The Status Quo of Twitter’s Acquisition
Users of a certain social media network have been forced to consider what life might be like without Twitter for the past two weeks. Of course, Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, bought the company, which was an occurrence that nobody seemed to want, least of all Musk. Since being given the proverbial keys, the self-described “free speech absolutist” has fired roughly half of Twitter’s employees, declared that “comedy is now legal on Twitter,” then went on to ban numerous parody accounts that made fun of him, and announced that those who want to be “verified” must pay $20 per month to add a blue check next to their name (then backtracked to $8).
Users anticipate a significant increase in the quantity of paid adverts they’ll see as Musk now has to attract the advertisers that make up Twitter’s primary revenue stream — advertisers who are already turned off by his flirtation with alt-right talking points and general upheaval.
Since acquiring the business, Musk has:
- Disbanded the board of directors and dismissed the company’s top executives while assuming control as Twitter’s lone director.
- Half of Twitter’s workforce, or 3,700 individuals, were laid off, with the firm citing daily losses of more than $4 million as the reason.
- I posted a link to a conspiracy theory concerning the assault on Nancy Pelosi’s husband before removing it.
- Tweeted that the activists are “seeking to destroy free speech in America,” attributing “a big loss in revenue” at Twitter since he acquired it to “activist groups demanding advertisers.”
- Twitter declared that accounts “engaged in impersonation without explicitly specifying ‘parody'” would be permanently suspended.
How it Started
Based on his plans to lay off employees and prior statements favouring free speech above content regulation, Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has alarmed advertisers who use it largely to market their brands rather than products.
Advertisers like General Mills Inc. (GIS), Mondelez International (MDLZ), and General Motors Company (GM) have recently ceased Twitter commercials.
Musk tweeted following his Nov. 2 meeting with numerous civic group leaders that he had outlined to them “how Twitter will maintain its principles regarding election integrity and combat hate and harassment.
Musk tweeted following his Nov. 2 meeting with numerous civic group leaders that he had outlined to them “how Twitter will maintain its principles regarding election integrity and combat hate and harassment.
The same day, several civic organisations, some of which were present at the meeting, joined forces to send a group letter to corporate Twitter advertisers warning them that they would halt their advertising “if Musk follows through on plans to undermine the social network’s community standards and content moderation.”
How it’s Going
Around the same time, pro basketball player Kyrie Irving, who had been suspended by the Brooklyn Nets after refusing to retract his tweet containing a link to an antisemitic movie, and supporters of the rapper Ye—a friend of Elon Musk—whose account had been temporarily suspended for tweets about “the Jews”—flooded Twitter with antisemitic messages. Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, removed another tweet on November 4 because it broke Twitter’s terms of service.
Musk’s Plans for Twitter
Musk’s promises to quickly upgrade Twitter’s services have been eclipsed by the controversies surrounding his hiring and moderation practices. Musk announced in a post on November 5 that Twitter would soon allow users to attach lengthy texts to tweets, “ending the farce” of screenshots.
Musk promised “creator monetization for all forms of material” as a follow-up.
Musk is referred to be the “Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator” on his platform profile page.
Conclusion
Self-selecting groups thriving on their own terms, in their own settings, and less concerned that a greedy, obnoxious, grotesquely rich man could bring it all tumbling down with a single post could make this future picture of the internet a better one. Who knows, perhaps we’ll even have fun.
