Up to now, many former associates and enterprise companions of Elon Musk have famous that he’s not the man that he seems to be primarily based on his tweets. Musk takes a extra rational, measured {and professional} strategy in his enterprise dealings, and whereas he might look to stoke controversy together with his varied feedback and opinions, he additionally is aware of that, so as to make the enterprise work, he must compromise and keep throughout the guidelines, as ruled in every area.

Primarily, what Elon says and what he does are sometimes very various things, which is a vital word when assessing his path for Twitter, and his tweeted edicts. 

Right this moment, EU Commissioner Thierry Breton met with Musk to debate Twitter’s current change in administration, and its future alignment with the EU Digital Providers Act (DSA), which incorporates varied provisions round content material moderation and consumer security, that Musk’s new Twitter crew should adjust to so as to proceed working within the EU area.

Which, with hundreds fewer moderation workers, might seemingly pose a problem.

As per Breton:

“Tright here continues to be large work forward, as Twitter should implement clear consumer insurance policies, considerably reinforce content material moderation and shield freedom of speech, sort out disinformation with resolve, and restrict focused promoting.”

However, Breton says, Musk has dedicated the corporate to adhering to those guidelines, which, at the least on the face of it, might have some affect on his broader ‘free speech’ strategy.

Although once more, what Elon says and what he does are completely different, and his repeated banging on the ‘free speech’ drum is more and more seeming extra aligned with boosting engagement than it’s about altering the corporate’s precise content material strategy.

Certainly, in a new weblog publish, outlining the strategy of Twitter 2.0, Twitter says that:

“None of our insurance policies have modified. Our strategy to coverage enforcement will rely extra closely on de-amplification of violative content material: freedom of speech, however not freedom of attain.”

I imply, that’s not completely true – Twitter has stopped implementing its COVID misinformation coverage. However in a broader moderation and administration sense, Twitter says that its guidelines round hate and hurt stay in tact.

Musk appears to be making an attempt to play either side with this strategy – reasonably than removals and suspensions, Musk’s hoping that he can scale back the presence of offending tweets and feedback, which will probably be sufficient to fulfill the DSA and different regional necessities.

Which incorporates the necessities of Apple and Google, which each have content material moderation insurance policies constructed into their app retailer tips.

Primarily, Musk will probably be restricted in how far he can take his ‘free speech’ strategy, it doesn’t matter what he says. However once more, Twitter’s insurance policies haven’t modified anyway, so regardless of Musk’s repeated proclamations that he’s combating without cost speech, and standing up for folks’s proper to say what they like, in actuality, Twitter coverage, in its personal phrases, has not modified in any respect.

This additional factors to Musk utilizing the ‘free speech’ argument as a lever to spice up engagement, versus it being a basic ingredient in his Twitter 2.0 imaginative and prescient.

Living proof – earlier this week, Elon tweeted out this meme after calling out Apple for scaling again its Twitter advert spend.

Musk then deleted the above tweet, then posted the remark embedded about his combat in opposition to Apple being ‘a battle for the way forward for civilization’.

Elon knew that the meme weakened his argument, in that it revealed that he’s truly extra against paying Apple’s 30% App Retailer payment than he’s in opposition to Apple’s guidelines, which might, in some folks’s view, affect free speech. However he additionally is aware of that the free speech argument sparks extra controversy, extra debate, and can get him and Twitter extra consideration in consequence, so he’s utilizing this as a proxy to place stress on Apple, in a bid to get out of paying 30% on Twitter Blue subscriptions.

Which is unlikely to work – however extra importantly, it highlights the ways behind Elon’s politicized push.

That’s to not say that Elon doesn’t care about free speech, however he’s utilizing this as a negotiating tactic, versus taking an ethical or moral stand on this particular situation.

And once more, in closed rooms, in negotiations with the EU, in discussions with advertisers, I’m positive Elon’s strategy is way more subdued than it’s on-line. As a result of he is aware of that he wants them, he is aware of that he wants the entry, the advert {dollars}, he is aware of that he’ll need to play by the principles to remain according to these necessities.

Which additional factors to the truth that you possibly can’t essentially depend on Elon’s tweets as an indicator of his technique. His tweets are a PR train, a way to drive controversy and debate, which is able to then convey extra customers to Twitter in consequence.

As such, you possibly can count on Elon to proceed saying controversial issues, whereas additionally fastidiously staying throughout the bounds of what’s authorized, and sustaining primarily the identical guidelines and strategy to such within the app.

The ‘free speech’, ‘tradition conflict’, ‘energy to the folks’ stuff is all only a sideshow designed to generate most publicity for himself and the app – and persuade his supporters to pay him $8 monthly.