Elon Musk: “I hope even my worst critics stay on Twitter”

While the agreement by which Elon Musk became the owner of Twitter was being finalized, the tycoon spoke about a characteristic that he hopes the social network will always have: freedom of expression.

“I hope even my worst critics stay on Twitter, because that’s what free speech means,” the Tesla executive wrote.

In this way, he implied that he was getting closer to closing an agreement for the total acquisition of the platform (of which he already bought 9.2% of the shares a few weeks ago).

a public square

This tweet joins other comments you have previously made. For him, the social network should function as a public square where everyone should have the freedom to express their ideas and positions openly. This is not in line with the various initiatives that it and other social networks have taken to prevent the spread of spam, disinformation and hate speech.

It should be remembered that he criticized the decision of the microblogging social network to prohibit access to the site of former President Donald Trump, after the insurrection that took place in the Capitol, in 2021.

“A lot of people are going to be very unhappy with West Coast high-tech as the de facto arbiter of free speech.”Musk wrote at the time.

He said he thought Twitter he should be “very cautious about permanent bans,” adding that he thought wait times were better.

“Well, I think we would like to err, when in doubt, leave the speech, let it exist. But if it’s a gray area, I’d say let the tweet exist,” he said. “But obviously, in a case where there’s maybe a lot of controversy, you’re not necessarily going to promote that tweet. I’m not saying I have all the answers here,” the businessman reflected at the time.

The ability to edit Tweets

The manager has mentioned in the past the possibility of editing tweets. In fact, after taking over the company’s shares, he published a survey to see if users thought this was a good idea.

Keep in mind that this option is only partially available, on a trial basis, for Twitter Blue, the premium version of the site. When this announcement was made, the social network clarified that the decision had nothing to do with Musk.

Well, beyond that, and considering that the tycoon has talked about the need to have a tool of this type, it would not be surprising if he extended its use to all users.

Algorithm Changes

Musk has also expressed his opinion regarding the need to make changes to the Twitter algorithm.

“I am concerned that the de facto bias in ‘the Twitter algorithm’ is having a major effect on public discourse. How do we know what is really going on?he wrote in a Tweet.

This issue has been previously raised by various critics of the way platforms display information. It is believed that by not making the algorithm public, it is not known exactly what criteria companies take into account to highlight one content over another. This is something which, ultimately, can have an implication on how society is informed and makes decisions, such as the one that occurs in voting, in a democratic country.

In line with this idea of ​​making processes transparent, Musk launched a survey of his followers asking them if they thought Twitter should be open source, as software that is part of the public domain is described. This enables users to use, change, and redistribute the software, in its original or modified form, and for different purposes. In addition, open source software is developed collaboratively and the results are published on the Internet.

The agreement for the purchase of Twitter

Elon Musk is close to acquiring Twitter. The Timesciting people with knowledge of the situation that he did not identify, said that the two sides were discussing details, including a timetable and fees if a deal was signed and then fell apart. Sources said the situation was fluid and fast.

On the other hand, according to Bloomberg, the agreement could be reached today. Amid the reports Twitter shares rose 5.5 percent on Wall Street on Monday.

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