When Elon Musk took over Twitter, many users were thrilled to bask in a free speech haven, however, certain aspects of this freedom have not been tolerated. With the hope of influencing Elon Musk to make Twitter a positive, expressional atmosphere, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Greg Lukianoff, wrote an opportunistic letter to him. In this letter, Lukianoff suggested ways that the new CEO could embed changes to the platform that would allow it to be a place “for interpersonal connection and broader community understanding.” Because Elon Musk is a self-proclaimed free speech absolutist, consumers were disgruntled that Musk failed to revive Twitter’s previous management of censorship.
Musk failed to demonstrate his free speech absolutism when he suspended the accounts of multiple journalists without explanation. These journalists had previously reported Musk’s suspension of over 25 Twitter accounts that shared the locations of his private planes and jets.
After these numerous accounts were banned, Musk went to ban and corrupt links to other competitor social media sites, such as Instagram and Substack. This caused a dispute between Elon Musk and journalist Matt Taibbi, who was chosen by Musk to report on The Twitter Files.
Various Tweets that did not align with Musk’s political values were shadowbanned on Twitter, such as tweets regarding conflict in Ukraine and tweets regarding LGBTQ+ individuals or LGBTQ+ words. While Musk was downranking these tweets, he was increasing the visibility of Tweets regarding himself and his accomplishments. The tweets were consistently appearing on users’ timelines whether or not they followed him.
It is unequivocal that Elon Musk’s selective actions of Twitter’s rules and algorithms are negatively affecting the platform due to a lack of free expression. This does not mean, though, that the platform will ever cease to exist since Musk is an influential, elite figure who provides the company millions of dollars. Sadly, the rich and their power have constantly been prioritized when it comes to free expression with no account of the average individual.
Journalism 2.0 