Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter is complete and as expected, the world’s richest man has begun making changes on the social media platform. Musk, of course, continues to reveal most of these changes via his own Twitter feed where he has over 110 million followers. Some significant changes that Musk has announced include revamping the verification process — some reports indicate users might soon have to pay to keep that blue tick — as well as a new moderation council. To be clear, Musk has not yet changed any of the platform’s policies around hate speech, but clearly deeper discussions are taking place on what will happen next. Here’s a look at what he has announced so far and what has already started changing.
The Blue Tick might soon come with a price tag
The Blue Tick is a coveted feature on Twitter, usually bestowed after a verification process. But Musk says he is revamping the whole verification process at the moment. Typically, Twitter verifies prominent personalities, journalists, activists, and celebrities, but for long many have argued that the process is not fair. And it appears that Musk is listening to those voices right now.
In a reply to another user, Musk said, “the whole verification process is being revamped right now.” Reports also claim that verification could get linked to the Twitter Blue subscription and subscription prices may be hiked considerably.
A report by The Verge speculates that Twitter might charge $19.99 for Twitter Blue. Another report states by the Platformer states that users will have to pay $4.99 to keep the blue badge. Twitter Blue is not available in India right now at the moment. Musk also replied ‘interesting’ to a tweet asking users whether they would pay for the Blue Badge.
Check out his tweet below
The whole verification process is being revamped right now
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 30, 2022
Interesting
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 31, 2022
New Council for moderating content, but the current policy has not changed
‘Free speech’ is a critical part of Musk’s agenda as far as Twitter is concerned. But he has promised to advertisers that he does not intend to turn Twitter into a hellscape, and that ‘free speech’ will remain within the realm of the law. Of course, as many have pointed out, the definition of free speech differs in each country. For instance, in India, Twitter is currently engaged in a legal with the Indian government over the issue of censorship.
Elon Musk shows up at Twitter HQ with a sink on his first day…”Let that sink in”
So how does Musk plan to deal with content moderation, which is a very contentious issue on most social media platforms? For now, it looks like Twitter is getting “a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints.” Musk wrote, “Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints. No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes.” He also added that he has not made any changes to Twitter’s content moderation policies for now.
Interestingly, some users asked him why Kanye West’s account was restored– West has been accused of antisemitism– and Musk replied that happened before he took over.
Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints.
No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022
To be super clear, we have not yet made any changes to Twitter’s content moderation policies https://t.co/k4guTsXOIu
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 29, 2022
The problem is that Musk’s takeover and talks of free speech have come with fears of increased bullying and harassment, especially since the ‘chief twit’ himself is so fond of trolling others on the platform. Musk is also against ‘life bans’ and there are concerns that he will allow former US President Donald Trump to return to the platform. Exactly how Musk balances free speech and user safety will be interesting to watch.
The return of Vine
If you’re a long-time Twitter user, you will likely remember ‘Vine’, the short-video platform that the company acquired back in 2013, but then shut down in 2017. Vine was well ahead of its time before TikTok and Reels became the de-facto mode of entertainment. Now Musk might just bring it back. He posted a poll asking his 110 million followers if Vine should make a comeback with Y or N options. Right now, it is heavily in favour of Vine marking a return of nearly 71 per cent.
Bring back Vine?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 31, 2022
If Musk does bring back Vine, it will not be surprising. He has in the past talked about how platforms like TikTok are much more engaging. In fact, Twitter has also started pushing short videos as we noted earlier. Whether Musk actually pulls off the revival, though, is something only time will tell.
A ‘version of Twitter’ you want
Musk knows he is in the tricky zone when it comes to content moderation. When someone pointed out that the Twitter moderation council was not a great idea, given the one by Facebook had not fared so well, Musk agreed with them and said that they might rely more on user feedback for rating tweets, and give users options to select which ‘version of Twitter’ they wish to see.
Good point.
Being able to select which version of Twitter you want is probably better, much as it would be for a movie maturity rating.
The rating of the tweet itself could be self-selected, then modified by user feedback.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 29, 2022
The ‘Explore’ feed now shows when you exit Twitter
Twitter just got a lot more open to potential new users
Twitter previously only showed a login page to users that weren’t logged in or didn’t have an account to encourage users to make an account to view tweets. But within 24 hours of the acquisition, that behaviour has changed. It is unclear how much of a role Musk has had to play in this decision, but it is a significant change nonetheless. Twitter now shows the Explore feed showing trending tweets and hashtags, making the platform a bit more inviting for non-Twitteratis than before.
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