Elon Musk Will Save Free Speech With Twitter
Will Elon Musk be a good advocate for free speech online?
Twitter’s history
Ever since Parag Agrawal took the CEO position at Twitter, there have been concerns about the destruction of free speech on the platform. He has made multiple comments about how free speech should not be Twitter’s primary focus and, instead, it should focus on how they direct people’s attention.
Twitter also received flack when President Trump was banned from the platform entirely. Trump was banned after he tweeted about the riots at the Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
Musk buys Twitter
Musk spent about $3 billion on his stake in Twitter and will be a director through 2024. He is also barred from owning more than 14.9% of the company.
The investment is just a tiny portion of Musk’s wealth which means a complete buyout should not be ruled out. The real question is what Musk will do to change the social media platform.
Elon Musk’s controversial history on Twitter
Elon Musk is no stranger to Twitter, as he has used the platform to tweet about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Ethereum. His tweets had an apparent effect on the prices of these currencies, often sending them skyrocketing seconds after the tweets came out, throwing up red flags of manipulation.
Musk’s Twitter account has also been "hacked" in the past when the account tweeted that Tesla’s stock price “is too high.” This sent it plummeting shortly after. Musk’s Twitter account is no stranger to controversies, making his purchase of a Twitter stake even more of a red flag for people.
Elon Musk’s views on free speech
However, Elon Musk has always been a strong advocate of free speech. He has bashed Twitter’s content moderation policies in the past because they have censored content that does not fit a particular narrative. One of the most controversial censorships is the complete removal of Donald Trump’s Twitter account.
“Big Short” Michael Burry gets involved
The “Big Short” hedge fund manager Michael Burry is enthusiastic about Elon joining Twitter’s board because he believes it is a positive advancement for free speech. Burry is not a huge Elon Musk fan either, so for him to come out and vouch for Musk is quite significant.
Burry also made bets that Tesla’s stock price would decrease in late 2020 and went public about it on Twitter, stating that Tesla’s stock valuation was ridiculous. Aside from Burry not being fond of Musk, it is clear that they are both advocates for free speech on social media sites like Twitter.
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