Billionaire Watch
Elon Musk Mulls Social Media Acquisition
The world’s richest man, Elon Musk is considering acquiring or building his own social media platform to support free speech.
The billionaire, in a series of tweets and a Twitter poll, asked if his over 79 million followers think Twitter rigorously adheres to its free speech policy. He later added that the outcome of the poll will be important, and went on to advise them to vote wisely.
A Twitter user by the name Pranay Pathole @PPathole then asked “Would you consider building a new social media platform, @elonmusk? One that would consist an open-source algorithm, one where free speech and adhering to free speech is given top priority, one where propaganda is very minimal. I think that kind of a platform is needed.”
The billionaire responded that he is ‘giving serious thought to this.” Suggesting he is considering creating his own social media platform to encourage diverse people to express themselves without fear of being silenced.
Elon Musk had refused a request to block the Russian state from accessing Starlink Internet, claiming all news media are partially propaganda. The billionaire added that he is a free speech absolutist, therefore, has no plan to block anyone or nation unless at a gunpoint.
He said “Starlink has been told by some governments (not Ukraine) to block Russian news sources. We will not do so unless at gunpoint.”
The 50 years old billionaire is presently worth $256 billion, down from $270.3 billion on December 31. Meaning, that Musk’s total net worth has dropped by $14.3 billion year-to-date.