human brain is capable of coming to terms with .
Musk has also been adept at cultivating a reputation for having a purist approach to free speech and diverting attention away from his wealth . Former president Donald Trump , who repeatedly violated Twitter ’ s standards before eventually being banned , said he ’ s “ very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands .” Indeed , there is rampant speculation that Musk will reinstate Trump ’ s account .
But , Nora Benavidez , senior counsel and director of Digital Justice and Civil Rights at Free Press , said in an interview earlier this year that Musk is not as much of a free speech absolutist as he is “ kind of an anything-goes-for-Twitter future CEO .”
She adds , “ I think that vision is one in which he imagines social media moderation of content will just happen . But it doesn ’ t just happen by magic alone . It must have guardrails .” The guardrails that Twitter has had so far did not work well enough . It took the company four years of Trump ’ s violent and “ inciteful ” tweets , and a full-scale attack on the U . S . Capitol , to finally ban him from the platform . In the week after Trump and several of his allies were banned , misinformation dropped by a whopping 73 % on the platform .
Twitter delayed action on Trump ’ s tweets only because its prime goal is to generate profits , not foster free speech . These are Musk ’ s goals too , and all indications suggest he will weaken protections , not strengthen them .
According to Benavidez , “ His imagined future that Twitter will somehow be an open and accepting square — that has to happen very carefully through a number of things that will increase better moderation and enforcement on the company ’ s service .” Musk appears utterly incapable of thinking about such things .
Instead , his plans include ideas like charging users to have a verification badge next to their names — a clear nod to his worldview that money ought to determine what is true or who holds power .
Benavidez explains that “ because it has helped their bottom lines ,” companies like Twitter are “ fueling and fanning the flames for the most incendiary content ,” such as tweets by former Twitter user Trump and his ilk , incitements to violence , and the promotion of conspiracy theories .
There is much at stake given that Twitter has a strong influence on political discourse . For example , Black Twitter , one of the most important phenomena to emerge from social media , is a loosely organized community of thousands of vocal Black commentators who use the platform to issue powerful and pithy opinions on social and racial justice , pop culture , electoral politics , and more . Black Twitter played a critical role in helping organize and spreading news about protests during the 2020 uprising sparked by George Floyd ’ s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police .
But within days of Musk ’ s purchase of Twitter , thousands of anonymous accounts began bombarding feeds with racist content , tossing around the N-word , leaving members of Black Twitter aghast and traumatized . Yoel Roth , the company ’ s head of safety and integrity — who apparently still retains his job — tweeted that “ More than 50,000 Tweets repeatedly using a particular slur came from just 300 accounts ,” suggesting this was an organized and coordinated attack .
Whether or not Musk ’ s buyout of Twitter will actually succeed in making history ’ s richest man even richer by rolling out the welcome mat to racist trolls is not clear . Already , numerous celebrities with large followings have closed their Twitter accounts . Hollywood ’ s top Black TV showrunner , Shonda Rhimes posted her last tweet , saying , “ Not hanging around for whatever Elon has planned . Bye .”
Twitter also impacts journalism . According to a Pew Research study , 94 % of all journalists in the U . S . use Twitter in their job . Younger journalists favor it the most of all age groups . Journalists covering the automotive industry are worried about whether criticism of Tesla will be tolerated on the platform . And , Reporters Without Borders warned Musk that “ Journalism must not be a collateral victim ” of his management .
Misinformation and distrust in government lead to apathy and a weakening of democracy . This is good for billionaires like Musk , who has made very clear that he vehemently opposes a wealth tax of the sort that Democrats are backing . Indeed , he has used his untaxed wealth to help buy the platform . If Twitter is capable of influencing public opinion in order to help elect anti-tax politicians , why wouldn ’ t Musk pursue such a strategy ?
Musk has made it clear that he will not be a hands-off owner . He set to work as soon as the deal was cemented by firing Twitter ’ s top executives and the entire board . As a privately owned company , Twitter will now answer to Musk and his underlings , not to shareholders .
Benavidez summarizes one of the most important lessons that Musk ’ s purchase offers : “ It can ’ t simply be that this company or that company is owned and at the whim of a single individual who might be bored and want to take on a side project .”
82 x The Trial Lawyer