Twitter Blue Will Make Hypocrites of Its Users
Twitter Blue Will Make Hypocrites of Its Users
Elon Musk knows people's egos are more important than their ethics.
Anybody who follows Twitter news knows that on March 27, Elon Musk dropped a bombshell.
For those confused by that entire paragraph, or those unfamiliar with Twitter and its workings, it boils down to this: users will have to pay an $8 monthly fee for Twitter’s subscription service, Twitter Blue, if they want an appreciable audience to see and engage with their tweets.
This creates an ethical quagmire for those using Twitter whose personal brand and massive followings have revolved around promoting equity and equal access to platforms while opposing billionaires.
Progressives have hated Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter from day one. His tweets attract significant attention and dominate the platform’s discourse, sometimes drowning out other voices and issues in favor of his personal brand.
Musk’s political views and actions, too, have been controversial and divisive, which makes it difficult for users to reconcile his influence on social media with their own values and beliefs. For example, Musk supported President Donald Trump and donated to the Republican Party during the 2020 election cycle, and has made controversial comments on climate change, trans issues, and labor rights.
Finally, Musk’s takeover of twitter represents a concentration of power and influence. As a billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of multiple companies, he wields economic and cultural influence, and his tweets can have a significant impact on stock prices and public opinion, and other important issues. His outsized influence on Twitter stand to exacerbate existing inequalities and power imbalances in society.
For $8 monthly, Twitter’s paid subscription plan, Twitter Blue, offers users several benefits.
Longer tweets, up to 4,000 characters
High-resolution video uploads
A blue checkmark beside a user’s name
The ability to edit tweets
Higher visibility.
In short, those who can afford to pay for Twitter Blue get to say more and move to the front of the line. Those who do not pay fall beneath those who do.
This raises several ethical quagmires, two of which are clear to me:
People who wish to be popular or visible will have to pay Elon Musk nearly $100 yearly, no matter his political stances.
People who have no money - specifically, poor and historically marginalized users who often lack access to platforms - will find themselves pushed to the bottom.
So, those who have amassed an enormous following by speaking out in favor of trans rights or climate issues will now have to support a billionaire who has actively campaigned for the opposite if they want to be relevant. And, those who have spent years on Twitter promoting equal access - elevating Black voices or the like - will have to admit they’re squeezing out those voices to be heard, themselves.
Whooo-eee, what a predicament!
I expect capitalism and human ego will win out. Those who can pay, will. Many will make hollow excuses: their work is too important. Their voice is too important to go unheard. They will use their blue checkmarks to elevate the marginalized. Their platform is too vast and they offer a net good. Twitter is an integral part of their career. They can’t quit. They can’t fight Elon Musk if they aren’t present on Twitter.
In the end, there’s no greater fear than the fear of losing prestige or privilege, or sliding into irrelevancy or unpopularity. So, I expect to see a great deal of hypocrisy in the following months.
People will rail against J.K. Rowling and her ramblings about trans people on Twitter, then pay Elon Musk $8. Meanwhile, non-profits that help marginalized kids learn to write - non-profits that could use $8 a month in donations - will struggle to secure financing.
I’m going to try Twitter Blue for a few months. I want to see what it does, if it’s worth it, and whether it bathes my ego in ways regular Twitter never did. I won’t, however, pretend I need to be there, that it’s good, or that I’m doing something righteous.
Twitter was always about self-importance. Elon Musk and his staff know that, and know people will pay for it.