After several repetitions, Musk, the world‘s richest man with an elusive personality, completed the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter on October 27, but the public’s enthusiasm for the transaction continued; especially he immediately fired 4 Twitter executives . Twitter is considered to be an important public opinion position in Western countries, and the discussion points include controversial aspects.
According to Fox News Digital, some believe that Twitter’s algorithm could soon be changed in favor of conservative voices using the social media site ahead of the election, a “game changer”; but others It is believed that there will be no major changes to the platform’s content moderation.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed the takeover, saying he was very happy “now that Twitter is in the hands of the sane”. Musk has pledged to uphold freedom of speech of all kinds.
Political commentator Yokogawa said that after Twitter was acquired by Musk, there will definitely be great changes. Because for a long time, Twitter has used very unfair means against some conservatives, especially large-scale bans and even permanent account suspensions. “It’s called a ‘shadowban’ (shadow ban), which means that people will not see him. There are several famous people who will not enter his account.”
“This is gradually changing since the Musk acquisition; at least the search parameters have changed now.”
Yokogawa analyzed to Voice of Hope: “But at the same time, he has another problem, that is, his Tesla and his acquisition funds contain CCP funds; in addition, his own (company) Tesla has the largest sales volume in mainland China. Produced. There is a problem with that, the CCP will weaponize anything that can be exploited, so both of these things will be weaponized.”
Former Twitter board member Jason Goldman said Tesla’s growing presence in China could put Twitter at risk. Musk will be dealing with the Chinese authorities, “and possibly handing over user data, which is very scary to think about.” Tesla is reported to have revenue of about $14 billion in the Chinese market in 2021.
Zhang Jian, an observer of China issues in the United States and a veteran IT industry, told Voice of Hope that Musk’s acquisition of Twitter caused a vague concern. If he completely adheres to it, operates in accordance with the laws of the market and in accordance with the legal system of the United States, the acquisition of Twitter will be even more powerful for Musk. “However, he has been dealing with the CCP recently; and he has talked about some remarks about the CCP, including the accusation of the Taiwan issue, and it can be seen that businessmen are separated from each other by focusing on profits.”
He analyzed: “After dealing with the CCP for a long time, you will be invisibly disturbed by this behavior within the CCP’s system, or you will be kidnapped by the CCP at some point.”
“If his own interests are locked by the CCP, is it possible that Musk will defect on key core issues. If he has powerful technology and social media that has a significant influence in the United States, then his intangible rights and Combined with tangible assets, he’s a very big hidden danger; something that could be a source of unease in the world.”
Zhang Jian finally pointed out that Musk is a genius in the business world, and he is the target of the CCP’s instigation and co-optation. “The CCP’s united front against Musk, or the efforts made by Musk in other aspects, may be far greater than that of any important company; or it may be larger and stronger than that of a generally small country.”
Yokogawa also believes that some of Musk’s investors may have ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Can he withstand the pressure from the CCP and shareholders? “It’s hard to say how much pressure he can take on this issue. That’s actually the most worrying part.”
On October 21, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that the Biden administration and intelligence community officials are discussing which tools to use to conduct national security reviews of companies controlled by Musk, including the Twitter acquisition. This station will continue to monitor the follow-up development of the situation.
Earlier on September 13, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley said in his opening remarks at a Senate hearing that a Twitter “whistleblower” disclosed that at least one Chinese agent was working at the company. maybe more).