Quagmire of free speech

He came riding in like the storm. World's richest man and newly self-appointed 'Chief Twit' Elon Musk kicked off his ownership of the social media platform Twitter by firing three top executives and declaring to the world that the "bird is freed". More than a banal reference to Twitter's logo, Musk's tweet was also a reiteration of his stated mission to make Twitter a social media platform that prioritises freedom of speech above all else. Though he spent over USD 44 billion acquiring the platform, Musk has insisted many times that he did not buy Twitter for the sake of making more money, instead, he had done so to try and help humanity by offering a 'common digital town square'. What exactly does that mean? Well, from what little Musk himself has explained, it means reassessing content moderation on the platform. Musk has spoken out explicitly against permanent bans on accounts. In regards to removing and censoring posts, Musk has stated that his general idea is that if a tweet is in a 'grey area', it should be allowed to stay. In the months leading up to the conclusion of the deal, he has subtly and sometimes conspicuously called out the many alleged failures of Twitter's leadership, failure not only to run the platform like a proper business but also as a platform for the exercise of free speech. That was then. Now, Musk is in the driving seat and he appears to have tough decisions ahead of him that cannot simply be waved away with an idealistic emphasis on freedom of speech. Now that he is in charge, Musk must reconcile his goal to make Twitter a paragon of free speech with the reality of keeping advertisers and government regulators happy. Hours after he made his bird is freed remark, European Commissioner Thierry Breton pointedly tweeted that "In Europe, the bird flies by our rules." India too was prompt in reminding Musk that regardless of who owns Twitter, the platform would have to heed Indian laws and regulations. Musk, it would seem, understands that he has a tough balancing act ahead of him. Even as the right-wing universe hails the ascension of Elon Musk as 'Chief Twit' in the fight against 'wokeism' and 'cancel culture', the billionaire owner was swift to reassure advertisers that he would restore free speech while still preventing Twitter from descending into a free-speech 'hellscape'. Musk has announced his plans to set up a content moderation council "with widely diverse viewpoints" to ponder the new direction of moderation on Twitter, stating via a tweet that no changes have been made to such policies thus far. But Musk throwing caution to the wind has not stopped a host of extremist trolls from celebrating Musk's takeover of the platform by posting everything from medical conspiracy theories to racial slurs and Nazi imagery. Unsurprisingly, many people have expressed concern that Musk may not be the right man to lead Twitter at a time when social media has become an incredibly potent tool for those looking to spread fringe ideologies and hatred. While Twitter founder Jack Dorsey was also a major proponent of free speech, he appreciated the need to create a space for "healthy conversations", free of spam, abuse and misinformation. The concern now is that Musk could roll back what little progress was made in creating this safe space for conversations in his quest to overhaul the platform. Musk is taking over Twitter at a particularly sensitive time for the US and American democracy. The midterm elections are only days away and the US government has issued a bulletin warning of heightened domestic extremism against candidates and election workers by those with "ideological grievances". Symbolising the volatility of this time period was the brutal attack on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's husband on Friday. Paul Pelosi, 82, was attacked at his house by a man wielding a hammer and demanding to see the Speaker. The suspect, identified as David DePape, was allegedly a big fan of online conspiracy theories. CNN detailed the alleged attacker's online activity, noting that he frequently posted memes and conspiracy theories regarding COVID vaccines, the 2020 US election and the January 6 Capitol riots, among other things. While it is too early in the investigation to speculate upon how much of the blame for the attack lies on social media echo chambers and online conspiracies, it is safe to say that users of social media cannot simply be left to moderate their own 'free speech'. Of course, the right to free speech is a fundamental foundation of a democratic society and a powerful safeguard against tyranny and ignorance. But, as English writer and philosopher GK Chesterton once said: "To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it".