Editor’s note: We endeavor to bring you the top voices on current events representing a range of perspectives. Below is a column arguing that Elon Musk …
Editor’s note: We endeavor to bring you the top voices on current events representing a range of perspectives. Below is a column arguing that Elon Musk will not fundamentally change how Twitter operates. You can find a counterpoint here, where Jon Schweppe argues that Musk will help make Twitter more open to free speech. Elon Musk has held controlling interest in Twitter for about a month now, and all we have to show for it is a poll on whether to add a button so we can edit our tweets. No reinstatement of Donald Trump. Not even a reinstatement of Alex Berenson or Robert Malone or any of those who have been writing about the non-government-approved version of Jan.6. There’s been a lot of fear and foreboding among Twitter users on the left about the possibility of Trump’s posting privileges being restored and about how they might have to decamp to some other site if he comes back to Twitter. And there’s been talk from Musk over his abiding love of free speech and his commitment to shake things up. He may ultimately buck to public pressure and reinstate those accounts. But a look at Musk’s past suggests that, aside from the edit button, his move to buy 9.2% of Twitter stock – a stake more than twice as high as former CEO Jack Dorsey’s – may not be the free speech game-changer those users fear. Yes, he did declare himself a “free speech absolutist” when he announced his Starlink satellites would not ban Russian media sources, as requested by other governments in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And yes, he has asked Twitter followers for advice on what should be done, “given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square,” to ensure a free exchange of ideas.
