Unlike the vast majority of the cryptocurrency community, David Schwartz, Ripple's chief technology officer, is not happy about Tesla CEO Elon Musk acquiring Twitter.
Schwartz is convinced that the centibillionaire will keep making people "dumber" about freedom of speech.
Musk claims that the main impetus behind his decision to acquire Twitter was to bring free speech back to the social media platform. Yet, many are worried that his ownership will make Twitter unusable due to the potential influx of trolling, abuse and heinous propaganda.
While Twitter has been inundated with cringeworthy tweets from crypto executives and influencers celebrating the fact that the world's richest man has turned an influential social media platform into his personal playground, some members of the community had the gall to call out the flagrant hypocrisy. "Is authoritarianism OK as long as the right guy is in charge?" cryptocurrency researcher Hasu tweeted.
Musk's track record suggests that the self-proclaimed "free speech absolutist" does not like free speech at all. In 2016, he personally canceled a blogger's Tesla order over a "rude" review. Musk also reportedly urged the Chinese government to censor critics.Given that nearly a fourth of Tesla's sales come from China, some are worried that Musk's acquisition of Twitter will embolden its propaganda machine. Centibillionaire Jeff Bezos took a jab at Musk in a recent tweet, suggesting that the bombshell purchase will give China extra leverage over "the town square."
While Musk's Twitter deal is expected to close without much regulatory scrutiny, Bezos, who has been publicly feuding with the Tesla CEO for years, might complicate it by pushing the worrying narrative about foreign influence.
Arman Shirinyan
