Tesla founder Elon Musk’s $44 billion bid to buy Twitter has led to a wave of concern that Tesla’s rapid expansion in China will make Twitter TWTR more vulnerable to pressure from the Chinese government.
Musk’s offer was accepted by the board of Twitter on Monday, a move that took many analysts by surprise. Shareholders still have to vote on Musk’s bid, and the deal is also subject to regulatory approval. In response to speculation that China would seek to interfere with Twitter under Musk’s leadership, China’s foreign ministry issued a denial Tuesday, saying such speculation was baseless.
Twitter does not label public broadcasters such as the BBC in the U.K. and NPR in the U.S. as “state-affiliated” because they have editorial independence. In 2020, Twitter removed approximately 23,000 accounts it said were linked to the Chinese Communist party. In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Twitter also labeled tweets by RT and Sputnik as Russian-affiliated state media.
“They wouldn’t use it as a bargaining chip unless they have to,” Fang wrote in an online newsletter this week. While the Chinese government clamps down on social-media at home — deleting controversial posts and restricting accounts on its in-land Twitter equivalent, Weibo — he noted that China would be skittish about opening its internet up to Twitter.
Get real! What about TikTok!😂
Highly disappointed in you Marketwatch. Did you run this same add when Bezos bought the Washington Post. He's far more in bed with China than Musk
Hes got a Tesla there I am sure they already have an influence.
He literally wants to bring in Free Speech
When all but 5,000,000 Musk sycophants leave the site it won’t be influential.
One must be wary that some governments are inherently hostile to free speech.
No China is spending all their time influence Biden and his crime family, and Swalwel. China was influencing Feinstein. Dems have a big problem colluding with these enemies of ours.
WTF?