Are Elon’s tweets all simply an attention-grab, and never reflective of his precise strategy?

It’s laborious to inform what’s what as Musk’s Twitter 2.0 evolves, as a result of on one hand, he’ll be telling advertisers that there’s no change to Twitter’s insurance policies, and that they need to really feel protected promoting within the app. Whereas on the opposite, he’s speaking about how Twitter now permits free and open speech, which ‘goes in opposition to the media’s narrative’.

However the latter is, at the least partially, a publicity ploy. Musk is aware of that a few of his greatest supporters are backing his push to fight what they understand as media bias, so he performs into that along with his numerous tweets on the subject, whereas in actuality, Twitter’s insurance policies haven’t really modified.

Or have they?

Again on November eighth, Musk tweeted out a hyperlink to Twitter’s present ‘Twitter Guidelines’ doc, and famous that they’d evolve over time. That doc, at the least to date, stays unchanged, however Musk has since (on November nineteenth) tweeted that:

Now, that’s not technically a change to Twitter’s guidelines, however Musk appears to be making an attempt to play each side, by permitting tweets that might be thought of ‘hate speech’ to stay within the app, whereas additionally making it a lot tougher for folks to seek out such. On this approach, Musk can preserve his enchantment to advertisers, by telling them that their content material gained’t be displayed alongside such materials, whereas additionally enabling him to maintain tooting his free speech horn for his followers.

However once more, technically, Twitter’s guidelines haven’t modified – but that hasn’t stopped Musk from repeatedly claiming that he’s ‘preventing at no cost speech in America’.

After all, Musk has additionally unbanned 1000’s of accounts that had been beforehand banned for violations of Twitter’s guidelines, and he’s side-stepped his beforehand said plan to implement a content material moderation council to supervise such choices, basically taking the reigns himself on moderation issues.

However actually, Twitter’s guidelines, to date, haven’t modified. So is he actually making Twitter extra ‘free speech’ pleasant, or is that this all simply bluster designed to make him look cool in entrance of his followers and supporters?

As with all the pieces Elon, it’s a little bit of each.

Like Trump earlier than him, Musk makes use of Twitter as an unfiltered stream of his each thought, good and unhealthy, which, additionally like Trump, has helped him acquire an enormous following within the app, and is now a direct driver of media protection and headlines, serving to to additional gasoline his notoriety. That’s additionally, seemingly, driving extra curiosity at Twitter, however in non-public conferences, Musk can be undoubtedly working to guarantee advertisers that what he’s doing through his tweets and statements is actually a PR train, whereas in actuality, the enterprise of the platform stays the identical.

That’s why he expects them to maintain spending cash with the app, cash that he desperately wants with the intention to claw again his $44 billion funding.

However the reinstatement of beforehand banned accounts is a priority for advert companions, as are Musk’s public statements, whether or not they’re reflective of the platform’s precise course of or not.

And this doubtless gained’t assist – right now Elon’s publicly known as out Apple for chopping Twitter advert spend, as he threatened to do a couple of weeks again.

Musk had beforehand flagged a ‘thermonuclear identify and disgrace’ of Twitter advert companions that had minimize Twitter advert spend since his takeover on the app. Which might be not the way in which to win them again, whereas in Apple’s case, Musk has gone even additional, claiming that Apple is censoring apps and companies by its insurance policies. He’s even launched a Twitter ballot to ask whether or not ‘Apple ought to publish all censorship actions it has taken that have an effect on its clients’.

Choosing a battle with the supplier that facilitates attain to greater than half of your viewers might be not the perfect strategy – however once more, it’s one other means for Musk to strengthen his help, whereas additionally doubtlessly displaying different advert companions that he’s not afraid to name out even the most important firms, and put them on blast along with his many supporters.

Will that cease others from chopping Twitter advert spend? In response to reviews, many Twitter advertisers have already paused all campaigns, whereas Media Issues reviews that 50 of the platform’s high 100 advertisers, which have accounted for over $2 billion in spending since 2020, have halted their initiatives within the app.

Coming into Christmas, and the most important advert push of the yr, that’s clearly going to have an effect on Twitter’s backside line.

Will Musk’s angst have the ability to win them again?

It’s additionally a transitionary interval for the app, with Musk pushing to make subscriptions account for a a lot greater share of Twitter’s total income pie. That might then allow him to keep away from extra censorship guidelines, as a result of he’d now not be beholden to model security issues – however even then, each Apple and Google have strict guidelines round moderation within the apps offered through their shops which might affect Musk’s whole free speech push.

So both approach, Musk can be restricted in what, precisely, he can do on this entrance, regardless of how loudly he desires to name out Apple and Co. for his or her insurance policies.

Which, once more, factors to Elon’s public statements about such being extra of a media stunt than an precise enterprise technique, with Musk now seemingly seeking to paint Apple because the villain that may impede his final objective of giving the folks what they need.

How does that finish?

Properly, finally, with Twitter taking part in by Apple’s guidelines, or getting booted from the App Retailer, and shedding reference to tens of millions of customers. The previous is much extra doubtless, however that gained’t cease Musk from milking such conflicts for all they’re value, and portray himself because the hero, with the intention to cement his reputation along with his target market.

However once more, it’s value noting that what Musk says and what he does are sometimes completely different. And that the very individual seeking to spotlight the ills of the wealthy elite is himself the richest and elitist of all of them – and he’s utilizing that division and angst as a ploy to make much more cash.