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Elon Musk and The New Twitter

Can He Save a Withering Platform?

By Jason APublished about a year ago 3 min read
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Elon Musk has been described in a variety of colorful terms over the years. Some call him a genius, others use the word eccentric, still others use more intense terms that are both positive and negative. One thing that is hard to argue against is that Musk is an innovator.

With his recent takeover of Twitter, the social media and big tech world has had one of the biggest shakeups in the history of the industry. And in my view, it could be for the better.

It’s no secret that Twitter has been in trouble for a long time. It has been a platform dying a slow and painful death due to the hemorrhaging of users over the course of several years. What once was one of the top social media networks is now not even in the top 10. While we can debate over the reason for this decline, the point is that Twitter was in a state of crash and burn.

Musk saw an opportunity to revitalize this once strong and once useful platform and he is taking his best shot to do so.

One of the biggest problems with Twitter is that it was, and still is currently in the state of being, an echo chamber for propaganda and opinion, sometimes very vile in nature, for those on the left side of the political isle. If someone of an opposing viewpoint came along and expressed their thoughts or feelings, they were labeled by Twitter staff as misinformation, disinformation or hate speech. In short, Twitter restricted content based on opinion.

Fast forward to the Musk era at Twitter. The man has already made some major changes. First off, he dissolved the board including the chairman and several other executive positions. Additionally, he brought in his own team to help him run things.

Recently, the billionaire decided to begin charging for verification check marks, generally reserved for celebrities and notable personalities, at a rate of $8 per month. He tweeted: “Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit. Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.” Ironically, the wealthy people who can easily afford this small expense seem to be complaining the most.

One of the most noticeable changes in terms of activity is that Musk and his team have actually begun fact checking those who were used to being able to post whatever they wanted with loose regulation. This largely consists of people on the left side of politics and talking heads. One recent example is of a post by Senator Elizabeth Warren in which she stated: "Let’s be clear: President Biden has the legal authority to cancel student debt. Republican officials need to get out of the way so Americans can get this much-needed relief."

The fact check reads: Twitter first made reference to a June 14, 2021, article on Politifact.com about whether the president can cancel student loan debt with an executive order.

"... experts disagree on whether the president can authorize widespread debt cancelation (sic) through an executive order."

While some are threatening to leave Twitter, others might be willing to return after abandoning the platform for more free speech oriented options.

The verdict is and probably will be out for quite some time on whether the future of Twitter will be stronger or the social tool will crash terribly. But in my view, for the most part, it would be hard for Twitter to get any worse than it has been doing for the last few years.

It seems that he is simply trying to make it a space open to discussion by everyone. I can’t see how that would be a bad thing.

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About the Creator

Jason A

Writer, photographer and graphic design enthusiast with a professional background in journalism, poetry, e-books, model photography, portrait photography, arts education and more.

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