Former Reddit CEO Yishan Wong said Elon Musk is “in for a world of pain” if he buys Twitter, arguing that the Tesla CEO doesn’t fully understand the challenges of content moderation and enforcing free speech on the internet.
“Elon is not going to fix some problems. I am absolutely sure of this. He has no idea what he’s in for,” Wong said in now-viral Twitter thread.
At the heart of the thread is Wong’s belief that Musk won’t actually be able to uphold the free speech ideals of the “Old Internet” because of the how today’s internet operates. Since the modern web has grown to the point where anyone can post anything at any time, platforms as large as Twitter are eventually forced into censorship, Wong argued.
“Censorship is inevitable on large social network platforms. If you run one of sufficient size, you will be FORCED to censor things,” he said. “Not by governments, or even by ‘users,’ but by the emergent dynamics of the social network itself.”
I've now been asked multiple times for my take on Elon's offer for Twitter.
So fine, this is what I think about that. I will assume the takeover succeeds, and he takes Twitter private. (I have little knowledge/insight into how actual takeover battles work or play out)
(long ?)
— Yishan (@yishan) April 15, 2022
