“Elon Musk is ill-equipped to own Twitter ‘town square'”

Jennifer Stromer-Galley, professor in the School of Information Studies and Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs, authored the Syracuse.com opinion piece “Elon Musk is ill-equipped to own Twitter ‘town square.'” Stromer-Galley, who has been studying social media for years, believes that Elon Musk’s explanation of wanting to uphold free speech on Twitter may appear to be a noble motivation, but in reality Musk will be unable to successfully maintain the platform as a ‘town square’ of sorts.

“Musk’s vision of unfettered speech in the public town square presumes the “marketplace of ideas” metaphor — the notion that the best ideas and arguments prevail. But, as we have seen repeatedly on Twitter and the other social media platforms, there is a less a “marketplace of ideas” and more a festering cesspool of outrage and lies, where vulnerable and minoritized people often end up the focus of attack,” Stromer-Galley wrote.