Some notable Twitter users mull leaving Musk-led platform
FILE - In this April 26, 2017, file photo is a Twitter app icon on a mobile phone in Philadelphia. If Elon Musk and Twitter get their way, the company will soon be privately held and under his control. The most obvious immediate change would likely be Twitter's stock being taken off the New York Stock Exchange. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $44 billion bid to purchase Twitter has prompted some notable users to mull leaving the social media site entirely.
Musk said he was buying Twitter as a way to protect free speech, declaring during a conference earlier this month that his offer was “not a way to sort of make money.”
But some big names, from politicians and activists to athletes and celebrities, have considering leaving a platform owned by the billionaire.
State Rep. Christine Morse (D-Mich.) described her future on the platform as “a wait and see approach.”
“As a Michigan politician, where misinformation and disinformation has been prolific and harmful, I am concerned about what that looks like,” Morse told Politico of a less moderated platform.
“I’m not gonna go log off Twitter at this moment in time, because I’m gonna wait to see what happens,” she added.
Her sentiment was echoed by other notable Twitter users, including activist and author Amy Siskind.
“If you are thinking about leaving Twitter, I would hold off for a bit,” Siskind tweeted Wednesday.
“Musk vastly overpaid, and almost half of his bid is financed through leveraging his Tesla stock. Doing my research, I think the bid is on shaky grounds. Let’s watch how it plays out,” she added.
Earlier in the week, Siskind described her conflict with staying on the site.
“I am sitting with my thoughts and watching, and haven’t decided if I am staying here,” she tweeted Monday. “I have a huge philosophical issue knowing whatever content I provide here goes directly towards enriching one man, who I think is absolutely awful.”
“Succession” actress J Smith Cameron also questioned if any other Twitter users were “ready to find another non Musk forum, sans disinformation and nonstop stream of unfiltered hate?”
From the sports world, wrestler Mick Foley said he was considering leaving the site, though as of Thursday his account still existed.
“I’ll be giving some serious thought to leaving @Twitter for good in the near future,” the wrestler said in a Monday tweet. “I do not have a good feeling about where this platform is heading.”
Activist Shaun King deleted his Twitter on Monday but later returned, saying in his bio, “I’m still here motherf—–.”
At the time of his departure, King said that Musk’s purchase was all about “white power.”
“The man was raised in Apartheid by a white nationalist,” the activist tweeted. “He’s upset that Twitter won’t allow white nationalists to target/harass people. That’s his definition of free speech.”
But British actress Jameela Jamil tweeted what she said would be her last post on the platform on Monday.
“Ah he got twitter. I would like this to be my what lies here as my last tweet,” she said in the tweet alongside photos with her dog.
“I fear this free speech bid is going to help this hell platform reach its final form of totally lawless hate, bigotry, and misogyny. Best of luck,” she added.
Star Trek actor George Takei, however, said that he would stay on the site as a “fighter” against issues like misinformation.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he tweeted. “Should this place become more toxic, I pledge to strive even harder to lift up reason, science, compassion and the rule of law. The struggle against fascism, misinformation, and hate requires tough fighters. I hope you stay in the fight, right beside me.”
Musk’s bid was accepted by Twitter on Monday after he revealed he had obtained commitments for financing.
The billionaire has said that he hopes “even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means.”