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On an eventful day that began with the news that billionaire Elon Musk made a stunning offer to buy Twitter, a move that many were hoping for after he acquired enough stock to make him the social media giant’s largest shareholder, a bombshell that dropped while much of San Francisco, where the company is headquartered was still soundly asleep in bed.
Thursday’s news sent leftists into panic mode, fearing that the days of the platform’s censorship which is critical to their retention of political and social power could soon come to an end with desperate efforts to thwart the $43 billion takeover by any means necessary, as rumors swirled that Twitter could “poison pill” their own company rather than see it fall into the hands of Musk, an outspoken advocate of free speech.
The Tesla/SpaceX CEO may have put a damper on the possibility that he could obtain Twitter, walking back outsized expectations from many that he could be the proverbial white knight in shining armor who would restore the digital “public square” to the actual people, especially to all of the conservatives who have been banned from the platform including former President Donald J. Trump.
During his appearance at TED 2022 in Vancouver, Musk talked about his effort to save Twitter from itself.
“I’m not sure that I will actually be able to acquire it…I could technically afford it,” he said at the conference. “But this is not a sort of way to make money… I don’t care about the economics at all.”
I’m starting to really like this guy. pic.twitter.com/u6a7Uxr2DR
— News Addict (@addicted2newz) April 15, 2022
To say that the leftist meltdown over the idea that a new sheriff in town was one of epic proportions would be the understatement of the year with authoritarian reactionaries wailing in outrage, including Washington Post columnist Max Boot who whined that he is “frightened” that free speech could return to Twitter under Musk, invoking the idiotic talking point that “democracy” will be doomed if the “public-private partnership” is no longer allowed to do an end-around the Constitution.
I am frightened by the impact on society and politics if Elon Musk acquires Twitter. He seems to believe that on social media anything goes. For democracy to survive, we need more content moderation, not less.
— Max Boot 🇺🇦 (@MaxBoot) April 14, 2022
But the real weeping and gnashing of teeth was among Twitter staffers whose emotions spilled across the microblogging platform.
“I’m going to leave Twitter if Elon Musk takes over” is the new “I’m going to move to Canada if Trump wins”.
— Carol Roth (@caroljsroth) April 14, 2022
happy first day of my PTO 😂
— Menotti Minutillo (@44) April 14, 2022
Hey this is a focus week at @Twitter, this is not helping. https://t.co/hzPKp1noi1
— Yiğit Alp Çıray (@yigitalpciray) April 14, 2022
we should all receive Twitter branded weighted blankets after this week
— Dani Trevino (@d_trev) April 14, 2022
However, one prominent tech industry insider, Joe Toscano, a former Google consultant who was featured in the eye-opening Netflix documentary “The Social Dilemma,” suggested that many could actually be pulling for Musk to restore adult leadership to the company.
“I would bet there’s a good chunk of them that are super excited about it, because there’s probably a lot of them that have cool ideas for the platform but haven’t been able to do anything because of the stagnant leadership that Twitter currently has.” Toscano told Fox News Digital.
“So, I think there’s probably a lot of them that are excited, but I’m sure there’s also a large chunk of them who are scared because Elon Musk, all due respect to his work, represents a radical leader and could dramatically change their operation,” he added.
Musk was very active on Twitter as he fought back against those who are digging in to protect Twitter as it currently exists, including a jab at Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a major shareholder who rejected his offer in a Thursday tweet.
Interesting. Just two questions, if I may.
How much of Twitter does the Kingdom own, directly & indirectly?
What are the Kingdom’s views on journalistic freedom of speech?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
“Interesting. Just two questions, if I may,” wrote the billionaire entrepreneur. “How much of Twitter does the Kingdom own, directly & indirectly?”
“What are the Kingdom’s views on journalistic freedom of speech?” Musk asked in a stinging smackdown of the House of Saud and its horrific human rights record which is right up there with that of communist China.
Musk also came off the top rope to body slam Twitter which convened a staff meeting amidst reports that his ownership bid would be nixed by the company.
“If the current Twitter board takes actions contrary to shareholder interests, they would be breaching their fiduciary duty,” he wrote. “The liability they would thereby assume would be titanic in scale.”
If the current Twitter board takes actions contrary to shareholder interests, they would be breaching their fiduciary duty.
The liability they would thereby assume would be titanic in scale.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022
Establishment efforts to protect Twitter’s ability to control the narrative by defeating Musk’s takeover will be ferocious but the fact that he is too rich and too big to cancel could make for a bloody battle with the future of freedom of speech at stake.
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Chris Donaldson is an ordinary American who is concerned about rampant corruption as well as the ongoing attacks on our way of life by those who have contempt for our hard-earned freedoms. A Navy veteran, he has been a frequent contributor to conservative websites and resides in Florida.
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