How will Elon Musk will change my Twitter?

I'm one of those people who is somewhat, shall we say, "active" on Twitter. It's my go-to social media platform, both for news gathering and other sources of information, such as discovering people with the nerdiest, most random bits of knowledge. Can Twitter also be "toxic" and a "hell site," as others have opined, ginning up fake outrage and dragging otherwise smart people into a never-ending time suck? Oh, sure.

But beyond that, it can be entertaining, filled with memes, hashtag games and, of course, my personal be-all, puns and similar wordplay. Please check out my Bloomberg colleagues to understand the financial and market implications of Twitter under Elon Musk. For me, it's more personal: Is this really going to hamper my user experience?

Appropriately for the site, Musk's $44 billion tender (it's not quite final yet, folks) has created a wave of instant outrage. Progressives managed to get #DeleteTwitter trending for a while. Because Musk has boasted of being a free-speech absolutist, many take that to mean acceptance of racist, antisemitic, transphobic and sexist "hate-speech," as well as dissemination of misinformation and disinformation of all types.

Worse, in their view, they assume Twitter access will be restored to former president Donald Trump, who was banned for incitement of violence following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. (Trump says he doesn't want to resume his tweet habit; We'll see how long that lasts.) Hence, the vows to abandon Twitter. From where I sit, that's not likely to happen to any serious degree.

We've been down this road before — from the other side. In recent years, multiple conservative accounts declared they were dumping Twitter and switching their patronage to a social media platform more in line with their values. But they've yet to find anything that can really take the place of Twitter's reach and, yes, it's sense of community. It wasn't Gab. It wasn't Parler. NEWSFLASH: It's not Trump's own Truth Social either.

In concept, Twitter seems like it should be easy to replicate; the reality has proven different. Platforms created to be more amenable to either conservatives or progressives at this point don't appear to be sustainable.

Musk will ultimately be tested on his absolutist sensibility. Progressives have arguably expanded the definition of what constitutes hate-speech, raising more arbitrary barriers on what is considered permissible in the public square, which has led to more arbitrary Twitter bans. But is Musk willing to allow literal threats to slide by? Color me skeptical: If nothing else, Musk realizes that he's working in a global marketplace and may well have to compromise with European regulators for whom "absolute free speech" is an incomprehensible concept.

Spreading misinformation — or deliberate disinformation — presents another quandary. Assessing political speech for accuracy is difficult enough; Twitter doesn't need to be determining whether alleged pandemic remedies rise to the level of disinformation. In a divided society, there will be widespread disagreement on certain issues — yes, sometimes with tragic consequences (including almost one million Covid deaths in the U.S). But, given the many missteps the Centers for Disease Control and politicians have made over the course of the pandemic, Twitter erring on the "absolutist" side of free speech on policy questions may not be such a bad thing.

Even so, some on the right — despite their current giddiness — might not end up being so thrilled about a Musk-run Twitter. Vowing to "authenticate all humans," Musk suggests that he wants more transparency and accountability from both site and users. If true, that could help weed out the plentiful foreign-generated bots and pseudonymous trolls on all sides. But honestly, there seem to be more self-styled "Patriots" spouting conservative talking points that would bite the dust.

What else should Elon attend to ASAP to make the Twitter experience more tolerable?

High on my list would be fixing Twitter's wonky (political?) algorithm that makes it unable to distinguish between satire and genuine malice. Rather than bother to respect the difference between the two, Twitter has found it easier to just suspend offenders (or "shadow ban" them — also known as curbing user functionality), usually without a reasonable explanation or recourse. Beyond the free-speech question, this is something that offends Americans at the intersection of due process and customer service.

And, of course, an edit button!! Seriously, Twitter, it's 2022. After 16 years, isn't it time? There is nothing more frustrating than publishing a tweet and then discovering a dumb typo. Under current rules, the only option is to delete and repost. The notion that including an edit button would invite mischief by editing a tweet after it's received many "likes" is absurd. Facebook has survived — thrived, even — with an edit button. Sites like Yahoo News include reader comments. After posting, a commenter has about five minutes to edit before it becomes part of the comment thread forever. Twitter can do the same, perhaps with an "edited" icon added to note a changed tweet.

My prediction: Elon Musk's Twitter changes will likely be far milder than either the left or right assume. Musk is ultimately a businessman. With $44 billion put into the deal (about half from his own pocket), why turn Twitter into something so unrecognizable that it loses the cache he was purchasing? Conversely, these "tweaks to Twitter's tweets" would certainly improve my personal experience — and arguably the experience of everyone who continues to engage.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Robert A. George writes editorials on education and other policy issues for Bloomberg Opinion. He was previously a member of the editorial boards of the New York Daily News and New York Post.