Avoid the latest Twitter developments, particularly if your interest is in politics.
Elon Musk recently polled Twitter users to find out if they thought President Trump should return.
Here’s where it all stands (you have to vote to see the results):
Within a matter of hours the poll is over. By the way, a little disclosure: I voted to see the results, but I don’t have any skin in the game. When my personal views are in play, I uphold journalistic ethics. This is something that I fight for every day. However, I rolled the dice and clicked “no” only because I wanted to see the results. I used another account to vote “yes” to compensate.
It is clear that both sides have valid points in the reinstatement debate.
As of the publication date, 52% of the vote was in favour of reinstatement (48%) To change the outcome, millions would have to vote “no” by tonight.
I am surprised at how many people take part.
At last count, it’s almost 12 million votes. That means there’s some good statistical accuracy — as one “voter” noted — because that’s a good portion of Musk’s total follower count. I’ll post on my own feed when the “winner” is announced.
I’ll let you decide if this is related to Trump announcing his 2024 run. But, it is clear that the vote reveals quite a bit about what’s happening online. Because millions of people vote, They are eager to hear their voices. They are also keen to affect outcomes. We’re all trying to break through the wall of digital noise, to emerge out of the sludge and raise a hand to make sure we have a voice in how the world works.
When that happens, Twitter shines. Facebook and Instagram don’t have a chance against Twitter when it comes to polling. The platform’s unique features are what keep users who love tweeting alive. Apart from polling, the number of distinctive features on Twitter is becoming increasingly limited. But I believe Twitter offers a more powerful discovery engine that allows users to share their thoughts and engage in dialog. The idea is that it will provide access unfiltered to views from pundits or power brokers.
The implications of Trump’s survey? Musk noted that polling can be extremely helpful on both a large scale and country-by-country level. The real key here is that Twitter can reach a massive audience to gauge sentiment on issues, and that’s always been true. The downside is that there’s absolutely no way to ensure any validity to the polling. This gives an indication of how people feel, but it doesn’t give any insight into the actual polling. (I’m not saying he’s doing it, but now that Musk is at the helm of Twitter, anything is possible.)
The majority of people have already voted to restore Trump. However, the former President stated that he still prefers his Truth Social network. Trump only has five million followers on the app. He will not be able to rest easy knowing there are many people waiting on him Twitter. His account had approximately 90 million followers when it was shut down. Twitter called it a “permanent” suspension at the time, although in tech we know nothing is ever permanent.
I am curious about the new poll and whether or not it could have an impact on Musk reinstating former commander in chief.
However, I don’t think Trump will join. Trump is likely to abandon Twitter as the company he founded.
Many of us are able to instantly remember how his ego prevented such a dramatic shift. However, many others can recall his most famous tweets.
I’ll be curious, once the poll ends, if anything changes. We’ll see.