1 year ago
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Billionaire conspiracy promoter Elon Musk spent $44 billion on Twitter to implement his special brand of “free speech,” essentially bringing back all the Nazis, conspiracy theorists, and all-around deplorables that were once moderated out of the platform, relegated to darker corners of the internet.
He then proceeded to eliminate the social media site’s verification system, handing out those blue checkmarks to the Musk acolytes foolish enough to pay him $8 per month. As a bonus, those deplorables receive priority comment placement under any tweet, ensuring that a stream of vitriol, ignorance, and hate will dominate any reasonable person’s contribution.
It’s bad enough that Twitter is now a far-right social network, but Musk also decimated the company’s engineering corps, leaving a skeleton crew of overworked H-1B visa holders who are unable to leave without being deported. Whatever crew is left is increasingly unable to balance the need to implement Musk’s bizarre whims and simply keep Twitter running.
In short, Twitter is falling apart, both from a technical standpoint and from a usability standpoint. But Musk’s foibles are an opportunity, and several companies are furiously racing to become the new Twitter.
