NNA – Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has signed an agreement to buy Twitter for $44 billion, giving him personal control of one of the most influential social media platforms, according to Agence France-Presse.
Twitter was famous as the favorite communication tool of former US President Donald Trump before the platform banned it, and Musk, who describes himself as a “supporter of absolute freedom of expression”, expressed his desire to reform what he considered the platform’s excessive censorship of content.
“Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the public digital arena where it discusses topics vital to the future of humanity,” Musk said in a statement published on Twitter.
“I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making open source algorithms to increase trust, eliminating automated posting bots and authenticating everyone’s accounts,” he added.
Organizations have warned of the type of content Musk may allow on the platform, and NAACP president Derek Johnson said: “Don’t allow Twitter to become a platform for hate speech, misinformation or false information. Protecting our democracy is of paramount importance.”
For her part, US presidential spokeswoman Jen Psaki said, “No matter who owns or runs Twitter,” President Joe Biden, who himself uses Twitter, “is concerned regarding the power of the major social media platforms.”
On the Wall Street Stock Exchange, Twitter’s stock witnessed a rise of 9.5 percent around 19:15 GMT.
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