially became the new owner of social media giant Twitter. The business mogul wasted no time cleaning the house.
Musk already announced the termination of CEO Parag Agrawal. Also, let go included the company’s CFO, Ned Segal. The high-profile firing made apparent that Musk intends to shake up the company from day one.
I find drastic actions such as these understandable; after all, Elon Musk paid the monumental $44 billion to own Twitter. The businessman’s shakeups also align with his previously stated beliefs.
Musk’s Sweeping Changes
The new management rebuked Twitter in the recent past. Most commonly, Musk’s issues involved the company’s censorship policies.
Most notably, the mogul took umbrage with the banning of former President Donald Trump. Elon Musk found blocking an elected official from a prominent place of social engagement frightening.
Musk also frequently cited Twitter, and other sites like it, as the new American town square. In effect, the place where ideas are to be shared freely and openly. The SpaceX founder views banning anyone from the square as a dangerous step towards a groupthink mentality.
Likewise, Musk also found disdain for the cancel culture around all social media, particularly Twitter. This disdain shows by Musk tweeting, “the bird is freed.”
Another tweet that “comedy is now legal” on the site possibly indicates a massive shakeup for policies on Twitter. However, as of now, no changes have occurred in Twitter’s moderation policies. According to Musk, “a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints” is to form before the bird is fully free to go.
The European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, also stated that “the bird will fly by our rules” in Europe.
The Future Of Twitter Under Musk
Musk also attempted to assuage detractors who claimed his Twitter would devolve into chaos. He explained his view that Twitter could not evolve into a “hellscape” in which anything and everything was allowed. How he means striking this delicate balance between free speech and censorship is unknown. However, Elon Musk indeed represents a bold new era for the company. A definitive shift took place for Twitter recently. While it may have both avid supporters and detractors, the only conclusion that can be made now is that exciting things are on the horizon for all involved.
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Written by Ryan Fields
