Judy: Now to our other lead
story.
Business entrepreneur Elon Musk
and Twitter announced a $44
billion deal today for musk to
buy the company and take it
over.
The deal reportedly is the
largest to take a public company
private in at least two decades.
It's also led to major concerns
about how musk, who is one of
the world's richest men, will
handle questions of extremist
content and free speech.
As Stephanie sy tells us, musk
says he has plans to change
Twitter's approach and how it
operates.
Stephanie: Duty, when -- Judy,
when Elon Musk first made his
bid about two weeks ago, many
were not sure how seriously to
treat his offer.
But after a surprising weekend
of negotiations, Twitters board
accepted the offer today.
Musk has made it clear
repeatedly he does not agree
with all of Twitter's previous
bans on users for posting
content that might be considered
hateful or used to incite
violence.
In announcing the deal, musk
wrote today, "Free speech is the
bedrock of a functioning
democracy, and Twitter is the
digital town square where
matters vital to the future of
humanity are debated."
For a look at some important
questions, I am joined by the
Washington post silicon valley
correspondent Elizabeth dwoskin.
Thank you for joining the
newshour.
Elon Musk has put a good chunk
of his net worth into this bid
for Twitter but he has made it
clear this was never about
business.
What is it about?
Elizabeth: Yes, he said it is
not about money, repeatedly.
I think you have to take him at
his word.
In the last year, he has become
fairly obsessed with talking
about ideas about free speech.
And the digital town square and
the power of platforms like
Twitter.
And he wants to control that.
And I will also put in that he
is probably in the set -- he is
probably this happiest marketer
in the world.
This is also buying his own
marketing machine.
Stephanie: But ownership, as you
know, is not the same thing as
control.
On the free-speech issue, today,
Elon Musk tweeted "I hope that
even my worst critics remain on
Twitter, because that is what
free-speech means."
Is it fair to assume that Elon
Musk is going to try to shed all
constraints on legal free-speech
on Twitter?
Stephanie: I mean --
Elizabeth: I mean, he said that.
He said Twitter should follow
the letter of the law and free
speech in the U.S., which we all
know is the first amendment,
which basically allows huge
latitude for free speech, short
of direct calls for violence.
He has said that, and I just got
off listening in on a town hall
on Twitter, within Twitter,
employees, talking about it
right now at Twitter.
And what the employees
themselves are extremely worried
that he is going to strip the
company of the safeguards and
protections against
misinformation and hate speech
that the company has worked to
build over the last five or so
years.
People working there are really
worried about that, and some are
tweeting crying emojis right
now.
Stephanie: He is not only going
to have to be accountable to his
employees, now that he is the
owner of Twitter.
Won't he also have to go through
the same tight wire act of not
losing users and advertisers?
Isn't that, to some degree,
accountability?
Elizabeth: I think so.
One of the questions asked at
the town hall, is it seems when
he takes the company private,
there might not be a board of
directors.
People were asking, what kind of
-- what kind of accountability
will there be on musk if he
wants to reinstate trump's
account, for example, or allow
images of ISIS beheadings?
There has been terrible things
online where tech companies have
her -- have worked hard to get
rid of.
There has been reporting today
that advertisers themselves,
think about it, if you are a big
advertiser of toothpaste, do you
want your ads, or Pepsi, do you
want your ad showing up next to
a child being raped?
For an ISIS beheading?
These are horrible things these
companies work hard to get rid
of and have rules about.
Yes, they make tons of mistakes,
but stripping them of the rules
would be hard, would be very
hard for advertisers.
Musk has expressed skepticism of
the advertising business model,
and actually there is no clear
answer on whether he would keep
that on Twitter once it goes
private.
Stephanie: As you know, Twitter
under jack Dorsey made the
decision to ban president trump
after the January 6 capital
assault and others, like
Marjorie Taylor Greene have been
banned as well for spreading
false information.
Mr. Trump said he is not
planning to go back on Twitter.
Has musk indicated he will
restore accounts of people who
have been deplatformed, is what
they say in the twitterverse?
Elizabeth: He said the
deplatforming had gone too far.
He even said that after January
6, during the insurrection.
I thought that was interesting
at the time.
Here is a moment in America
society when the whole tech
industry is saying, we are going
to blanket ban not just trump,
but many of his followers as
well that were promoting the
insurrection, and Elon Musk is
going the other way saying, tech
companies are going to regret
the decisions they made around
content moderation.
That is one of the things that
gives Twitter employees pause,
and a lot of observers pause as
well about what he might do.
He certainly has not come out
and said, I am going to restore
trump.
But people are reading between
the tea leaves and interestingly
enough, that question was not
answered in today's town hall.
Stephanie: Twitter has struggled
with issues like trolls and bots
and bad actors gaming and
manipulating the platform.
One thing musk said today he
will do to build trust in the
platform is "Authenticate all
humans."
I think something only Elon Musk
would say.
Are you hearing any positive
reaction to his ability to
potentially solve some of
Twitter's real problems with his
design acumen?
Elizabeth: Overall, the response
I have heard is negative.
But I always say the caveat of,
I don't have a crystal ball into
every Twitter employee's minds.
I may be hearing from the people
who are more upset.
Got to hold that as a
possibility.
I do think that some people --
look, Elon Musk is seen, for all
of his wildness and firebrand
ways, he is a visionary leader
and brilliant.
Lots of people in the tech world
and outside of him -- outside of
it think of him that way.
That is what the Twitter's
leadership has tried to
emphasize.
Here is a person who can bring
value to Twitter.
One of the things the CEO said
to the employees today, is he
said we all think of Twitter as
this place, this platform that
has this unrealized potential.
Because it is used by power
influencers but never gained the
widespread social acceptance of
a tiktok or a Facebook or
YouTube.
I'm sorry, the widespread use,
the level of users or profits.
I think he was meaning exactly
that to employees.
Look at what Elon Musk could
bring.
But I don't know if people will
be assured by that.
I think they have a lot to lose.
Stephanie: Yeah.
Elizabeth, who reports in
silicon valley for the
Washington post, thank you.
Elizabeth: Thanks for having me.