Earlier this week billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk purchased a 9.1 percent stake in Twitter after becoming frustrated with the social media platform's censorship. The purchase made him the company's largest shareholder and landed him a seat on the board.
Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 26, 2022
What should be done? https://t.co/aPS9ycji37
I’m excited to share that we’re appointing @elonmusk to our board! Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board.
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 5, 2022
Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022
According to to new reporting from Reuters, a number of Twitter employees aren't happy about Musk's new position and perspective on free speech.
News of Tesla (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk taking a board seat at Twitter (TWTR.N) has some Twitter employees panicking over the future of the social media firm's ability to moderate content, company insiders told Reuters.
Within hours of the surprise disclosure this week that Musk, a self-described "free speech absolutist," acquired enough shares to become the top Twitter shareholder, political conservatives began flooding social media with calls for the return of Donald Trump.
Four Twitter employees who spoke with Reuters said they were concerned about Musk's ability to influence the company's policies on abusive users and harmful content.
With Musk on the board, the employees said his views on moderation could weaken years-long efforts to make Twitter a place of healthy discourse, and might allow trolling and mob attacks to flourish.
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The Washington Post is also having trouble with the news.
Ouch, I just snorted coffee out of my nose. pic.twitter.com/bDCYhMhdag
— Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) April 5, 2022
This is the DC press. They are afraid of losing control again. pic.twitter.com/bUfPbG9QTm
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) April 7, 2022
In other words, they're upset days of censoring political opinions or facts they disagree with could be coming to an end.
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