Daily Skimm Weekend: Perhaps we should form a calming circle

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Verified: On Thursday, Elon Musk sealed his on-again, off-again deal to buy Twitter. Now, the keys to one of the world’s most influential social media platforms are in his hands. But not everyone’s eager to see the “Chief Twit” spread his wings.

The Story

In just over 15 years, Twitter has amassed more than 230 million users — and became a top platform for prominent political leaders, business executives, journalists, and activists. It helped spark social movements (see: #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo), provided real-time info on major news events, and changed the way the world communicates. For better…and for worse. Twitter has repeatedly come under fire for its handling of hate speech, misinformation, and disinformation (think: election lies, conspiracy theories). Which have continued to take hold despite the company’s efforts (think: labeling misleading tweets, banning accounts). Now, those measures could be seeing major changes.

Because of Musk?

You said it. The self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” has already said that the site must be “warm and welcoming to all.” And that the company will create a “content moderation council” before making any changes. TBD what exactly that means. But many worry controversial figures (like former President Trump and Alex Jones) could ultimately return to the nest. And that Musk will peel back the platform’s moderation efforts — which critics have already said are not enough. That could lead to a rise in hate speech, extremism, and misinformation. And at a not-so-great time (read: the midterms are just over a week away). But those aren’t the only flags being raised.

What do you mean?

Musk is the latest example of the uber-rich buying, creating, or financing social media platforms. (See: Peter Thiel and Rumble. Trump and Truth Social. Perhaps even Kanye West and Parler.) In doing so, they’re all becoming political gatekeepers — at a time when social media has become even more influential for how the public gathers info about elections and politicians. (Worth noting: At least 69 million people have reportedly joined alternative social media sites, which 6% of Americans consider a go-to source for news. But Twitter is at least three times the size of that.) So it’s got many concerned about the profound effects this ‘boys club’ could have on politics and society.