The debate (if you can call it that) about Elon Musk’s possible Twitter takeover is a welcome distraction. As frivolous entertainment goes, it’s right up there with Wordle and Star Trek spin-offs. For example, the always thought-provoking Nilay Patel, The Verge’s editor-in-chief, tweeted, “This man would not last a day moderating a medium-size neighborhood parents’ Facebook group.” As you can imagine, the responses range from banal to brilliant, which raises the question: Why do people think they are smarter than the richest man in the world? “Oh, because money isn’t everything!” Or, “Just because you have money doesn’t make you smart.” Or, fill in the blank.
The scariest thing about one person controlling information is the simple fact that it is one person. Whose worldview would you be willing to submit to? It’s easy to say, “There is no one living or dead that I would want deciding what information is or is not appropriate for me.” Except that’s not true. We willingly submit to trusted curators for the vast majority of the information we consume and process. From textbooks to art galleries to playlists to stamp collections, we rely on trusted experts to curate our information, which raises another question: Is there someone else you would trust at the helm of Twitter?
Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it.