Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has finally taken over Twitter at $44bn after a protracted legal battle. He has reportedly fired several top officials including CEO Parag Agrawal Ned Segal, the chief financial officer, and Vijaya Gadde, the head of legal policy, trust and safety.
“The bird is freed,” Musk Tweeted shortly after reports emerged that he had finalized the deal that started in April. He says the motivation to own Twitter, the 15th most popular social media platform in terms of monthly users – 460 million people use Twitter every month – stems from a desire “to try to help humanity”.
“The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence,” he tweeted on Thursday.
“Twitter now enters a new chapter, with questions hanging over what Musk plans to do with a platform that plays an outsized role in the political and media landscape due to its following among journalists, commentators, celebrities and politicians,” a Guardian reporter notes.
The controversial American billionaire who is notorious for peddling misinformation and disinformation has indicated that he will readmit Donald Trump, the disgraced former American president, who was expelled from the platform over, among other things, racist remarks, antisemitism and misrepresentation of facts.
Many people, particularly in the civil society, have expressed concerns on what lack of content moderation would mean to global security with the eventful takeover.
“Elon Musk’s plans for Twitter will make it an even more hate-filled cesspool, leading to irreparable real-world harm,” said the Stop the Deal Coalition, a collective of non-profits opposed to Musk’s purchase. “Musk’s plans will leave the platform more vulnerable to security threats, rampant disinformation and extremism just ahead of the midterm elections.”