Controversial billion dollar deal
Applause from the right, warning shots from the left: Musk’s Twitter purchase is dividing political America
Elon Musk is celebrating his latest purchase – on Twitter, of course
© Scott Olson/DPA
Twitter is now in the hands of the richest man in the world. But the takeover by Elon Musk has met with mixed reactions in the political United States: while the conservative camp is celebrating, many left-wing politicians are concerned about the future of the platform.
The news of the spectacular takeover spread like wildfire on social media on Monday: despite massive headwinds, tech billionaire Elon Musk bought the short message service Twitter. The company announced a “final agreement” for a $44 billion deal in the evening.
Musk, who is considered the richest person in the world, announced that he would make Twitter “better than ever”. “Freedom of expression is the foundation of a functioning democracy”, explained the Tesla founder. “And Twitter is the digital place to debate issues fundamental to the future of humanity.”
Conservatives applaud Musk’s Twitter takeover
In the US, Musk’s visions are mostly applauded from the right-wing camp. Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn said she was “hopeful” about Musk’s deal, calling it an “encouraging day for free speech.”
Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, even invited the tech billionaire to move the company’s headquarters from San Francisco to the so-called “Lone Star State” – alongside Tesla, Space X and the Boring Company (one of Musk-founded tunneling and infrastructure company).
Several conservative moderators also welcomed Musk’s takeover and spoke of a “gain for freedom of expression”. Fox News host Tucker Carlson had two words to celebrate the news:
“We’re back.” (“We’re back.”) the moderator of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” wrote on Twitter – probably a reference to the platform ban of some conservatives who had spread misinformation.
Elon Musk: His companies, his family – the richest person in the world in pictures
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Massive criticism from Democrats and activists
But by no means everyone in the United States is enthusiastic about Musk’s latest achievement. And as so often, the dividing line runs along the political camps. Democratic US Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote on Twitter: “This deal is dangerous for our democracy. Billionaires like Elon Musk play by different rules than everyone else.”
The civil rights organization ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) was also concerned: Although Musk is a member and one of the most important supporters, it is “very dangerous to put so much power in one person’s hands”.
A few days ago, former Facebook security chief Alex Stamos warned against an everything-permitted setting on Twitter. You don’t add value to a platform by having it 99.9 percent filled with pornography and ads for fake branded sunglasses and ED drugs, he wrote on Twitter – not without a dig at Musk’s advertising project.
Split opinions on Trump’s return
“Freedom of speech is wonderful, hate speech is unacceptable,” said the human rights organization NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) in the debate. There is also no place on Twitter for false information. NAACP President Derrick Johnson appealed to Musk not to let Trump back onto the platform in particular. “Life is in danger – and so is our American democracy.”
The White House is also concerned that Trump could reappear on Musk’s Twitter ahead of this fall’s congressional elections and the 2024 presidential election, TV broadcaster CNBC reported. The ex-president was banned from the platform after expressing sympathy for his supporters who stormed the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. The management has so far emphasized that there is no way back for him. With Musk at the helm, however, the tide could turn: The Tesla boss announced that he finds temporary “timeouts” better than permanent exclusions.
However, Trump himself told Fox News that he would not return to Twitter, even if he could. Instead, the ex-president is building his own Twitter alternative called “Truth Social”, which has so far led a shadowy existence.
The new Twitter owner Musk countered the criticism of his deal – of course via tweet: “I hope that even my worst critics stay on Twitter because that’s what free speech means.”