Tesla and Spacex CEO Elon Musk says that he is “giving serious thought to” creating a new social media platform with free speech as a top priority. “Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy,” the Tesla billionaire said.
Elon Musk Outlines the Need to Build a New Social Media Platform and Defends Freedom of Speech
Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla and Spacex) has been discussing the necessity of a new Twitter social media platform over the last few days. Elon Musk is now more critical about Twitter and its policies. He claims that Twitter violates free speech principles, which makes it a threat to democracy.
Replying to a question about whether he would consider building a new social media platform with an open source algorithm, where free speech is given top priority and propaganda is minimized, Musk replied: “Am giving serious thought to this.”
The discussion began when Musk put up a Twitter poll Friday asking his 79.2 million followers to vote whether they believe Twitter adheres to the principle of free speech, which “is essential to a functioning democracy,” he wrote.
The Tesla boss emphasized: “The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully.” After 24 hours, the poll ended with more than 2 million votes; 70.4% said no.
Musk said:
Twitter is the most popular social media platform, so failing to uphold free speech principles will fundamentally undermine democracy. How can we make democracy work?
In a follow-up tweet, the Spacex CEO asked: “Is a new platform needed?”
While there are some platforms which claim they offer free speech alternatives to Twitter, few have reached the same size as Twitter. Parler is one example of a Twitter alternative that has received some attention, but it’s a similar centralized service.
Some platforms use open-source protocols and are decentralized. This includes Gab and Truth Social. Truth Social was launched recently by Donald Trump, an ex-US President. Truth Social didn’t take off, and Trump doesn’t even use it. You can use several protocols to create decentralized Twitter alternatives such as Mastodon.
Is Elon Musk right to create a new platform on social media that allows free speech? Leave your comments below.
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