Musk: I'm Buying Twitter to 'Try to Help Humanity'
He tells advertisers he won't let platform become a 'free-for-all hellscape'
By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff
Posted Oct 27, 2022 12:14 PM CDT
newser.com
(NEWSER) – Friday is the court-ordered deadline for Elon Musk to buy Twitter—and he's already talking about the acquisition. In a "Dear Twitter Advertisers" statement that Musk tweeted on Thursday, he reassured them that he won't allow it to become a "free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences," CNBC reports. "The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence," he said, adding that there is a "great danger social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society."
Musk, who was sued after he tried to back out of the deal earlier this year, said the loss of the "opportunity for dialogue" is why he bought Twitter. "I didn't do it to make money," he said. "I did it to try to help humanity, whom I love. And I do so with humility, recognizing that failure in pursuing this goal, despite our best efforts, is a very real possibility." He told advertisers that "much of the speculation" about why he bought Twitter—and what he thinks about advertising—was wrong, and he wants Twitter to be "the most respected advertising platform in the world." He added that advertising, "when done right, can delight, entertain, and inform you."
Advertisers had expressed concerns that Musk's plan to cut back on moderating would turn it into the "free-for-all hellscape" he spoke of, driving away users. The 51-year-old hasn't set out many concrete details about his plans for Twitter, the AP reports, but analysts suspect he intends to make it an "everything app" similar to China's WeChat, which handles mobile payments as well as streaming and multiple methods of instant messaging. On Wednesday, Musk posted a video clip that showed him arriving at Twitter's San Francisco headquarters carrying a sink. "Let that sink in," he wrote. Musk is expected to return Friday if the $44 billion deal is finalized. (Read more Twitter stories.) |
