Questions have been raised concerning what course Elon Musk plans to take Twitter following the Tesla and SpaceX founder's $44 billion takeover of the corporate, and whether or not these on the left will wish to be a part of it.
The world's richest man has up to now solely given imprecise guarantees of his intentions when he takes management of the social media platform, together with vowing to deal with spam bot accounts, making its algorithm public, and turning into extra clear by way of choice making.
Musk, a registered impartial who describes his views as average, has additionally mentioned his need to make Twitter a "digital city sq." the place free speech is just not restricted and content material is just not harshly monitored.
This has prompted fears the positioning could change into much less censored and extra in keeping with different conservative "free speech" social media websites comparable to Gab and Parler, and even see beforehand banned people comparable to Donald Trump return.
Proper-wing websites comparable to Gab, GETTR and Parler and Trump's personal Reality Social delight themselves on permitting in individuals who have been banned from different platforms for violating their insurance policies on hate speech, harassment, or misinformation.
However for liberal and left-wing customers who could wish to depart Twitter within the wake of Musk's takeover, the query is straightforward: can, or ought to, they create their very own social media website to rival Twitter ought to the positioning endure sweeping modifications underneath Musk?
Talking to Newsweek, Joshua Tucker, director of NYU's Heart for Social Media and Politics, mentioned beginning a left-wing social media website will encounter the identical difficulties as a conservative one—as seen by the falling Reality Social—in that customers solely discover extra worth in such platforms if folks really use it.
"Leaving the platforms the place individuals are situated means in the end dropping the worth you get from social media platforms," Tucker mentioned.
"If there actually is a liberal exodus from Twitter—and that is a giant if—then somebody will create a liberal social media platform, and it'll in all probability get about as many customers because the conservative platforms, which isn't many."
Karen Freberg, a professor of strategic communications on the College of Louisville, additionally famous the problem of making an attempt to start out a social community from scratch, particularly one which solely caters to sure demographics.
"It's a must to market the platform, construct worth, and create strategic partnerships and initiatives that entice viewers members constantly over time," Freberg advised Newsweek.
"Social media—as an business and channel of communication—is mature, and individuals are set of their methods on which platforms and channels they use, eat, and create on.
"It is onerous to vary folks's behaviors, however it may be accomplished over time. This isn't going to be one thing that can evolve in a single day. Time will inform if this occurs."
The query of whether or not a liberal social media, which censors posts to fight the unfold of hate speech or different extremist views, is required will probably be moot if Musk doesn't overtly change Twitter's content material moderation insurance policies.
Musk could not even concentrate on the key challenges that awaits him if he decides to change polices, and resolve how a lot moderation ought to be carried out on Twitter.
"Proposing 'much less content material moderation' is simpler when you do not really should run the platform," Tucker mentioned.
As Tucker additionally notes, Musk's proposals to make Twitter a "city sq." through which "good speech would counter dangerous speech" had already been recommended by social media networks within the early 2000s.
"They in a short time realized that this does not work in actuality, and it particularly would not work at scale," Tucker mentioned.
"There's spam, hate speech, misinformation, and many different rubbish on the web. So for the previous twenty years, they've found out, in matches and begins, the way to average content material to make social media platforms are a greater place for his or her customers.
"Is it excellent? No. Is Musk prone to begin from scratch on this one? Additionally, in all probability not," Tucker added.
Alexandra Cirone, assistant professor of presidency at Cornell College, additionally believes it doesn't make sense for Musk to reign in Twitter's content material moderation insurance policies following his $44 billion funding.
"Firms undertake group requirements and content material moderation insurance policies to maintain platforms protected, or to maintain their person base pleased," Cirone advised Newsweek.
"The common social media person would not need disinformation or hate speech of their feed. It merely would not make monetary sense to eradicate content material moderation insurance policies."
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