Elon Musk is now the majority owner of Twitter, Inc. According to a new report, Sean “Diddy” Combs is one of the investors who backed Musk’s purchase of the social networking app.
An article published on TMZ claims Diddy invested more than $10 million into Twitter. Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey are also said to be investors. Wall Street banks apparently provided loans as well.
Sources supposedly informed TMZ that Diddy hoped to “get a seat at the table” with his investment. As of press time, the 53-year-old musician/businessman has not publicly confirmed his association with Twitter’s new ownership team.
In April, multi-billionaire Elon Musk announced his intentions to acquire Twitter and take the social media company private. The deal closed on October 27 when Musk bought Twitter for a reported $44 billion.
Elon Musk has referred to himself as a “free speech absolutist” which suggests he wants Twitter to be an open forum for all types of speech. Critics insist rolling back content moderation on the platform could lead to more hate speech and misinformation.
“Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints. No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes,” tweeted the South African-born SpaceX and Telsa CEO.
Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022
No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes.
Elon Musk’s Twitter Plans Met With Concerns Over Misinformation & Hate Speech
Additionally, Elon Musk is now dealing with complaints that his plan to potentially charge users a fee for verification could negatively alter Twitter. There are concerns that the move toward a paid-for option could cause a higher risk of scammers and conspiracy theorists manipulating users.
NBA megastar LeBron James also commented on reports that the use of the n-word jumped by nearly 500% in the twelve hours after Musk finalized his purchase of Twitter. Anonymous accounts purportedly engulfed the app with racist posts.
“I don’t know Elon Musk and, [to be honest], I could care less who owns Twitter. But I will say that if this is true, I hope he and his people take this very seriously because this is scary [as f###]. So many damn unfit people saying hate speech is free speech,” tweeted LeBron James on October 29.
As far as the connection between Diddy and Musk, TMZ also points out that both billionaires have been seen in public together over the last year. For example, they both had front-row seats to Dave Chappelle’s comedy show at the Hollywood Bowl in May.
I dont know Elon Musk and, tbh, I could care less who owns twitter. But I will say that if this is true, I hope he and his people take this very seriously because this is scary AF. So many damn unfit people saying hate speech is free speech. https://t.co/Sy0jvXIBnC
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 29, 2022