Elon Musk seems to be giving signs of launching a new social media platform. Even through his tweets on Twitter, he said he had seriously thought about it.
Musk's intention to create a new social media was revealed from several of his tweets on Twitter this weekend. Initially, he held a poll on Twitter asking if his followers were satisfied with the way Twitter handled freedom of expression.
"The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully," Musk said in a tweet, as quoted by Reuters on Sunday (27/3/2022). After the poll was closed, the result was that 70% of respondents voted 'no'.
Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy.
Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 25, 2022
Musk himself is a person who diligently tweets. Even so, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla also often criticizes his favorite social media platforms because his policies are considered to undermine democracy and hinder the principle of free speech.
Not long after, a follower asked if Musk was considering creating a new social media platform that has an open source algorithm, prioritizes freedom of speech, and lacks propaganda.
"I'm seriously thinking about this," Musk replied.
Am giving serious thought to this
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 27, 2022
Suddenly Musk's answer immediately received a lot of responses from Twitter users. There are those who support it, and there are even some netizens who encourage the richest person in the world to buy Twitter.
"Please buy Twitter and make it better," said one netizen. Meanwhile other netizens suggested Musk to buy Twitter and then retire
On the other hand, some users told Musk that a new social media platform that is too free without restrictions will also have its problems.
"Just as Tesla cars have to be on the streets with traffic lights, Twitter must play a role in putting traffic lights in the social media realm. Free speech doesn't mean giving people the right to spit poison and hate. Use your influence to help Twitter be better." ," said one Twitter user.
If Musk decides to launch a new social media platform, he will follow in the footsteps of some of the tech companies that advocate free speech, hoping to attract users who feel their voices are not being heard on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.
But so far, these companies, including Twitter competitors like Donald Trump's Truth Social, Gettr, and Parler, haven't matched the popularity of mainstream social media today.