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If there were one word to describe Elon Musk’s stint as the CEO of Twitter so far, it would be upheaval. What began as an era dedicated to the ideals of freedom of speech has been quickly muddied by expediency and the necessity to retain major advertisers, with Musk’s characteristic impulsiveness providing a defining shade of tempestuousness to this saga.
Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022
Perhaps, as a nod to the general perception of listlessness at Twitter or as a result of a sudden epiphany, Elon Musk commissioned an online poll a few hours back to gauge whether he should carry on as the CEO of Twitter. With only 5 minutes to go until this poll ends and over 17 million votes cast, 57.5 percent of the poll participants believe that Musk should step down from the apex position at the social media giant.
As stated earlier, Elon Musk’s stint at the apex position of Twitter has been anything but smooth sailing so far. Back in late October, when the ultra-billionaire was just taking over the social media giant as a result of the $44 billion deal, Musk had announced the creation of a “widely diverse” content moderation council that was to serve as the focal point for decisions regarding censorship policies and account reinstatements. However, this council was never operationalized.
Then came a host of revisions around the Twitter Blue strategy as the global town square faced a sizable revolt from major advertisers, with many choosing to pause their ads on the platform until further clarity emerged on Twitter’s future direction. Twitter Blue finally launched a few days back, with the web-based version costing $7.99 and the iOS one costing $11 per month. All Twitter Blue users are now being granted the blue “verified” badge, but changing the handle, display name, or profile picture will automatically restart the verification process. Verified companies now get gold badges, while government and “multilateral” accounts get grey ones.
New Twitter policy is freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach.
Negative/hate tweets will be max deboosted & demonetized, so no ads or other revenue to Twitter.
You won’t find the tweet unless you specifically seek it out, which is no different from rest of Internet.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 18, 2022
Coming back, Elon Musk had initially chosen to define his approach to the contentious issue of freedom of speech as tolerance of “problematic” content while limiting its “freedom of reach.” During the course of the past few weeks, however, this ideal somehow got lost in the labyrinthine internal workings of Twitter. While Elon Musk revived the Twitter account of former US President Trump following an online poll, he suspended the account of Ye (Kanye West) for “incitement to violence.”
Elon Musk just suspended Business Insider reporter Linette Lopez for documenting the times Elon had his enemies tracked and doxxed
She did not post anything related to Elon’s jet
She has done amazing investigative reporting on Tesla pic.twitter.com/c7PeBxlwmn
— Gabe Hoffman (@GabeHoff) December 16, 2022
Then, last week, Elon Musk arbitrarily banned a number of high-profile journalists for “doxing” his location at one time or another. This move came after Musk banned the @ElonJet account for publishing his private location data, which allegedly resulted in a troubling altercation involving his infant son. The banned accounts of journalists were later restored.
Going forward, there will be a vote for major policy changes. My apologies. Won’t happen again.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022
This brings us to today when in addition to commissioning an online poll regarding his role at Twitter, Elon Musk has also given an undertaking that major changes at the global town square will now be implemented only after taking into account the results of similar online polls.
You must like pain a lot. One catch: you have to invest your life savings in Twitter and it has been in the fast lane to bankruptcy since May. Still want the job?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022
Meanwhile, Elon Musk has already started to scare off prospective Twitter CEO candidates, judging from the tweet above. After all, the company faces around $1 billion in annual interest payments following the $13 billion debt that Musk took as part of his financing to acquire Twitter. It is hardly a surprise, therefore that Musk has been courting additional financing in recent days.
Just overheard Elon Musk discussing investment opportunities from the Amir of Qatar @TamimBinHamad & other Saudi Royals for his businesses, specifically Twitter,but from their body language & diplomatic response, it didn’t seem very positive. They asked him to find a suitable CEO
— RΛISINI ライシニ (@iamraisini) December 18, 2022
Meanwhile, the word on the street is that the Saudis and the Qataris, who retain a stake in Twitter, had urged Elon Musk to find a "suitable" CEO for the social media platform, prompting today's impulsive online poll.
Do you think Musk will immediately quit as the CEO of Twitter in compliance with today's poll results? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
