Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover
True to his bold proclamations of “free speech absolutism,” Elon Musk officially reinstated Trump’s Twitter account on Nov. 19, 2022. Trump has no intention of returning to Twitter, saying he saw a “lot of problems [on the platform]” and opted to stay on his personally developed social media site, Truth Social. However, the change has been met with widespread outroar and threats of a boycott from civil rights groups, corporations, and Twitter users alike.
Trump’s reinstatement is the most recent in a series of developments Musk has implemented on the platform since his “Twitter takeover,” when Musk finalized his $44 Billion purchase of Twitter in late Oct. 2022. In the span of less than two months, Musk has cut Twitter’s once 7,500-person workforce to 3,700 people, sacked the company’s executives, modified the verification system, and implemented many other changes to the company, all in the name of creating a platform dedicated to free speech on the internet-- but at what cost?
Musk’s ideals of free speech seem appealing in theory. When taken to its limits, however, such as in the case of unbanning Trump, Musk’s changes to Twitter and emphasis on free speech don’t create a democratic, patriotic utopia. In fact, it cultivates quite the opposite, allowing dangerous ideas to fester and obtain traction.
Hate speech and the presence of hate groups on Twitter has risen to an unprecedented extent. Previously, slurs against Black Americans and gay men appeared on Twitter an average of 1,282 and 2,506 times a day respectively. After Musk bought Twitter, this rose to an average of 3,876 and 3,964 times a day (CNN, New York Times). Musk’s new system also allowed for problematic and potentially dangerous groups to enter or reenter the platform. Accounts associated with QAnon, a far-right conspiracy group, have been verified on twitter, while accounts that Twitter used to remove, such as those associated with the Islamic state, have resurged. As shown by this data, Musk’s so-called free speech only allows for harmful views and organizations to mobilize on Twitter and gain online legitimacy.
If we take free speech quite literally, we could argue that Musk has more than accomplished his original goals. After all, more people, with more opinions, are speaking freely -- right?
However, many people have argued that the spread of all speech -- and thus, the spread of misinformation and hate speech -- not only restricts the voices of minority groups but also threatens the stability of democracy by prioritizing incendiary claims over those based in facts and truth.
This all comes back to Elon Musk's reinstatement of Trump's Twitter account. Trump was initially banned from Twitter for inciting violence through his Tweets, specifically for supporting the rioters that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. to protest the 2020 election results. Trump used Twitter to spread inaccurate information throughout his presidency, and after the election, used it to sow doubt about the 2020 election results, directly asking people to “join him” in his protest.
The ramifications of the incident were monumentous. The riots allowed for the death of five people, the injury of 138 police officers, and $1.5 million dollars worth of damage to the U.S Capitol building. It caused the most damage to the U.S Capitol since the burning of Washington D.C in 1814 during the War of 1812 by British troops. Beyond the physical impacts, however, historians marked the moment as a significant threat to U.S democracy, stating that“what [people] saw [during the riots] was the worst instincts of both human nature and American politics."
Trump’s actions and subsequent unbanning highlight a flawed aspect of Musk’s policies. In unbanning Trump, Musk indicates the potential for a similar insurrectionary incident to occur. More importantly, the incident illustrates the dangerous potential of extreme free speech in the absence of content moderation. “Free-speech,” when taken to Musk’s extremes, does not promote democracy and diversity. Rather, it allows for angry and violent individuals to mobilize together to create immeasurable harm to the U.S population.
by JOANNA LIU