Opinion: Twitter takeover will lead to the fall of the platform

Elon+Musk+presenting+his+plans.+Musk%E2%80%99s+Twitter+buyout+has+led+to+the+rise+of+many+issues+and+ultimately+might+destroy+the+platform.

James Duncan Davidson under CC BY-NC 3.0

Elon Musk presenting his plans. Musk’s Twitter buyout has led to the rise of many issues and ultimately might destroy the platform.

In a $44 billion deal, Elon Musk has officially bought Twitter. While that might seem great for some, factors make others weary of the deal.

Moments after the deal was publicized, the rate of Twitter users using racial slurs rose exponentially. This was due to Musk declaring that he would spread free speech across the platform. 

With the rise of blatant racism on the platform, many users have abandoned it for other social media platforms.

— Staff Writer Micah Freeman

With the rise of blatant racism on the platform, many users have abandoned it for other social media platforms.

Refocusing on Musk’s own actions, he fired many Twitter employees. Many were locked out of their work accounts before even being notified of the termination of their employment. Humorously, some employees were fired by accident and were asked back. 

Musk also dissolved the entire director’s board and made himself the sole executive of the platform. Now there is no one to give feedback on any of Musk’s ideas.

Due to the lack of feedback, Musk raised the price of Twitter’s subscription service from $5 to $8 and added that if you bought it, you will be a verified account. 

Before the deal, accounts were verified when they were important sources of news and entertainment. Now anyone with $8 can be verified. 

Now there is no one to give feedback on any of Musk’s ideas.

— Staff Writer Micah Freeman

As a result, many users began pretending to be news outlets or brands and posted false information. Some even began to impersonate Musk himself and were promptly banned. To combat this, an “official” tag was put in place for the real accounts which made verification pointless, except for Musk who simply wants money.

While there is trouble for verified accounts, unverified accounts are also facing problems. Musk has planned to bury those accounts under verified accounts. Making it so that non-subscribers post show up significantly less. This erases the point of Twitter which was to connect with people but now it is only connecting to people who paid money to Musk.

None of this controversy is new for Musk. He did the same with Tesla, acquiring the company and running it into the ground with odd decisions. Musk really is in it for the money and this is just another example of it.

These issues have made the last few weeks on Twitter chaotic. To fix them, it would be beneficial to revert the verification process back to the original way and have a new board of directors to give Musk some feedback. 

With these changes, Twitter can be salvaged from the path they are on.

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