Tycoon Elon Musk’s decision to abandon his plan to take over Twitter was met with a mixture of relief and disappointment across the political spectrum, with many people criticizing the Tesla founder and others applauding him.
Musk’s announcement Friday that he no longer wants to acquire the social media influencer sparked triumph from activist groups that have launched a campaign to stop the world’s richest man from making the purchase.
“Musk-led Twitter would open a Pandora’s box and reopen the floodgates to hate and baseless conspiracy theories, making the platform and country a more dangerous place,” said Bridget Todd, director of communications for UltraViolet, civil society. human rights organization.
The announcement of a $44 billion deal in late April raised fears that the platform would face an increase in abuse and misinformation after Musk, a self-proclaimed free speech absolutist, said he would allow Twitter users to say whatever was legal.
Breaking with the agreement “is a welcome relief for women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community,” Todd said.
Nicole Gill, co-founder and chief executive of the leftist watchdog organization Accountable Tech, criticized Musk’s proposal as a “chaotic crusade.”
“Our ecosystem of information, security and democracy cannot be left to irresponsible billionaires,” he said.
On the other hand, those who believed that the Musk-led network would lead to a weakening of measures aimed at curbing harassment, lies and other abuses deemed politically motivated and contrary to freedom of expression did not materialize.
“The party is really over. A purge is coming,” conservative commentator Dave Rubin tweeted.
Donald Trump Jr., son of former Republican President Donald Trump (2017-2021), estimated that “censorship” on Twitter would “multiple tenfold” after Musk’s announcement.
“There is no chance for freedom of thought and expression right now,” he said on the Truth Social platform, recently created by his father after he was banned from his favorite network, where he amassed an estimated 88.7 million followers.
“THE TWITTER DEAL IS CLOSED, Long live the ‘TRUE’,” the former president wrote in Truth Social.
