Twitter remains a uniquely essential platform for politicians and Washington insiders even as they contend with a potential Musk makeover
Elon Musk has said he wants to reduce restrictions on what users can say and that he doesn’t believe in banning accounts. | Patrick Pleul/Getty ImagesThe uproar in Democratic Washington about the possibility of Elon Musk creating an anything-goes Twitter is running up against a hard truth: Politicians just can’t quit Twitter.
That even involves, for some in Congress, making the call well before they know what Twitter will look like under Musk. said: “Won’t change my habits, and I have no idea what to make of it.” Still, strategists said most politicians look to other social media sites like Instagram and Facebook — which have larger user base — to directly reach more voters. Twitter’s nearly 40 million daily active U.S. users are dwarfed by Facebook’s more than 200 million monthly active U.S. usersAndrew Bleeker, president of Bully Pulpit Interactive, a Democratic-aligned communications firm, said politicians need to use the platform to reach this small group of super users.
That’s certainly what Musk says he is hoping for. “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,”Still, if Musk’s pledge to unleash free speech on Twitter goes too far, and it’s full of harassment, hate speech, and misinformation, Jablonowski predicts it could push certain candidates off.