As Elon Musk takes over Twitter, users test its free speech limits

Elon Musk, Twitter's billionaire owner, received an avalanche of requests and demands from banned account holders and global leaders within hours of launching Twitter into a new age.

Given his commitment in a letter to advertisers on Thursday to restore free expression while preventing the platform from becoming a "hellscape," Tesla CEO Elon Musk now confronts a difficult balancing act.

Russian state-controlled RT requested Musk to "unban RT and Sputnik accounts and remove the shadow ban off mine as well?" according to RT's editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan.

Following the deal's close on Friday, Musk spoke with Twitter staff about the mounting pressure.

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev tweeted his congratulations: "Good luck @elonmusk in overcoming political bias and ideological dictatorship on Twitter. And quit that Starlink in Ukraine business."

Late Thursday, the self-proclaimed "free speech absolutist" and wealthiest man in the world completed his long-rumoured purchase of Twitter.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, tweeted, "let the good times roll," his latest humorous gesture signalling that his turbulent, $44 billion effort to take Twitter private was successfully completed.
 
Musk has promised to reduce the use of content filtering, which conservatives claim discriminates against their viewpoints.

Some people, however, are concerned that if norms aren't established, the "digital town square" might become a dangerous place for democracy and public health.

Also, READ: Twitter to form 'content moderation council', says Elon Musk: Know what it is

Friday's attempt by conservatives to push the envelope prompted some tongue-in-cheek responses, as is typical on Twitter.

"Hey @ElonMusk, now that you own Twitter, will you help fight back against Trudeau's online censorship bill C-11?" asked Canada Proud, an organization working to remove Justin Trudeau from power.
The masks that were widely adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic, and which proved divisive in the United States despite scientists recommending their use, were also a popular topic.

"Now that we can tell the truth here after Elon Musk officially took over, I'm just going to come out and say it: Masks don't work," tweeted @ianmSC.

Another tweeted,"Since this platform is allowing free-speech again I would just like to say that cool ranch Doritos are better than nacho cheese."

(With inputs from Reuters)