Liberals triggered by Elon Musk’s offer to buy Twitter
Following an early morning tweet from Elon Musk announcing that he has made $43 billion offer to buy Twitter, some of the platform’s users launched into a meltdown.
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Following an early morning tweet from Elon Musk announcing that he has made $43 billion offer to buy Twitter, some of the platform’s users launched into a meltdown.
Following an early morning tweet from Elon Musk announcing that he has made $43 billion offer to buy Twitter, linking to the SEC filing, some of the platform's prominent, liberal users launched into meltdown mode.
CUNY professor and author Jeff Jarvis compared the moment in the online town square to the end of Weimar Germany, right before the Nazis secured power and launched the world into war.
Today on Twitter feels like the last evening in a Berlin nightclub at the twilight of Weimar Germany.
— Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis)
Twitter has long been a haven for leftists who have watched gleefully as conservative accounts that run counter to the corporate, liberal narrative have been banned, suppressed, and censored. President Trump was permanently banned from the platform as a sitting president, though shortly before the end of his term in January, 2020.
Recently, Tucker Carlson, The Babylon Bee, Libs of Tik Tok, Jack Posobiec, and Charlie Kirk, among others, have faced suspensions.
Glenn Greenwald commented that he'd cancelled all his engagements Thursday in order to watch this all unfold on Twitter.
????
Cancelling my commitments for the day so I can watch liberals become more unhinged, hysterical and panicked over the prospect that they may not be able to wield censorship power on Twitter.
It's only 11 am on the East Coast and we're already at Nazi analogies: https://t.co/K21Gq8Ybpc
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald)
Other Twitter users called Musk "bad news" for the platform, predicting that nearly 3/4 of the company’s staff would leave, as well as a majority of the users on the platform.
Axios was horrified.
Some users have said that Musk's intended takeover indicates the formation or furtherance of an oligarchy on the platform.
Elon Musk is bad news. He should start his own platform, maybe Oligarch Social, and leave Twitter alone. https://t.co/dughsCApLQ
— Mark Jacob (@MarkJacob16)
Others said that employees would leave in droves, but as Musk has no confidence in management, per his SEC filing, it's unclear as to why Musk would see this as a bad thing.
The thing is, 70%+ of employees will leave within the year if Elon actually buys Twitter. The company has a special culture and pride in the work they do. Doesn’t mesh well with sporadic dictator behavior.
— Melcolm X // melcolmx.eth (@MelcolmRuffin)
Others said that users should leave and tank the platform on the way out, though it's unclear where they would go. Conservative users have attempted to start new, free speech oriented platforms, only for Twitter to maintain market dominance.
If Elon Musk buys out Twitter then we should all leave the platform en masse.
TWEXIT
— ROCKY MOUNTAIN VIEWS (@RockyMountViews)
I hope Elon does buy twitter, it means we can all leave: finally free
— Matt Lees (@Jam_sponge)
IM UP AND ELON MUSK CAN FUCK OFF!
— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski)
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One Twitter user called those that would remain on the platform if the proposed buyout takes effect "losers" from other alternate social media platforms like Truth Social and GETTR.
So if Elon buys Twitter and all the sane people leave, he will have just the losers from Truth Social, GETTR, and Trump’s other failed platforms. Have a good time, Musk
— Kelly D (@KellDA)
In regards to Truth Social, one user said that Musk should instead buy the Trump-created platform for $43, and "leave us alone."
Instead of buying Twitter for 43 Billion, Elon should buy Truth Social for 43 Bucks and leave us alone.
— Davram (@davramdavram)
Max Boot he is "frightened" about the impact that Musk’s buyout would have on society and politics, adding that "we need more content moderation, not less."
I am frightened by the impact on society and politics if Elon Musk acquires Twitter. He seems to believe that on social media anything goes. For democracy to survive, we need more content moderation, not less.
— Max Boot ?? (@MaxBoot)
He added that criticizing Musk’s potential buyout "elicits the same kind of reaction as criticizing Trump."
Criticizing Elon Musk’s proposed takeover of Twitter elicits the same kind of reaction as criticizing Trump. These guys seem to excite the worst people online. pic.twitter.com/0bGlH6zuxC
— Max Boot ?? (@MaxBoot)
One Washington Post tech reporter said that covering the recent Musk news cycle was "as a tech reporter really is about as close as you get to covering the Trump-on-Twitter news cycle as a political reporter."
Covering the Elon Musk-vs-Twitter news cycle as a tech reporter really is about as close as you get to covering the Trump-on-Twitter news cycle as a political reporter
— Cristiano Lima (@viaCristiano)
Another user said that fellow platform users should "send a message to the shareholders," attaching the hashtag "If Elon Buys Twitter Dies."
I for one will leave twitter if Elon Musk takes over, and I bet the same goes for many of you.
Let’s send a message to the shareholders:#IfElonBuysTwitterDies
— The Lib (@HappyBitchFace)
In response to the outrage, journalist Jordan Schachtel threw out the common comment used by left-wing users of the platform when others were outraged: "If the libs are mad about Elon buying Twitter they should just make their own Twitter. It is a private company, after all."
If the libs are mad about Elon buying Twitter they should just make their own Twitter. It is a private company, after all.
— Jordan Schachtel @ dossier.substack.com (@JordanSchachtel)
The news of Musk’s potential buyout comes amidst over a week of a flurry of news about the tech platform, which founder Jack Dorsey ceded to the leadership of Parag Agrawal after he vacated the CEO position.
In early April, Agrawal announced that Musk, who had then recently purchased over 9 percent in shares of the company, would be joining the board of directors.
Days later though, he announced that Musk would in fact not be joining the board.
Some tweets liked by Musk in the wake of the news suggested that he was asked to "play nice and not speak freely," if he were to join the board. He would also be constrained to buying just 14.9 percent stock, and would only have 1/12 of a vote at board meetings, joining the other 11 members on the board.
In an SEC filing posted to Twitter by Musk on Thursday morning, he said he would offer the company $54.20 per share in cash, representing a 54 percent premium over the closing price of the stock on January 28, 2022, and a 38 percent premium over the closing price of the stock on April 1, 2022.