Before we start tweeting (hah) check out the final installment of The Deal over at Glibertarians!
I’ve said for a long time that Twitter has the worst noise-to-signal ratio on the Internet, excepting (possibly) YouTube video comments. Well, as reported by RedState.com’s “Bonchie,” now closest thing we have to a real-life Tony Stark, Elon Musk, is buying Twitter. Excerpt:
The social media giant confirmed Monday the Tesla CEO and billionaire will acquire the company in a deal worth $44 billion. Once the deal is complete, which is expected by this year, Twitter will become a privately held company.
“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,” said Musk in a statement. “I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans.”
Shares of Twitter rose more than 5% in afternoon trading Monday.
“Twitter has a purpose and relevance that impacts the entire world,” its CEO Parag Agrawal said in a tweet. “Deeply proud of our teams and inspired by the work that has never been more important.”
Earlier Monday, Musk said: “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means.”
OK, Elon, then now that Twitter is to be your personal hobby business, let’s see you fix the “algorithms” and “misleading information” decisions made by plenty of Twitter employees of late. I know that ownership transfer isn’t instantaneous, but we’ll know when it happens – and will be expecting a level playing field, according to your own words here.
Now, predictably, lefties from every corner of the internets are threatening to leave Twitter. While I’m inclined to say “good riddance,” we all know they won’t. Of course none of those people are going to flee Twitter, just as all the assholes who routinely threaten to leave the country if (insert GOP Presidential candidate) is elected President never actually leave. They’re just taking a dump; they know it and we know it. And honestly, the worst thing the Left can do for its own cause is to stay there and keep talking.
I’m not sure what to think of this. Elon Musk, remember, is no friend to liberty-minded people. I enjoy the guy poking fun at the Left, but he’s no conservative, either; what positions he has taken on the issues of the day are all over the map.
Of course, the one thing he has made very clear is his support for unfettered, uncensored free speech. If he ends up owning Twitter, as seems is going to happen, he’ll be in a position to make this policy. Don’t get me wrong – Twitter will almost certainly remain horrible in the noise-to-signal department – but it might improve some. We’ll see.
