Could it all be a leap too far for Musk and the section of mankind with a daily habit of scrolling through Twitter’s mix of news and opinion?
The US-based platform, launched in 2006, is well down the list in terms of user volume. It does have global reach and, for years, it has had a reputation for outsized political influence.
Whether that is still as true or not is debatable. What isn’t is that Musk takes over this platform and its established political and cultural profile at a crucial time. In the US, there are concerns about political polarisation and violence, online extremism, and the erosion of democracy.
Originally, Twitter offered users opportunities to discover interesting people and subjects, allowing them to make connections in a new way. It was the best way to catch up on news and follow major breaking events.
Over the years however, discussion on the site has descended into ideologically opposed arguments, with trolls and spreaders of disinformation flooding the zone. Musk himself tweeted and then deleted a tweet about a fringe conspiracy to do with the attack on the husband of US Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
People now tend to censor themselves or fade into the background to avoid harassment. This trend has occurred despite high-profile expulsions from Twitter, notably former US president Donald Trump.
The tendency of users to react to breaking news with instant takes, contributed to the saying that Twitter “is not real life”, in not being representative of most people. But there are a lot of people on the platform who are influential in real life.
The site’s influence, relevance and enjoyability has waned as its intolerance levels have risen and rival platforms have grown in popularity. It has struggled with debt.
In short, Twitter is already problematic, and Musk has suggested he wants to relax moderation rules on the site – which some users and traditional media commentators fear could make its issues worse. Musk has said it won’t be a “free-for-all hellscape”.
Top management and staff at Twitter have reportedly left or been laid off to cut costs. Musk said after firing people in charge of regulating Twitter that “the bird is freed”.
The very idea that a news-focused platform read daily by tens of millions of people be in the hands of a chaotic tech billionaire has stirred alarm. A European Union commissioner told Musk that “in Europe, the bird will fly by our rules”.
Some users of the platform have quit it, others have tweeted that they will wait and see what happens, and some are openly hoping Musk burns it down so a better platform can take its place.
Top advertisers are reportedly skittish at the ownership change. Cosmetics giant L’Oreal has suspended its advertising.
Musk plans to start charging US$8 a month for “blue-check” verification on the site. There is also said to be a plan to let people post charge-to-view videos with Twitter taking a cut of the proceeds.
The loss of so many people familiar with working at Twitter is a wild card. Bringing in new people could theoretically reduce resistance to Musk’s approach but the loss of experience could make it harder to implement changes.
Musk has made a success of running Tesla and SpaceX. He may be able to put Twitter on a more stable footing. The need for revenue means advertisers have to be kept onside. That could mean Musk dials back on his approach to allow more ‘free speech’. He said last week that he won’t change moderation policies until there’s a new Twitter council.
With his takeover, Musk has fired off a Twitter bomb. Viewers will be keenly watching to see where it explodes.
