Staff Editorial: Twitter lives on after acquisition by Elon Musk
On Oct. 27 2022, after months of public deliberation and financial trading, Elon Musk, the billionaire chief executive officer of the SpaceX and Tesla companies and long-time internet personality, finally bought Twitter—and chaos ensued. The internet’s opinion of Musk veered largely in the negative direction over the past few years, as his “entrepreneurial spirit” has revealed itself to be more sinister than genuine; multiple journalists have investigated violations of labor rights and efforts to prevent workers from unionizing.
Apart from his overtly unethical business practices, Musk is also a Twitter troll, and an insufferable one. His presence on the platform—one of the internet’s least restricted, allowing for nudity, name-dropping, and open comedic discretion—was never tame; Musk has always used the app to rile public opinion, fanning the flames of hot-button topics to win over Twitter inhabitants or, more often, to confuse them beyond belief. And though he has always had die-hard supporters, Twitter users’ opinions of him really sank when his feud with former President Donald Trump became humiliatingly public; when Trump issued his heinous travel ban targeting Islamic communities, Musk expressed his disapproval of the executive action via Twitter. He later detracted from these seemingly progressive views as his Twitter shareholders increased, claiming that he would lift Trump’s Twitter ban following the Jan. 6 2021 attack on the Capitol. The two continue to quarrel on the platform, and Musk continues to lean into controversy in order to maintain his relevance.
Given his blatant manipulation of public opinion, Musk, apart from his mass of wealth, seems like the very antithesis of a rightful Twitter CEO; although the company does market itself as one heralding free speech and open discourse, it too admonishes (or rather, it once admonished) domination of the platform by a sole party, especially those at the very top of the financial ladder. The beauty of Twitter—the very reason why it became so popular—is its versatility; journalists, politicians, artists, comedians, and college students alike use the service to express both the crucial and the mundane. Musk’s adoption of the platform and immediate revamping, including several firings of long-time Twitter engineers and the now infamous reversion of the blue checkmark—a symbol that once designated public officials and celebrities from standard users—into something that can be bought and sold, mark a disappointing turn in the company’s history.
Thankfully, Twitter users have reacted to these Muskian changes in the most comedic, quintessentially-Twitter manner. Popular user @MNateShyamalan wrote of the ordeal: “can’t believe my stupid [self] has imposter syndrome while elon musk is confidently marching around twitter [headquarters] and chewing on wires until something breaks.” They elaborated further with “this website is a burning tesla and we’re all locked inside.” Other users have utilized the new verification-buying feature to mock Musk’s financially motivated additions to the website: popular musician and verified Twitter user mxmtoon tweeted, simply: “Elon Musk is Ugly[.] you know this is true because this tweet says official.”
As an avid Twitter user, I am happy to announce that, nearly three weeks into Musk’s acquisition of the site, very little has changed for the average user, and it looks like this will remain true. While his incessant firings and petty changes are disappointing, the chaotic spirit of Twitter lives on through the wittiness of its users and the site’s unabating affinity for discourse.