The former boss of Twitter is friend with the new boss of the social network but he seems to have differences on a crucial point.
Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk are close and friends.
The first is the former co-founder and CEO of Twitter, while the second is the owner and new boss of the social network.
Dorsey has often praised Musk whenever the opportunity arises. Such was the case last April when Musk made his offer to acquire Twitter for $44 billion. Dorsey did not hesitate to declare that his billionaire friend was the only one capable of relaunching the microblogging website, considered the town square of our time.
“In principle, I don’t believe anyone should own or run Twitter,” Dorsey, who now runs payment service company Block, wrote on April 25. “It wants to be a public good at a protocol level, not a company. Solving for the problem of it being a company however, Elon is the singular solution I trust. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness.”
He went further by saying that “Elon’s goal of creating a platform that is “maximally trusted and broadly inclusive” is the right one.”
Twitter Files
Recently, when Musk cut half of Twitter’s workforce, or 3,750 jobs, in one day, Dorsey indirectly supported him by taking responsibility for the drastic measure.
“I own the responsibility for why everyone is in this situation: I grew the company size too quickly. I apologize for that,” Dorsey posted on Twitter.
This last message shows that Dorsey is closely following the latest developments on Twitter and in particular the changes that Musk is making. The latter has displayed his objective of making Twitter the platform for free speech, in other words, a social network where any message can be posted without safeguards other than the law.
With that in mind, Musk accused Twitter’s former management team of favoring Democrats over conservatives. To convince the general public that his accusation is true, he announced the publication of the “Twitter Files” or the discussions that took place at Twitter concerning the decision to limit access to an article from the New York Post detailing scandalous revelations about Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, in the middle of the presidential campaign in 2020.
“The Twitter Files on free speech suppression soon to be published on Twitter itself,” Musk posted on Nov. 28. “The public deserves to know what really happened …”
Four days later, on Dec. 2, journalist Matt Taibbi published the famous Twitter Files which contained nothing explosive. Taibbi said he had to agree to “certain conditions” to receive the files. He didn’t say which conditions.
On Dec. 2, Musk announced episode 2 of the Twitter Files before adding the next day that we will have to wait one more day.
“Tune in for Episode 2 of The Twitter Files tomorrow!” the Techno King said.
‘Let People Judge For Themselves’
But this game of hide and seek and especially what now appears as a staging to create a kind of suspense is not to everyone’s taste and Dorsey in particular. Especially since Musk says that the will behind these Twitter Files is transparency.
It is in the name of this same transparency that his friend Dorsey has just asked him to publish all the documents and to let people form their own opinion and not to cherry pick what he judges should be put in the public square and to influence public opinion.
“If the goal is transparency to build trust, why not just release everything without filter and let people judge for themselves?” Dorsey asked his friend and fellow billionaire on Dec. 7. “Including all discussions around current and future actions? Make everything public now. #TwitterFiles.”
Dorsey was the CEO at the time the decision was made.
“Most important data was hidden (from you too) and some may have been deleted, but everything we find will be released,” Musk responded.
He did not say what data was withheld from Dorsey or when all of the documents will be released.
Dorsey is not the first to ask Musk to be judge and gone. Billionaire and entrepreneur Mark Cuban did the same and went so far as to call Musk “King.” Cuban has called on Musk to lead by example.
He asked him to start, in the name of transparency, by making public what he considers to be free speech on Twitter. Because in the current state of affairs, the Techno King is the only one who has a clear vision of what he decrees as free speech or not. The final policy is in his discretion and no one has the power to dispute what Musk says, Cuban seems to think.
