What’s Elon Musk’s new social media platform about?

What’s Elon Musk’s new social media platform about?
FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk attends the opening ceremony of the new Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars in Gruenheide, Germany, March 22, 2022. Patrick Pleul/Pool via REUTERS

If you’ve been seeking a new social media platform, Elon Musk might just be your man. On March 25, Musk said that free speech was essential and asked his Twitter community whether they thought Twitter adhered to the principle. 70.4% said no. He then asked whether a new platform was needed and said he was giving serious thought to building one himself. Someone else who has tried to solve the dilemma of free speech on social media is Donald Trump with his app, Truth Social.

Key comments:

“Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy,” Musk tweeted over the weekend.

He said in an earlier tweet on March 25 that “free speech is essential to a functioning democracy,” and he questioned if Twitter “rigorously adheres to this principle.”

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