Hindi English Translation || Editorial || A bird in the hand: On Twitter under Elon Musk

A bird in the hand: On Twitter under Elon Musk

Twitter under Elon Musk risks deterioration (बिगड़ना) in content standards

Of all the social media behemoths (Any creature or thing of monstrous size or power) today, Twitter, Inc. is a curious creature. It has nearly 240 million “daily access” users, which includes political and corporate leaders besides personalities who command an immense (अत्यधिक, विशाल) following. Twitter’s unique selling point is its provision to not only put up 280-character messages but also be a platform featuring the dissemination (प्रसार, फैलाव) of information, as breaking news, debates, discussion and even for the mobilisation (लामबंदी, संघटन, गतिमान करना) of people. Yet, financially, Twitter has posted losses in eight out of the last 10 years, with its market value never managing to reach the heights of peers such as Meta’s Facebook and Instagram or even Tiktok. By selling the company to the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, for a whopping $44 billion after a few shenanigans, Twitter’s shareholders finally made a killing even as Mr. Musk, in his first post-acquisition (अभिग्रहण) actions, fired some top executives. But the question on everyone’s minds is about what might happen to the platform as a free speech vehicle under a truly maverick (आवारा, पर्यटक) owner. Mr. Musk, who has made most of his money as the owner of electric vehicle company Tesla and spacecraft and exploration venture SpaceX, could provide business ideas that could secure the firm’s finances. Yet, as a Twitter user with the third highest number of followers, he has been prone to erratic (अनियमित, अस्थिर, अनियत) outbursts, silly posturing and crass remarks, and frowning (तेवर चढ़ाना, घुड़की) upon regulation by the company of its content in the past, begging the question whether the ownership change will lead to a deterioration in content standards.

Twitter, like other social media giants, has faced difficulties in ridding its platform of disinformation, harassment through trolling, hate speech and calls for violence. Recently, it blocked former U.S. President Donald Trump, a popular yet incendiary (आग लगानेवाला, उत्तेजक, भड़काने वाला) user, and started flagging select posts for misleading content or propaganda. For Indian users, the aforementioned challenges have been exacerbated (बिगाड़ देना, ख़राब करना) by the Government seeking ways to control content, a scarier proposition, through changes to Internet intermediary rules. While Mr. Musk has argued for a freer space with little regulation, he has, since his purchase, tempered (Improve the hardness and elasticity of (steel or other metal) by reheating and then cooling it) those views in favour of better and cleaner moderation of content, ostensibly (प्रकट रूप से, प्रत्यक्ष तौर पर) to not lose advertisers wary of lending their brand to problematic content. While it remains to be seen if this is merely yet another instance of Mr. Musk’s posturing, the larger question of whether Twitter will remain a relevant brand will be answered in the manner in which the world’s richest man will treat governments and establishments in keeping reasonable and free speech intact (बरकरार, पूर्ण) on the platform and not subsume (किसी नियम के अंतर्गत करना, शामिल करना) it to his business interests.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Deterioration (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - बिगड़ना
English Meaning - The process of becoming progressively worse.

2.Immense (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अत्यधिक, विशाल
English Meaning - Huge or Very great.

3.Dissemination (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - प्रसार, फैलाव
English Meaning - The act of disseminating.

4.Mobilisation (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - लामबंदी, संघटन, गतिमान करना
English Meaning - The act or process of preparing something for action.

5.Acquisition (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - अभिग्रहण
English Meaning - a purchase of one company by another.

6.Maverick (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - आवारा, पर्यटक
English Meaning - Person who takes chances

7.Erratic (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अनियमित, अस्थिर, अनियत
English Meaning - Inconsistent or irregular.

8.Frown (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - तेवर चढ़ाना, घुड़की
English Meaning - To give evidence of displeasure.

9.Incendiary (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - आग लगानेवाला, उत्तेजक, भड़काने वाला
English Meaning - Tending to arouse strife.

10.Exacerbate (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - बिगाड़ देना, ख़राब करना
English Meaning - Make (a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling) worse.

11.Ostensibly (Adverb)

Hindi Meaning - प्रकट रूप से, प्रत्यक्ष तौर पर
English Meaning - Apparently and Seemingly

12.Intact (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - बरकरार, पूर्ण
English Meaning - Untouched by anything that harms.

13.Subsume (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - किसी नियम के अंतर्गत करना, शामिल करना
English Meaning - To consider as part of a more comprehensive one.

14.Behemoths (Noun)

English Meaning - Any creature or thing of monstrous size or power

15.Temper (Noun)

English Meaning - Improve the hardness and elasticity of (steel or other metal) by reheating and then cooling it.