Elon Musk wrote in a tweet on Thursday that he would guide Twitter away from becoming either a “free-for-all hellscape” or another social media “echo chamber.”
Twitter will be purchased by Musk, and the deal is expected to finalize on Friday. With a tweet titled “Dear Twitter Advertisers” on Thursday, he attempted to address rumors about what the Musk era would bring.
Advertisers, who account for the majority of Twitter’s income, were portrayed in a Wall Street Journal report as being concerned that Musk would do away with content filtering.
“I wanted to reach out personally to share my motivation in acquiring Twitter. There has been much speculation about why I bought Twitter and what I think about advertising. Most of it has been wrong,” Musk wrote.
When meeting with Twitter employees on Wednesday, Musk reportedly denied plans to reduce staff there by 75%, contrary to reports to the contrary, according to a Bloomberg article.
Musk provided a high explanation of his motivations in his piece.
“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 wrote.
The effects of the current division on social media were then bemoaned by Musk.
“There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society,” he wrote.
“In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much of traditional media has fueled and catered to those polarized extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but, in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost,” he wrote.
Musk said in a letter that he did not buy Twitter “to make more money. I did it to try to help humanity, whom I love.”
Musk claimed he acted “with humility,” using a phrase that is rarely associated with him, and noted that “failure in pursuing this goal, despite our best efforts, is a very real possibility.
More on this story via The Western Journal:
“That said, Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!” he wrote.
“In addition to adhering to the laws of the land, our platform must be warm and welcoming to all, where you can choose your desired experience according to your preferences, just as you can choose, for example, to see movies or play video games ranging from all ages to mature,” he wrote. CONTINUE READING…