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Elon Musk this weekend told his 79 million Twitter followers he's giving "serious thought" to building a social media platform to compete with Twitter.
What he's saying: "Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy," Musk tweeted. "What should be done? ... Is a new platform needed?"
Why it matters: Musk would be joining a slew of conservative sites positioning themselves as champions of free speech, hoping to draw users who feel their views are suppressed, Reuters notes.
Musk was answering a tweet asking if he'd consider building a platform with "an open source algorithm, one where free speech and adhering to free speech is given top priority, one where propaganda is very minimal."
- "Am giving serious thought to this," he replied.
Musk tweeted a poll Friday asking: "Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?"
- So far, 70% of the 2 million voters have said "no."
"The consequences of this poll will be important," Musk wrote. "Please vote carefully."