SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 19 April 2024, Friday |

Elon Musk giving ‘serious thought’ to build a new social media platform

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc, said in a tweet on Saturday that he is giving “serious thought” to creating a new social media platform.

Musk was responding to a Twitter user’s question about whether he would consider creating a social media platform based on an open source algorithm that prioritized free speech and minimized propaganda.

Musk, a frequent Twitter user, has recently criticized the social media platform and its policies. He claims that the company is undermining democracy by violating free speech principles.

His tweet comes a day after he put out a Twitter poll asking users if they believed Twitter adheres to the principle of free speech, to which over 70% voted “no”.

“The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully,” he said on Friday.

If Musk decides to go ahead with creating a new platform, he would be joining a growing portfolio of technology companies that are positioning themselves as champions of free speech and which hope to draw users who feel their views are suppressed on platforms such as Twitter, Meta Platform’s (FB.O) Facebook and Alphabet-owned Google’s YouTube.

None of the companies, including Donald Trump’s Truth Social, Twitter competitors Gettr and Parler and video site Rumble, have come close to matching the reach and popularity of the mainstream platforms so far.

    Source:
  • Reuters