Elon Musk wants Twitter to be ‘the platform for free speech.’ What about misinformation?

Falsehoods are 70 per cent more likely to be retweeted on Twitter than facts, according to a 2018 study. Elon Musk, however, want to increase free speech on the platform.

Elon Musk wants to buy Twitter so he can unleash its full potential as an arena for free speech, he says — but depending on how he approaches that, researchers warn he could create an environment where misinformation thrives.

Musk’s move to buy Twitter became public in an SEC filing on Thursday, where the billionaire electric

vehicle manufacturer laid out his vision for the platform.

“No guidelines (for) your speech on social media can be a cause of concern, especially with with the kinds of issues that we’re seeing today,” said Mary Blankenship, a University of Nevada researcher who looks at how misinformation spreads through Twitter.

She pointed to COVID-19 as an example.

“We can see how that kind of misinformation really seeps into people’s perception of the medical dangers, and can actually lead to (them) either being infected or even death.”

Musk offered to buy 100 per cent of Twitter for US$54.20 per share “in cash.” That would work out to about US$43 billion for the entire purchase — a total Musk told a TED2022 conference he could “technically afford.”

He says he hopes to transform the platform into “an inclusive arena for free speech.”