OPINION | This article contains commentary that reflects the author's opinion.
President Donald Trump says he’s not interested in returning to Twitter, but rather he’ll use his own social media platform called TRUTH Social.
“I am not going on Twitter. I am going to stay on TRUTH,” Trump said to Fox News. Trump will formally join his own TRUTH Social over the next seven days, as planned. This is meant to lure more individuals onto the new platform.
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“The bottom line is, no, I am not going back to Twitter,” Trump said. His accounts on Twitter and Facebook were notoriously banned or suspended following the events of January 6th at the U.S. Capitol.
“I hope Elon buys Twitter because he’ll make improvements to it and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on TRUTH,” Trump commented.
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“We’re taking in millions of people, and what we’re finding is that the response on TRUTH is much better than being on Twitter,” Trump stated. “Twitter has bots and fake accounts, and we are doing everything we can.”
Despite Trump refusing to return to the platform, many conservatives are happy as big changes are coming to Twitter after Elon Musk purchased the company for $44 billion. The company’s board initially attempted to fight back before ultimately caving and unanimously accepting the offer.
Musk revealed some of the changes he plans to make: First, he is taking the company private and it will no longer be a publicly-traded company. Second, Musk promises to “enhance the product with new features,” which includes making the algorithm “open source to increase trust.”
This strategy allows people to see how the algorithm works. While operating in secrecy, Twitter has been widely condemned for allegedly shadow banning and censoring users.
Musk describes himself as a “free-speech absolutist.” He’s been very critical of the platform for its widespread censorship and liberal bias. Musk has directly and repeatedly criticized Twitter’s chief executive Parag Agrawal’s approach to free speech.
The tech billionaire says he will “defeat the spam bots” once and for all. The social platform will authenticate all humans.
“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” Musk said in a statement.
“Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it,” he added.
More on this story via Fox News:
Twitter shares popped over 5% on Monday after the company’s board unanimously accepted Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $44 billion offer to take
Under the terms of the agreement, Twitter stockholders will receive $54.20 in cash for each share of common stock that they own upon closing of the proposed transaction. The purchase price represents a 38% premium to Twitter’s closing stock price on April 1, the last trading day before Musk disclosed a 9.2% stake in the company.
Musk has secured approximately $46.5 billion to finance the transaction, including $25.5 billion of fully committed debt and margin loan financing and $21 billion in equity financing. The transaction is expected to close in 2022, subject to the approval of Twitter stockholders, the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
Twitter independent board chairman Brett Taylor said the company “conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing.”
Though Musk was initially invited to join Twitter’s board, he later declined the offer. If he joined, Musk would have been unable to own more than 14.9% of Twitter’s stock while serving on the board or for 90 days after. Musk’s board term would have expired at Twitter’s 2024 annual meeting.
Following Musk’s offer, Twitter adopted a limited duration shareholder rights plan, commonly referred to as a poison pill, to prevent him or any other entity or group from acquiring beneficial ownership of 15% or more of Twitter’s outstanding common stock in a transaction not approved by the board.
Along with Musk’s announcement that he lined up financing for a potential deal, he revealed that he was considering a tender offer to acquire all of Twitter’s outstanding common stock.
The agreement comes ahead of Twitter’s first quarter earnings report on Thursday before the market open. In light of the pending transaction, Twitter will not hold a corresponding conference call.
Musk told the TED2022 conference earlier this month that he intends to keep as many shareholders on board as possible through a private company.
