ELON’S PROMISES MUST BE KEPT.
Posted on 30th April 2022
This week on my daily walk I saw a Red Admiral butterfly with an escort of a pair of Cabbage Whites. They were near a young copper beech that I like to hug and then pray for a little added strength. For some reason at that moment , I started thinking about free speech, and, indeed, freedom of expression, both of which seem to be constantly under threat. This has been brought into focus by Elon Musk’s stunning purchase of Twitter for $44 billion. Even for the richest man in the world with an estimated $270 billion fortune, this is a stunning acquisition. Musk does not appear to be entirely driven by money. His friend, Ross Gerber told the BBC “Elon only gets involved if he thinks something is critically important for humanity. He doesn’t care about money at all “. This could be critically important because the other platforms are driven by profit. They have moderators and algorithms eliminating what they consider offensive and indeed selecting what they consider putting in front of users. The whole process is as clear as mud. Musk in contrast is promising total transparency. If he can expose and control the automated accounts or bots, many of which are Russian in origin, which have been peddling lies and disinformation and generally causing chaos, he will be doing the cause of democracy a great service. However, getting back to free speech, an interesting question arises. Will he allow Donald Trump back on the platform. In my opinion if the Donald wants to, he should be allowed back. I do not share his beliefs and opinions but I absolutely defend his right to express them. Free speech is the life blood of democracy. So let us hope Elon Musk lives up to his reputation.
