“The bird is freed,” was billionaire mogul Elon Musk’s first Tweet after becoming the new owner of Twitter on Oct. 27.
So far, Musk has fired the majority of the staff and high-ranking officials, implemented a $7.99 monthly subscription fee for verified accounts and allowed formerly banned users to return.
Public figures such as Gigi Hadid, Mick Foley, Toni Braxton, Shonda Rhimes and various others people said they left the platform.
Activist Shaun King has gone as far as to leave the platform and make his account private. And President Joe Biden called out Musk for buying a social media platform that “spews lies all over the world.”
While many people have expressed growing tired of Musk, some SF State students and faculty say they don’t care about who owns the platform.
Ivan Ornelas, a lecturer at the Metro College Success Program, said the 2016 election didn’t drive him off Twitter, so all of the controversy caused by Musk won’t stop him from using the app, but it will continue to influence how he navigates the space.
“I find Twitter still has some uses in finding people with common interests and getting up-to-date information, but it’s important to be aware of the misinformation that can come from it,” Ornelas said.
Ornelas is still determining what to expect from Musk but feels he will aim to be the center of attention. Yet he believes Musk is taking the right step toward spotting fraudulent accounts.
“Putting the blue check mark behind a paywall would appear to be a threat to deciphering genuine accounts from fakes,” Ornelas said.
SF State student Odera Nwosu said that he is leaving the platform once and for all after using Twitter on and off for the last four years.
“I think there’s already a bad culture on Twitter,” Nwosu said. “But with him there and leading it and just the drama he brings to it, it’s just not going to be worth it.”
Some students voiced their opinions on Reddit. One post, which gained popularity among users, said they could care less who owned Twitter because they are only there for the memes.
Computer Science major Andrew Martin Zimwanguyiza-Lubega said that Twitter is where people go for different reasons, from news to day-to-day updates. Unfortunately, he thinks people are also going to spread hate.
“There definitely a side where politics should matter, and there’s going to be a side where it just doesn’t,” Zimwanguyiza-Lubega said. “Honestly, I like Twitter for it being a place where people can speak their minds under rules and restrictions.”
Zimwanguyiza-Lubega also thinks that the platform should be open to all who wish to participate and join.
“Twitter should honestly be a platform solely for discussion regardless of what the subject matter is,” Zimwanguyiza-Lubega said.
