Elon Musk has finalized his purchase of Twitter, formally taking over the social media platform.
FlipboardFinalizing the Purchase. After months of back-and-forth legal debate, billionaire Elon Musk has finally officially purchased Twitter. Initially, Musk sought to buy the platform for $44 billion, but attempted to sever the contract after revelations that Twitter did not accurately report the number of fake accounts on their site. Twitter then sued for breach of contract to force Musk to purchase Twitter. While the deal remained in limbo, the silence was finally broken as Musk finalized the purchase.
Chief Twit. Tweeting out, “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” Musk posted a video of himself entering Twitter HQ carrying a sink. Musk told prospective investors he plans to get rid of “nearly 75 percent of Twitter’s 7,500 workers, whittling the company down to a skeleton staff of just over 2,000.” In addition to the staff cuts, Musk reportedly will significantly cut the executive force at Twitter.
CNN
Letter. Following Musk’s threat, Twitter employees issued a letter:
“A threat of this magnitude is reckless, undermines our users’ and customers’ trust in our platform, and is a transparent act of worker intimidation. We cannot do our work in an environment of constant harassment and threats. [...] We demand that leadership does not discriminate against workers on the basis of their race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or political beliefs. We also demand safety for workers on visas, who will be forced to leave the country they work in if they are laid off. [...] Without our work, there is no Twitter.”
Who’s Been Fired? In the first week of ownership, Musk fired three top Twitter executives. The first was CEO Parag Agrawal, who recently took over as CEO when Jack Dorsey was let go by the company. On Thursday, Musk fired Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and, most controversially, Twitter’s policy head Vijaya Gadde. Gadde had been the central figure in charge of removing former President Trump from the platform.
Politico
Future of Twitter. Musk has stated that he hopes to transform Twitter in a similar way to the Chinese app WeChat. “There’s no WeChat equivalent outside of China,” Musk said during a Q&A with Twitter employees in June. “You basically live on WeChat in China. If we can recreate that with Twitter, we’ll be a great success.” In addition, Musk is looking to alter the Twitter algorithm — making it more customizable for the user. Instead of a central algorithm plotting out the user experience, Musk has stated he wants to “open-source” the algorithm and let others make personalized pages.
Big Name Returns. In the aftermath of Musk’s purchase, many have speculated which banned users would make a return. Former President Trump has stated he would not return to Twitter — instead opting to use his own platform, Truth Social. Other prominent political figures such as Jordan Peterson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Project Veritas could return to the network if Musk reverses course on their bans.
CNBC
If Elon Musk removes Twitter’s content moderation policies, the platform will become a cesspool of hate speech and misinformation. He plans to return some of the most high-profile proponents of these vile ideologies — such as the disgraced former President — to the site, allowing them to spread propaganda to a massive audience. Without crucial safeguards, extremist content will radicalize people and lead to devastating real-world consequences.
It is rich that after years of banning conservatives for their political opinions, Twitter employees are now asking Musk does not fire them for political stances. Those pulling the strings at Twitter, canceling political figures, and influencing elections in favor of Democrats have been ousted. Finally, Twitter may become a public forum where all opinions are tolerated.
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AP Government & Politics
