- Elon Musk's deal to buy Twitter has drawn concern about the management of free speech, misinformation, and dangerous content on the platform if it happens.
- A Twitter user said people weren't worried about Jeff Bezos' purchase of The Washington Post the way are about Musk's Twitter deal. Musk replied, "Good point."
The richest man in the world thinks people are being too critical of his deal to buy a major social media platform used by hundreds of millions.
In a Twitter exchange on Saturday, Elon Musk agreed with a follower who said Musk's deal to buy Twitter is getting far more negative attention than fellow billionaire and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' purchase of The Washington Post several years ago. Bezos bought the newspaper for $250 million in 2013.
"Not a single person wringing their hands about @elonmusk buying Twitter has ever had a problem with Jeff Bezos owning the @washingtonpost," Twitter user Michael Malice said.
"Good point," Musk responded, alongside a thinking face emoji.
After months of back-and-forth, Musk's $44 billion Twitter takeover deal is reportedly close to completion. All the while, the platform's users have expressed concerns that Musk buying Twitter could threaten free speech on the platform and lead to a loosening of content moderation, in turn potentially increasing hate speech, misinformation, and dangerous content on the site.
Musk, for example, has said he would reverse Twitter's ban of Donald Trump. Twitter permanently suspended the former president's account after he repeatedly tweeted baseless claims of election fraud that helped incite the violent insurrection at the Capitol on January 6.
Musk also reportedly told investors he planned to slash 75% of Twitter's 7,500-strong workforce, according to The Washington Post. Such sweeping cuts could drastically hamper Twitter's ability to take action on harmful content.
The US government is reportedly considering national security reviews of Musk's Twitter takeover, Bloomberg reported earlier this week, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
Musk's plans to tap foreign investors to help pay for the deal — including Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, and Binance Holdings, which was founded by a Chinese businessman — have troubled Biden administration officials, sources told Bloomberg.