{"id":141211,"date":"2022-11-02T11:59:43","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T10:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=141211"},"modified":"2022-11-02T13:54:11","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T12:54:11","slug":"how-are-british-newspapers-perceiving-the-new-twitter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/how-are-british-newspapers-perceiving-the-new-twitter\/","title":{"rendered":"How are British newspapers perceiving the \u2018new\u2019 Twitter?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Following an extensive period of negotiation, Elon Musk confirmed his $44bn acquisition of Twitter last Friday. As Musk has a pre-existing reputation of creating online controversy, both politicians and public figures have expressed their concerns towards the future of the website.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Between 28 Oct and 1 Nov, 448 UK-wide news sources reported on Musk\u2019s Twitter takeover and the updates that followed. One of many was his decision to <a href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/elon-musk-fires-twitters-board-of-directors-as-he-asks-users-if-they-would-pay-for-verification-12735362\">fire the company\u2019s board of executives<\/a>, which consumed 10.7% of national articles throughout this time. While 88% of this coverage was negative in sentiment, almost half used the term <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/technology\/golden-parachutes-3-fired-twitter-executives-worth-122-mln-equilar-2022-10-28\/\">\u2018golden parachutes\u2019<\/a> in reference to the collective $122m dismissal pay-out.<\/p>\n<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart\" data-src=\"visualisation\/11658715?1112081\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<p>Overall sentiment across national news sources has been largely critical. Approximately 93% of neutral coverage was a general acquisition announcement, while articles with a specific focus were 4% positive but predominantly negative. Over 95% of positive coverage were op-eds \u2013 the highest reaching piece was from the FT and praised Musk for his hypothesis that the new Twitter will be a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/f7721046-b339-49be-977c-7cc9f657a002\">\u2018digital town square\u2019<\/a> for online disagreements.<\/p>\n<p>The cost of the takeover was mentioned in 23.5% of national coverage, of which 21% was a headline mention. Articles by The Independent, which had the terms <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/voices\/twitter-elon-musk-fires-ceo-b2212824.html\">\u2018RIP Twitter\u2019<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/voices\/elon-musk-and-twitter-buy-b2214325.html\">\u2018Musk may be one of the worst people on earth\u2019<\/a> in their headlines, were syndicated a collective 43 times by local and regional news outlets since Friday.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Free speech and misinformation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Almost half of all national coverage either focused on or mentioned increased risks towards user safety. Among the most common concerns were misinformation (7.9%), the recovery of banned accounts (13.8%) and plans for a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/business\/2022\/10\/28\/elon-musk-paves-way-return-donald-trump-twitter-moderation-council\/\"> \u2018content moderation council\u2019<\/a> (6.25%). Such worries were exacerbated when Musk, alongside Donald Trump on Truth Social, was found to be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenational.scot\/news\/national\/23088954.elon-musk-condemned-tweet-unfounded-rumour-paul-pelosi-attack\/?ref=rss\">tweeting conspiracy theories<\/a> on the attack of American Businessman and husband of Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Paul Pelosi \u2014this discovery featured in 6.2% of all UK coverage between 30 Oct and 31 Oct.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Immediate violence from revived accounts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Among the previously banned accounts, right-wing figures were most mentioned in the media. Trump was quoted 34 times for saying that the service is <a href=\"https:\/\/uk.news.yahoo.com\/trump-says-twitter-sane-hands-140607005.html\">\u2018now in sane hands\u2019<\/a>, while extremist group Britain First made headlines for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/2022\/oct\/29\/banned-british-far-right-figures-return-to-twitter-within-hours-of-takeover\">posting a series of anti-immigrant videos<\/a> in the first 24 hours of its account revival.<\/p>\n<p>American Basketball player LeBron James was also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/lebron-james-calls-on-elon-musk-to-take-action-after-use-of-nword-surges-500-on-twitter-since-takeover-b2213899.html\">quoted<\/a> in 5.5% of all coverage, calling on Elon Musk to take action as the use of a racist term on the platform surged by 500% since Friday.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Online Harms Bill<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>From anti-immigrant footage to an upsurge in racist language, national news sources have published extensive evidence of online harms caused by Musk&#8217;s content regulation changes. Musk stated that the content moderation line should <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/business\/can-elon-musk-s-twitter-coexist-with-the-online-safety-bill-b2212815.html\">\u2018only be drawn at illegal posts\u2019<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/business\/can-elon-musk-s-twitter-coexist-with-the-online-safety-bill-b2212815.html\">\u2018everything else should be allowed as part of open debate\u2019<\/a>. With the position of the Online Safety bill still pending, 2.5% of all national publications have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/business\/can-elon-musk-s-twitter-coexist-with-the-online-safety-bill-b2212815.html\">asked<\/a> how the platform could coexist with such regulations.<\/p>\n<p>While politicians in the UK have been relatively quiet on the takeover so far, other public figures and world leaders have expressed their immediate stance on the news. Responding to Musk\u2019s \u2018the bird is freed\u2019 tweet, Thierry Breton, the commissioner for the internal market of the EU said: \u2018In Europe, the bird will fly by our rules\u2019:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\ud83d\udc4b <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@elonmusk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In Europe, the bird will fly by our \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa rules.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/DSA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#DSA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/95W3qzYsal\">https:\/\/t.co\/95W3qzYsal<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ThierryBreton\/status\/1585902196864045056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 28, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Similarly, 22 headlines mentioned a quote by NZ prime minister Jacinda Arden, who urged Musk to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2022\/nov\/01\/jacinda-ardern-urges-musk-to-stick-to-transparency-amid-extremism-fears\">\u2018stick to transparency\u2019<\/a> amid fears that the platform could nurture extremism.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Blue tick charges<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Consuming 8.25% of all national coverage, Musk\u2019s plans to charge verified accounts $20 a month peaked on 31 Oct with celebrities around the world weighing in on their disapproval. Author Stephen King was one of many quoted in 6% of national headlines on the same day, when he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/arts-entertainment\/books\/news\/stephen-king-twitter-elon-musk-blue-tick-b2214720.html\">responded<\/a> \u2018F**** that, they should pay me\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>As the story developed over the weekend, business experts began <a href=\"https:\/\/www.verdict.co.uk\/elon-musk-charging-20-for-a-blue-tick-on-twitter-will-devalue-the-concept-says-expert\/\">speaking to the press<\/a> on how this move could ultimately devalue the platform. By 1 Nov, 56 national headlines reported that Musk may <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-11376899\/Elon-Musk-hints-slash-20-month-blue-tick-fee-8.html\">\u2018slash the fee\u2019<\/a> to $8 or remove it altogether.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The future of Twitter<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With so many public figures announcing their disapproval and departure of Musk\u2019s takeover, tech journalists and shareholders are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nla-eclipsweb.com\/service\/redirector\/article\/87770166.html?version=1\">beginning to speculate<\/a> the likelihood of the platform\u2019s survival. Alongside a small selection of national news outlets, 106 British tabloids have actively outlined how users can delete their Twitter account and why they <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/tech\/how-to-delete-twitter-account-b2211620.html\">\u2018might want to\u2019<\/a>. Approximately 85% of coverage discussing the future of the platform was negative, while 14.5% remained neutral and speculated if there would be a future at all.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Want to know more about this data or how media insights can support your PR and communications?\u00a0<\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/pr-software\/media-insights\/?clid=Blog\">Find out more.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following an extensive period of negotiation, Elon Musk confirmed his $44bn acquisition of Twitter last Friday. As Musk has a pre-existing reputation of creating online controversy, both politicians and public figures have expressed their concerns &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":451,"featured_media":141221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7404,865,184,82,3734],"tags":[75,77,104,7405,7412],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141211"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/451"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141211"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":141220,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141211\/revisions\/141220"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}