Twitter’s CEOs have ambitions for their social media app to become a video-centric news platform—if it can avoid being labeled favoring one party.
Key Details
- Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has drawn hundreds of millions of views for his new web series Tucker On Twitter in the past week.
- Twitter owner Elon Musk is now looking to balance the social-media network by bringing in progressive TV hosts with differing points of view.
- “It’d be great to have Rachel Maddow, Don Lemon, and others on the left put their shows on this platform,” Musk tweeted. “You will receive our full support. The digital town square is for all.”
- New Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino began her first day of work on Monday, releasing a Twitter thread that outlines her vision for the company.
- She says Twitter aims to become “the world’s most accurate real-time information source and a global town square for communication.”
- Twitter continues to face issues with ad revenue, with a 59% decline from this time last year, The New York Times reports.
Why It’s Important
After eight months of leadership from SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the reins of Twitter have officially been handed over, allowing the entrepreneur to return to his oversight role as the CEO of five separate large corporations, several of which have been craving more direct oversight from investors and contractors.
Musk has long said that he envisions Twitter transforming into a completely new app, with advanced financial services features, improved video-sharing capabilities, and subscription services that rival other video services like YouTube. He previously announced that features from his PayPal founding days would be gradually worked into the service as part of “X.”
“We’re on the precipice of making history—and that’s not an empty promise. That’s our reality. When you start by wrapping your arms around this powerful vision, literally everything is possible. You have to believe—and work hard for that belief genuinely. And in this moment of complete reinvention, we have the opportunity to reach across aisles, create new partnerships, celebrate new voices, and build something together that can change the world,” says Yaccarino.
The popularity of Tucker Carlson does mess with Musk’s vision. Musk has been developing a reputation for being far more sympathetic to conservative voices in the past year, as evidenced by personally hosting Governor Ron DeSantis’s presidential announcement in a Twitter Space. Carlson’s web series has already delved into conspiracy theories about the Ukraine War and President Donald Trump’s indictment and could give Twitter a reputation for being too far-right for advertisers.
