In a new Twitter exchange between tech genius and Tesla founder Elon Musk and software developer Pranay Pathole who has been corresponding with him for quite some years now, the two discussed the possibility of a new social media platform – to which Musk said he was “giving serious thought”.
Pranay, who first Tweeted Musk in 2018 and brought up the issue of Tesla’s automatic windscreen wipers, asked Musk if he would be willing to consider an open-source algorithm social media platform that’d prioritise free speech and stamp out propaganda.
“Am giving a serious thought to this,” came Musk’s response to Pranay’s tweet.
Of course, Twitter exploded, with many wondering how “propaganda” would be palliated, and who would decide what it even is.
Musk has been known to wield social media often – sometimes to his benefit, and sometimes much to the chagrin of the US SEC. But he’s well-known for regularly scouting his Twitter feed for feedback on Tesla from users, and then going back to the drawing board to fix any issues.
Free speech has been a controversial topic on Twitter. Many of its own users have accused Twitter of selective free speech – much like Facebook and its alleged election-swinging propaganda (recall the Cambridge Analytica data scandal).
Musk put out a poll to his 79 million Twitter followers asking if they believed the platform adhered to the principle of free speech – an important function of democracy, to which 70.4 percent of people responded “NO”.
“The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully,” Musk followed his first tweet up with.
Earlier this week, he asked his followers if Twitter’s algorithm should be open source. 82.7 percent people voted yes. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey stepped in to say that the choice of which algorithm to use (or not) should be open to everyone.
