Mark Zuckerberg Comments on Elon Musk’s Twitter Strategy

Mark Zuckerberg has called Elon Musk’s approach to Twitter’s content moderation “very interesting.” Credit: [First image] Anthony Quintano / Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0 [Second Image] Trevor Cokley / Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has commented on Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s content moderation strategy for rival social media site, Twitter. He called the approach “very interesting.”

The comments were made at the DealBook Summit in November of last year and were disclosed by CNBC.

Since taking over Twitter in October 2022, neither Musk nor the social media site itself has been out of the news for very long. Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been both heavily praised and criticized for overhauling Twitter since acquiring the social media giant.

What did Zuckerberg say about Musk’s Twitter strategy?

When discussing what he thought about Musk’s content moderation policies, Zuckerberg reportedly commented that “it’s going to be very interesting to see how this plays out in terms of the approaches he’s taking.”

“I would guess that not everything is going to work, but I think some things might work,” the Meta CEO and co-founder of Facebook said.

During the DealBook Summit, Zuckerberg also took time to reflect on the different approaches taken in content moderation between his own company, Meta, and competing social media platforms, such as Twitter.

“I tend to think that I don’t want one person or one company making those decisions, which is why we pioneered this oversight board for our content decisions,” he said.

Big changes at Twitter

Since acquiring Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022, Musk has significantly shaken up the social media platform’s business practices.

Musk’s transformation process at Twitter has included dramatic changes to the workforce and the company’s workplace practices. Shortly after taking over the social media platform, the big tech CEO outlined plans to cut 75 percent of Twitter’s workforce just before firing the CEO Parag Agrawal in the same month.

Musk also insisted that Twitter employees work harder over longer hours or leave the company. Remote working, which has become increasingly common since the pandemic, was banned.

In the leadup to the Twitter acquisition, Musk branded himself as a champion of free speech and has tried to introduce a more relaxed approach to content moderation since taking over.

In November of last year, the new Twitter CEO announced that there would be an “amnesty” for banned Twitter accounts. That month, Musk also lifted former US President Donald Trump’s ban on the platform following an online poll.

Trouble at Twitter?

Musk’s Twitter takeover has not been without difficulties or controversy. In December 2022, San Francisco authorities launched an investigation into the alleged use of Twitter office space as accommodation for employees.

That same month, Musk attracted criticism for the suspension of some Twitter accounts used by journalists. CNN called the suspensions “impulsive and unjustified,” whereas Musk insisted that the accounts had been targeted for suspension due to safety concerns.

Musk posted a tweet at the time saying, “criticizing me all day long is totally fine, but doxxing my real-time location and endangering my family is not.”

In December, Musk also issued an online poll asking whether he should resign as Twitter CEO. About 56 percent of Twitter users indicated he should resign, and approximately 43 percent said he should continue.

Musk later said that he would resign once he finds someone “foolish enough to take the job.”