Musk hasn’t been shy about discussing his vision for Twitter in the past, pointing to freedom of expression and the removal of spam bots and fake accounts as particular points of interest.
Barring a further change of heart and the fulfillment of certain conditions, Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter looks set to go ahead, leading to the question of whether some or all of the changes he initially hinted at for the platform will come to fruition.
The platform is a popular news and communication tool for crypto enthusiasts, users and investors, not to mention crypto scammers, as the social media platform sees approximately 120,000 tweets a day about #Bitcoin alone, according to BitInfoCharts.
A review of Musk’s initial comments when he proposed the purchase of Twitter could shed some light on the changes he envisions for the platform.
This includes a focus on free speech, removal of spam bots, and fake accounts, an editing feature, and possibly even cryptocurrency payments have been considered and could still be on the agenda if the deal goes through. finished.
Spam bots and fake accounts
One of the possible focuses of attention centers on the supposed Twitter spam bots.
During a TED talk in Vancouver in April, Musk said that if his bid to buy Twitter were successful, a “top priority” would be the removal of spam and scam bots from the platform, noting at the time:
“One of the top priorities I would have is to get rid of spam and scam bots and bot armies that are out there on Twitter.”
“They make the product much worse. If I had a Dogecoin for every crypto scam I see, we would have 100 billion Dogecoin,” he said.
He has proposed ending them by “authenticating all humans”, and has even made the statement “we will defeat spam bots or die trying!”
Spam bot issues later became one of the key arguments Musk used in trying to get out of the deal.
Freedom of expression and return of Trump?
Musk initially addressed his stance on free speech in a tweet in April, stating at the time, “I hope even my worst critics stay on Twitter, because that’s what free speech means.”
In the intervening months, he has not publicly changed his stance and has elaborated on what that could mean for the platform, including the return of former US President Donald Trump, who was permanently banned from Twitter following the Riots on January 6, 2021 at the United States Capitol.
He stated in a May 13 tweet that while he thinks Trump probably shouldn’t run for president again because he’s “divisive,” Musk does think he should be “restored on Twitter.”
Algorithm made public
Musk has also thought about making the Twitter algorithm accessible to the public, even creating a poll that ultimately saw over a million votes and had 82% of respondents saying “Yes” to the proposal.
It’s not entirely clear what Musk has in mind, but it could mean allowing software to be open to public inspection and allowing users to read the code, use it for their apps, and make suggestions for changes to how it works.
Other ideas
Other ideas have either faded or been put into practice, such as plans to use blockchain technology and charge 0.1 Dogecoin (DOGE) for each tweet or retweet, something Musk later said would not be feasible.
