The Tesla CEO and billionaire finalized the deal on Thursday. Throughout the months-long negotiation and the associated lawsuit with the company, the SpaceX founder has outlined some of his plans for Twitter—such as revoking lifelong bans of former users and allowing a free-flow of speech rather than restricting what users say on the site.
One such user could be former President Donald Trump, who launched alternative social networking site Truth Social after receiving a lifelong ban from Twitter days after the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol insurrection.
Jennifer Stromer-Galley, a professor in the School of Informatics at Syracuse University, told Newsweek on Friday that she was interested to see if conservatives will return to Twitter in the wake of Musk’s acquisition. If conservatives do return in droves, it could negatively affect some of the alternative sites that were created for conservatives to have a platform while boycotting Twitter and its policies. Conservatives have condemned Twitter for shadow-banning right-wing voices. Shadow-banning is when a platform prevents a user’s posts from being visible to other users without their knowledge.
“Twitter had really become a focal point in the conservative political sphere, especially around shadow-banning,” Stromer-Galley said. “It will be interesting to see what extent Republican candidates and politicians cozy back up to Twitter as a platform.”
Stromer-Galley added that Musk’s plan to ease some of the restrictions around Twitter content and allow more free-form posting could cause some tension between Twitter and alternative social media platforms such as Truth Social, Parler and Gab. Users feeling their right to free speech was infringed upon have flocked to the alternative sites, including hip-hop artist Kanye West who purchased Parler earlier this month after he was banned from Twitter for making antisemitic comments.
“These platforms have really cropped up in part because of the criticism [of Twitter] blocking and banning conservatives,” Stromer-Galley said. “Now there are fairly robust choices for conservatives to have political discussion.”
Stromer-Galley added that in the past, Trump said he would not return to Twitter even if Musk revoked his lifetime ban. Her research into political candidates has shown that other conservatives sometimes refuse to link their Twitter accounts in advertising to prevent Twitter from benefitting from the online traffic.
However, fewer journalists and members of the public interact on the alternative sites, meaning politicians may not have the same audience they would if they used Twitter. Stromer-Galley said this may be an incentive for those right-wing candidates to return to mainstream social media, like Twitter, especially if they have immunity from being banned.
