Here’s what Bill Gates said about Elon Musk’s way of operating Twitter

Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft and the fourth richest man in the world, claims that Elon Musk makes decisions at Twitter “seat-of-the-pants” style and believes that this could lead to further polarisation on the network.

Bill Gates, a co-founder of Microsoft, has criticised Elon Musk’s management style, claiming that a “seat-of-the-pants” strategy is “worsening digital polarisation.” Musk proceeded by noting that Twitter is “stirring things up,” albeit not in the best way, and that it is possible that he is doing so either on his own judgement or on results of Twitter polls.

Making decisions “on the fly” is doing so without prior planning and instead relying on judgement and feelings. Musk may have planned some of the features before the acquisition was finalised in late October, but in recent weeks, he has relied heavily on Twitter polls to make some important changes.

Users want Musk to leave his position as CEO of Twitter, which would affect both his personal future and the reinstatement of Donald Trump and Ye’s previously suspended accounts (formerly Kanye West).

In an interview, Gates suggested that social media platforms focus on reducing riots and address posts that propagate untrue information about, for instance, the safety of vaccines or masks.

When asked about the challenges Twitter is likely facing, he replied, “I wish I knew the answer to this one, but it seems more uncertain now than it did even a year ago. In my judgement, the Twitter situation is absolutely aggravating things. That rather than an objective set of measurements performed by many people, you’re sort of seeing “seat of the pants” behaviour.”

It’s interesting to recall that before the official acquisition, Gates had similar concerns about Musk. During a gathering in May, the Microsoft co-founder asserted that Musk might “worsen” the disinformation problem on Twitter. He was primarily making reference to Twitter’s new “speak your mind” policy, which could result in inaccurate information being spread regarding the COVID-19 vaccination. In the most recent interview, Gates also mentioned it.

Several of the programmes that Gates showed faith in during the interview are supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which he co-founded with his ex-wife.

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