While it is not even finalized yet, the takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk is already causing an outcry.

"Under Musk's leadership, Twitter risks becoming a pit of misinformation," 26 organizations said in an open letter to advertisers.

These NGOs call on advertisers to boycott the platform if ever the moderation of content there becomes complacent towards harassment and hate speech under the influence of the libertarian billionaire.

“Your brand risks being associated with a platform that amplifies hate, extremism, health misinformation and conspiracy theories,” write the associations.

"Empower" the "whim" of the billionaire

"Your advertising budget can fund Musk's whim or empower him," added the coalition, led by Media Matters for America, Accountable Tech and UltraViolet - which fight misinformation and sexism, among others.

Twitter's Board of Directors (CA) accepted last week Elon Musk's offer to buy the Californian company, thus valued at 44 billion dollars.

The richest man in the world wants to make it a bastion of freedom of expression, which he considers violated by too strict regulations, from the withdrawal of certain messages to personalities banned for having broken the rules several times, like Donald Trump.

Concerns about recruiting

Without mentioning the former American president, ousted in January 2021 from mainstream platforms for incitement to violence, NGOs are asking that people excluded from the network not return to it.

The surprise acquisition by the controversial businessman, a fan of provocations on his account with 90 million subscribers, sparked an outcry, including from the Board, who initially tried to prevent the transaction .

On Monday, management said Twitter was at risk of losing users, advertisers and employees worried about the future of the platform.

She fears that it will be more difficult “to keep essential employees” and “to recruit new employees”, according to documents filed with the American stock market policeman, the SEC.

Bots, 5% of users

“Staff could be distracted, and their productivity could drop as a result, due to the uncertainty of the transaction,” she says.

The CA also indicates that fake accounts and bots represent “less than 5% of monthly active users”.

Elon Musk has indicated that his priority will be the fight against bots.

In the summer of 2020, a boycott organized by a coalition of NGOs, to ask Facebook to better fight against groups that incite hatred, was followed by hundreds of companies.

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