Elon Musk, on his way to becoming the Twitter boss, on Thursday tried to reassure advertisers by saying he wanted to allow all opinions to be expressed on the social network, but did not want to make it a “hellish” platform. where everything would be allowed.
It is “important for the future of civilization to have an online public square where a wide variety of opinions can debate in a healthy way, without resorting to violence,” he wrote in a message aimed specifically at companies that buy advertising on social networks.
“That said, Twitter obviously can’t be a hellish place for everyone to say anything without consequences,” he added.
Elon Musk has yet to officially complete the Twitter acquisition, but there are several signs that the deal is in the works and that, barring yet another twist, the months-long saga between the entrepreneur and the social network is expected to end soon. .
The multibillionaire notably visited Twitter headquarters on Wednesday and renamed himself “Chief Twit” on his profile – “twit” which means “moron” in English.
On Thursday, the employees of the group received an invitation to a general meeting for the same evening, which was definitively canceled “until further notice”.
According to the Wall Street Journal, banks participating in the financing of the operation have also started sending money.
Additionally, the New York Stock Exchange, where Twitter is listed, said in a notice that the platform’s shares would be suspended before trading opens on Friday.
Elon Musk has little time: a judge in charge of settling a dispute between the two sides has given them time until Friday to agree, failing which a trial will take place in November.
The deal dragged on from the announcement in late April of a $ 44 billion takeover bid, which was reluctantly accepted by Twitter.
The entrepreneur tried to get out unilaterally in early July, accusing the company of lying to him, but the company’s board of directors filed a lawsuit.
A few days before the opening of a lawsuit that Twitter seemed well on its way to winning, Elon Musk finally offered to close the transaction at the price initially agreed.
“Helping humanity”
Presenting himself as a staunch defender of freedom of expression, the entrepreneur has already indicated that he wants to ease the moderation of content, rekindling concerns about a possible resurgence of abuse and disinformation on the platform. He, for example, opened the door to a return of Donald Trump, ousted from Twitter shortly after the assault on the Capitol in January 2021.
What discourages advertisers, often looking for consensual content. However, advertising revenue, which accounted for roughly 90% of the company’s revenue in 2021, has already declined significantly this year amid acquisition uncertainty, economic slowdown and changes made by Apple.
In his message to advertisers on Thursday, Elon Musk assures that he did not initiate the acquisition because it was “easy” or “to make money”, but to “try to help humanity”.
There is a “great danger” of increasing polarization on social media with the importance of far-right and far-left content, he notes.
“In addition to complying with the law, our platform must be warm and welcoming to everyone,” says the entrepreneur.
Users must be able to choose what they see online “according to their preferences, in the same way that they can, for example, watch movies or play video games for all ages.”
It is also essential, according to Mr. Musk, to display advertisements that correspond as closely as possible to the “needs” of Internet users.
Delivering more relevant ads is a “noble” but “difficult” goal, according to Insider Intelligence analyst Jasmine Eenberg.
Elon Musk buys Twitter at a time when “data is already scarce and users are very skeptical of providing social networks with even more personal information,” he noted in a statement.
Users seem to gravitate more and more towards content that brands don’t want to associate with “and Musk’s promise (not to make Twitter a + hellish + platform) will probably not be enough to prevent” this development, says the specialist.
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