The Bird Is Free, Elon Musk Declares After Twitter Acquisition

Billionaire Elon Musk claims he has freed microblogging and social networking platform Twitter after taking over as the new owner.

The deal was eventually closed following a long and drawn-out back-and-forth between the billionaire and the social network.

A few hours after completing the deal, Musk tweeted, “The bird app is freed”. Twitter is popularly referred to as the bird app in reference to the logo.

He has already sacked chief executive Parag Agrawal, as well as the company’s chief financial officer and its head of safety, the Washington Post and CNBC reported citing unnamed sources.

In an earlier tweet where he addressed Twitter advertisers explaining why he is acquiring the app, Musk said, “The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence.

“There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left-wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society,

“In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much of traditional media has fueled and catered to those polarized extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost,” Musk said.

Musk, however, warned that even though he wants to make the app a free space, “Twitter cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said without consequences”.