'Musk's Twitter'... The End of a 6-Year Wandering?

(Photo by Reuters) [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] 'A world without Twitter, what do we lose?'

140-character short posts. Founded in 2006, long before the mobile era, Twitter rose to prominence as a social media service based on 'shared interests.' It became a platform for real-time information distribution, first alerting about natural disasters like earthquakes, and rapidly grew into a forum for public opinion by pioneering features like 'mutual follows' and 'sharing.'

Although it formed a unique user base fitting its original role, Twitter struggled for years with a lack of growth momentum due to the flood of similar services and failure to find an appropriate revenue model. Internal and external conflicts deepened amid worsening performance and management disputes among the founders. Eventually, in 2016, rumors of Twitter’s sale surfaced, and six years later, in October, news broke that Elon Musk had acquired Twitter for $44 billion (approximately 62 trillion KRW at the time).

Foreign media questioned whether Twitter could maintain its past status as a 'forum for public opinion' in the Musk era. On the 23rd (local time), the American foreign affairs magazine Foreign Policy published a commentary titled "What We Lose if We Lose Twitter," describing Musk’s acquisition as a 'possible demise' of Twitter.

It directly stated, "Musk’s acquisition of Twitter will be a geopolitical disaster not only for the United States but also for global democracy." The concern was that Twitter, which had played a powerful role in democratizing information over the past generation, would no longer be recognizable under Musk’s leadership.

The concern became reality. Musk revived the account of former U.S. President Donald Trump, which had been permanently suspended for inciting the U.S. Capitol riot, and announced plans to reinstate many other accounts that had been removed for similar reasons.

Musk qualified this by saying it would only apply to those who "did not break the law or engage in massive spam," but experts unanimously warned that this move would lead to a flood of violence, harassment, and fake news on Twitter. The Washington Post (WP) pointed out, "The criteria for users who break the law or massive spam, as mentioned by Musk, are ambiguous, and considering compliance with laws of various countries, there are questions about how suspended accounts will be handled."

As trust in Twitter declines, a migration away from the platform is underway. Famous African American actress Whoopi Goldberg, actress Tia Leoni, and Grammy-winning pop star Toni Braxton recently announced they would cease Twitter activity. Additionally, Chesley Sullenberger, the former pilot famous for the movie 'Sully,' and Shonda Rhimes, the renowned producer of the U.S. TV drama 'Grey's Anatomy,' have also declared their departure from Twitter.

Concerns about Twitter’s future under Musk, who has been a harsh critic of Twitter’s content regulation policies, are significant. Musk has overturned existing content policies citing 'freedom of expression,' raising fears that fake news and hate speech will proliferate, leading to predictions that people will stop using Twitter altogether.

Regulators are also watching closely. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that as Musk undertakes mass layoffs, there is a wave of departures among employees responsible for managing harmful content, raising doubts among regulatory authorities about the ongoing compliance efforts in content management.

Scott Galloway, a marketing professor at New York University, expressed concern in an interview with U.S. media, saying, "There are many reasons to mourn what is currently happening on Twitter." Foreign Policy stated, "To save Twitter, Musk must fire himself," pointing out that "Musk’s conflicts of interest make it too risky for him to operate Twitter, which exists in the public domain."