Elon Musk says he wants to save democracy with the takeover of Twitter. Democracies around the world could really use the help of the manic entrepreneur. Partly due to the rise of social media, citizens increasingly live in their own truth bubbles and the shared reality, which is indispensable for a healthy democracy, is becoming smaller and smaller. The consequences are felt in almost every election.
It is still unclear what exactly Musk has in mind with the platform. He seems to want to put an end to the anonymous troll armies who often spread fake information or intimidate unwelcome opinion makers. That is good news.
That the fate of democracy is in the hands of billionaires like Musk and Mark Zuckerberg remains difficult to accept, but as long as they are bound by clear rules, it should not be a cause for great concern. It may even be an advantage that Musk owns it, and not an anonymous mob of shareholders. Musk must protect his own reputation and will therefore likely be less profit-hungry than Meta, the owner of Facebook. He has promised to make Twitter’s algorithms public so anyone can judge whether Twitter is taking its pledge to save democracy seriously or whether the platform is primarily driven by ad revenue.
Musk thinks he best serves democracy by stretching free speech as far as possible. He is shaped by the libertarian Silicon Valley tradition, which believes that any government interference stands in the way of achieving a technological utopia.
In theory, a free debate, in which everyone feels represented and in which arguments are debated, should lead to an optimal outcome, a shared reality in which many recognize themselves. The reality is grim. For the time being, total freedom of expression has led to a sickening debate, in which politicians and opinion makers would rather magnify contradictions and stir up anger than exchange arguments and information.
An arbitrator in the debate appears to be indispensable for a healthy democracy. The European Union just this month passed a law requiring social media companies to actively curb the spread of disinformation and hatred. The big question is how Musk will relate to this. Does he persist in his position that everything must be able to be said? Will he be the first to welcome Donald Trump back to his platform? Or does he also think that his statement that he wants to save democracy has little credibility, if at the same time he gives the man who incited his supporters to attack the Capitol all the space?
The position of the newspaper is expressed in the Volkskrant Commentaar. It is created after a discussion between the commentators and the editor-in-chief.