Faisal Ghaffar 
The acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk has led to many emerging stories, making social media a regular part of the headlines. Lately, Twitter hit the news because of Sir Elton John, who has quitted the platform, blaming a modified misinformation policy.
The singer is the latest celebrity to say goodbye to Twitter since the Tesla boss acquired it. Elton John, who will perform at Glastonbury Festival next year, has blamed social media for using a changed policy concerning misinformation with no elaboration given by the management.
It is worth mentioning that Twitter reportedly did not act against those accounts spreading wrong information about Coronavirus in November 2022. It caused speculation regarding the possible change in twitter’s policy around misinformation spreading to the public.
Elon Musk, the controversial CEO of Twitter, who has referred to himself as the Chief Twit after buying the company, responded to Elton John’s announcement, saying he hopes the celebrity would get back to Twitter soon. The Rocket Man Singer wrote in his last tweet that he has tried to use music to bring everyone together in all his life. However, it saddened him to observe how wrong information is getting spread widely to divide the world.
Sir Elton John announced his decision to quit social media in the same tweet, saying he has decided to stop using Twitter, given its latest modification in the misinformation policy, which will let wrong information thrive unchecked. Musk replied to Elton’s post, stating he loves the music made by the singer and hopes he would soon get back to Twitter. The Tesla boss also inquired if there was any particular false information Elton John was concerned about.
The new Twitter boss completed his $44 billion social media takeover in October. The platform has faced great controversy over the COVID-19-related policy rollback and other moves like restoring previously suspended Twitter accounts and asking users to pay to get their blue tick.
In the aftermath, some celebrities, including Jack White and Gigi Hadid, left Twitter for a reason. Actors Whoopi Goldberg and Jim Carrey also quit the social media website. They particularly cited Twitter’s new controversial boss as the primary reason for not using Twitter anymore. The supermodel Gigi Hadid used harsh words in her announcement of leaving Twitter. She referred to the social media website under the Tesla boss as a “cesspool of bigotry and hatred”.
Twitter’s official website states it had stopped acting against tweets that breached its previous COVID-19 rules on November 23, 2022. The social media had previously reported suspending over 11,000 accounts, spreading false information about the coronavirus on social media as of September 2022.
Twitter initiated a five-strike system under its coronavirus-specific policy for accounts using misleading or false content that may lead to an unavoidable risk of harm like damage to public health or exposure to the coronavirus. It said the company would not act against accounts posting false information once. However, repeated offenders could get their Twitter accounts for hours or days, and it could even be indefinitely if Twitter received five strikes against their accounts.
