Why Are People Freaking Out About Elon Musk Twitter Takeover?
Musk offered to buy Twitter.
Some of us support this decision. Some of us are quitting Twitter in protest. And a lot of us (including me) are silent because we don’t know exactly how this will work out.
And honestly, none of us do!
We can’t see into the future. So, why are people freaking out about Elon Musk Twitter takeover?
Big news for this week: Twitter accepted Elon Musk’s offer of $44 billion to buy the company and take it private. And you either think Musk is a genius or someone making a mistake.
The truth is, nobody knows exactly how the Twitter deal is going to work out.
People are supporting this because…
Twitter has been struggling for years. Without competent leadership, turning its daily audience into a solid business will be impossible. Elon Musk is a brilliant executive. And Twitter could be a lot better.
People are opposing this because…
People are predicting calamity and threatening to leave the platform in protest. They are scared for reasons ranging from freedom of speech to privatization. Human rights groups have raised concerns that a lack of moderation could lead to a rise in hate speech. And some of them just don’t like Musk.
So, what’s my point here? Am glad you asked…
What is going on here? Why are people freaking out?
I’ve seen an influx of articles by prominent writers on Medium sharing tips on how to torpedo this acquisition and “teach Musk a lesson!” One author (if you are a Medium reader, you definitely know her) went ahead and asked her followers to upload random, long cat videos on Twitter just to increase their overhead costs. I mean, why?
If you have sound reasons for opposing this acquisition, then do so. But if all you can come up with are hazy conspiracy theories, generalizations, and hate propaganda, you need to reassess your ethics and reconsider your motives.
Things could turn out for the better
All am saying is… chill out!
I’m not saying that Twitter could turn things around dramatically, but wouldn’t it be amazing if it did?
If the acquisition goes south and Twitter runs into some sort of trouble, you are well within your rights to feel cheated or question the execution. But hold off on the doomsday scenarios until it’s clear that something is actually wrong.
It seems like too many people are acting on gut reactions instead of evidence. Either let this thing go and move on, or let it play out for a little while before jumping to conclusions about how bad it will be for us all. We’ll know soon enough if Elon Musk’s Twitter purchase turns into a trash heap.
Meanwhile, there are still a lot of good people on Twitter. There’s still hope.