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Users intensely followed Musk vs. Trump's heated exchange. Is such a spectacle beneficial for the platform?

Contentious Exchange Between U.S. President and Wealthiest Global Individual Unfolds Live on Social Media, Displaying How Modern Conflicts Are Manifested.

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Contentious exchanges between the U.S. President and the wealthiest individual globally unfolded...
Contentious exchanges between the U.S. President and the wealthiest individual globally unfolded publicly on social media, epitomizing the current digital age's tendency for real-time public disputes.

Users intensely followed Musk vs. Trump's heated exchange. Is such a spectacle beneficial for the platform?

Hanging Out with the Heavyweights: The Twitter Tiff Between Elon Musk and Donald Trump

In the realm of social media, the latest spectacle has unfolded like a thrilling reality show - the high-profile tussle between Elon Musk and Donald Trump. Twitter has once again proven to be Musk's personal platform, a lively stage for his mercurial antics, leaving users hooked to every twist and turn of this unpredictable saga.

The drama between these two heavyweights has incited a frenzy, spawning endless memes, discourse, and notion that Twitter has returned to its vibrant roots. But will this spat have any lasting influence on Twitter's user base or ad revenue?

In the words of Sarah Kreps, Director of Cornell University's Tech Policy Institute, "Twitter operates on the power of personalities, and Musk's conflicts can spark short-term engagement." The platform has long embraced spectacle as a growth strategy, thriving on the intensity of commotion and disharmony.

While Donald Trump took his spats to Truth Social, the crowd he appealed to was a mere fraction of Twitter's. Social media experts don't anticipate Truth Social to siphon Twitter users as a consequence of the feud. Truth Social's reach is limited, and it's primarily confined to Trump's core base. A full-scale reengagement from Trump on Truth Social might fragment the right-wing audience somewhat, but this appears speculative at this stage.

Sensor Tower, a mobile app analytics firm, reported a surge in engagement on both X and Truth Social during the Musk-Trump spectacle. US mobile app active users on X from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern were up a staggering 54%, while Truth Social saw a fivefold increase in user engagement. Overall, Sensor Tower estimates Twitter's audience to be about 100 times larger than Truth Social's.

On BlueSky, users found joy in observing the drama on the platform they mostly left behind. But BlueSky might struggle to attract Trump diehards. According to Kreps, "political audiences on Twitter have shown resilience, even amid controversy. Trump supporters are unlikely to abandon the platform en masse unless there's sustained antagonism."

As for Twitter's ad revenue, Jasmine Enberg, an analyst at Emarketer, expressed doubts that the feud would have a significant impact. "Brands that allocated modest budgets to Musk's proximity to Trump might reconsider their commitments. However, the breakup between Musk and Trump doesn't eliminate the risks associated with an FTC investigation into the alleged ad boycott," she stated.

The New York Times reported that the Federal Trade Commission is investigating potential antitrust violations by advertising and advocacy groups coordinating boycotts. Regardless,Musk remains a divisive figure, and any efforts to curb the platform's divisiveness might be limited if he continues using Twitter as his personal soapbox to promote contentious narratives.

Sources:

  1. Kreps, Sarah. "The feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump renews debate over the role of big tech companies in shaping political discourse." Cornell University Press.
  2. Enberg, Jasmine. "Twitter's advertising business may not be impacted by the Musk-Trump feud." Emarketer.
  3. "FTC investigating potential antitrust violations in social media ad boycott." The New York Times.
  4. Despite the dramatic exchange between Elon Musk and Donald Trump on Twitter, social media experts doubt Truth Social will siphon Twitter users significantly due to its limited reach and confinement to Trump's core base.
  5. In the world of politics, Twitter's importance stems from its reliance on personalities, as evidenced by the recurring engagement sparked by Elon Musk's conflicts,according to Sarah Kreps, Director of Cornell University's Tech Policy Institute.
  6. The feud between Musk and Trump has also attracted attention from the entertainment sector, with Pop-Culture enthusiasts discussing the tiff on various social media platforms, blending politics with general news.
  7. In the realm of policy-and-legislation, the Federal Trade Commission is investigating potential antitrust violations by advertising and advocacy groups coordinating boycotts, which could impact Twitter's advertising business, regardless of the Musk-Trump feud.
  8. The engaging spectacle between Musk and Trump on Twitter has once again highlighted the platform's role in blending business, traffic, and Seattle-based social-media trends with celebrity culture and pop-culture discourse, captivating a broad audience.

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