Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter took the world by storm. On October 27, Musk announced his purchase of the widely popular social media platform for a price of over $44 billion, labeling him as the new CEO. 

“The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence,” said Musk.

However, under Musk’s leadership, drastic changes have been made to the application. For example, Apple has allegedly threatened to remove Twitter from the App Store, leading many businesses and programs to question their presence on the platform.

This is a battle for the future of civilization. If free speech is lost even in America, tyranny is all that lies ahead.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 29, 2022

“We don’t have any intention of taking our content off of Twitter because we use this website as a way to engage our audiences and make sure we all stay in tune. So, Twitter is a tool we use to benefit our program,” said AV Journalism Social Media Manager Zaynah Shah (‘24).

Musk has also made some extremely controversial decisions, including the launch of Twitter Blue, a subscription plan to gain the blue verified check-mark, and the mass dismissal of staff and employees. 

“I know he has fired a lot of people and that he has made it easier for people to go back on Twitter and say racist and awful things. I think the problem with Twitter is that algorithms allow misinformed people and people and other terribly misinformed people to group together,” said AP World History teacher Christopher Murphy.

Additionally, Musk has come under fire for bringing back many suspended accounts, such as profiles belonging to former president Donald Trump and celebrity Kanye West. In light of these decisions, many continue to wonder where Musk is headed with his newly-bought company and what the future of Twitter entails in a world where misinformation is plenty.  

“I think it’s important to acknowledge that as a private company, Twitter can choose to ban or suspend any account, but they can also choose to revoke the suspensions,” said Filipp Dmietriev (‘25).

Today, Twitter is used by friends and family to stay connected and by citizens around the world to stay updated with local and world news. But, with Musk’s recent takeover, the future of this social media giant remains uncertain. 

“People want to put their ideas out there, and that is great, but I do not think that algorithms should make it really easy for people to link up and unite under what are really flawed ideas,” said Murphy.