Elon Musk Floats Creating a Twitter Rival, But Don't Hold Your Breath
Elon Musk has his hands full producing electric cars, shooting rockets into space, and inserting brain implants into pigs. But he's now considering starting his own social media platform.
Musk floated the idea on Saturday after a user on Twitter asked if he’d be willing to create a social media platform capable of prioritizing free speech and keeping out online propaganda. "Am giving serious thought to this,” Musk replied.
A day earlier, Musk expressed some dissatisfaction with Twitter, where he has almost 80 million followers, by tweeting a poll that asked: “Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?”
Seventy percent of the 2 million users who took the poll said no. In response, Musk said: “Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done?”
A follow-up tweet from Musk then added: “Is a new platform needed?”
It's unclear what prompted Musk's initial Twitter poll. But over the years, Twitter has cracked down on misinformation and online propaganda circulating on the social media platform. Last year, the company also permanently suspended former President Donald Trump’s account over fears he might incite more violence following the Jan. 6th Capitol riot.
Trump later sued Twitter for "censoring" him and violating his First Amendment rights. But the First Amendment protects people against government censorship. Twitter is a private company and is free to create its own terms (and ban those who violate them). Trump was forced to move his case from Florida to California, where it's received pushback on that very point.
In the meantime, Trump
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