The wide world of Twitter is rapidly changing. After attempting to buy, back out of buying, then ultimately buying Twitter, Elon Musk has been in the news for his managing practices and opinionated statements within the last several weeks.
Besides laying off around 50% of Twitter employees, cutting successful work-from-home practices, and creating the potential for users to purchase a verified icon for a set price per month, Musk has made waves with his statements about the platform.
This tweet in particular sparked a debate:
Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 4, 2022
Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America.
This tweet quickly gained attention and responses and can be labeled as misleading for a number of reasons.
The first reason is that there are many causes and factors as to why advertisers might pause on spending for a platform that is seeing monumental changes. It’s important to note that while activist groups can make a difference in bringing about change, they are rarely the sole cause. Musk stated that he could pursue activists and other groups who were pushing for Twitter advertiser boycotts, and replied that “we do” have grounds for legal action. Holding boycotts for social and political goals are protected under the First Amendment, therefore making this claim untrue.
Which leads into the next point. Twitter’s revenue has been falling since it was announced that Musk was making a bid for the platform, making this claim in the tweet false. Advertising numbers have consistently fell within the last few months as Musk has become more active on the platform. Advertisers look at numerous factors in determining where they are spending their money and placing their ads. They also must consider the fact that the owner of Twitter is threatening to “name and shame” advertisers who “succumb” to advertiser boycotts.
This attitude from Musk towards advertisers doesn’t create a sense of loyalty and trust to new or existing clients. INC.com captures it best, “the entire reason they [advertisers] have paused their spending on Twitter ads is that they want to make sure they aren’t going to pay for ads that will suddenly start showing up next to racist or violent content.” Investors and advertisers value relationships. Firing half of the staff and eliminating successful employee practices doesn’t make for a strong sense of trust and success within the company.
Critics, advertisers, and users have been upset that Musk has been making unverified claims and engaging with racist and hateful content, specifically after he met with activist and civil rights groups to assure them that free speech and content moderation would continue. When someone is in a position of power, shares statements that reach millions of people, and is making claims about pausing advertising that is an attempt to “destroy free speech in America” people should be worried and upset.
People are also worried that with Musk’s proposal of a verified subscription option, content moderation will become harder, and misinformation will spread more easily. The verified marks were a way to protect against impersonation for those who have had their identities verified by the company. Musk stated that he would permanently suspend an account who was “engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’”, after users of the platform changed their names and photographs to match Musk’s.
Shifting through the comments was a mixed bag of reactions. While some were insightful or funny, some comments turned nasty. It became draining after a while, but to give you a look into the mixed bag, the comments had everything from memes:
— stuart (@punished_stu) November 4, 2022
To rather fitting analogies:
If you crap on the birthday cake, nobody wants to eat it.
— Otto English (@Otto_English) November 4, 2022
Support for Musk:
I can and will bc I don't want my children to be forced into a certain way of thinking by manipulation through social media. I don't even care about the blue checkmark. I'm going to pay just to support the actions Elon is taking to secure a better future for my family.
— McGreenBeard (@BRi81430179) November 5, 2022
And a personal favorite:
Wait, impulsively getting into a purchasing agreement for a platform you had no idea how to run and then firing everyone who did know how to run it, announcing a poorly-thought-out monetization scheme, and cozying up to far right conspiracy theorists isn’t working out?
— Walker Bragman (@WalkerBragman) November 4, 2022
The future of Twitter remains uncertain, but if you’re interested in reading more on this issue, I suggest Facing a Tide of Criticism, Elon Musk is Tweeting Through It from the New York Times.
Kristen, I couldn’t stop reading this article. For someone who isn’t as knowledgeable about Twitter and its history, you did a good job of clearly explaining what was going on. Your deep commentary was mixed in well with the tweets that accompanied them and were relevant to each topic you were on. I also like how after you explained the situation, you elaborated on why Musk’s claim was wrong and the cause/effects of Musk’s proposal for verification on Twitter: “people are also worried that with Musk’s proposal of a verified subscription option, content moderation will become harder, and misinformation will spread more easily.” This makes me a lot more inclined to follow this spectacle. Great writing as always!
Excellent analysis of Musk’s purchase of Twitter. Good look at a lot of details here with some good sourcing included. With a bit of updating this could be worth turning into an analysis piece for the Antelope.
And, Mallory, excellent job of analyzing this post!