Elon Musk will need to fire everybody to end Twitter’s leftwing bias

It is undeniably positive that somebody with a libertarian outlook is now in control of Twitter, especially given the platform’s traditionally biased political leanings.That being said, Twitter’s left-wing bias remains a massive problem, as the platform continues to discriminate politically.While Musk has already started cleaning house, a decade and a half of political prejudice is unlikely to be removed overnight, and a complete brand overhaul may be in order, hence Musk’s comments about renaming the platform ‘X.’Even then, unless Musk fires every coder, engineer and moderator in the company and starts again from scratch, many users will never re-establish the trust needed for the platform to thrive.This is especially true with the fact social media habits are changing, new platforms are emerging, and Big Tech’s once powerful empire is in decline.Case in point: Musk’s purchase of Twitter last week overshadowed the fact that a staggering $770 billion has been wiped off the biggest tech stocks in recent months, and global economic projections don’t offer many bright spots for the traditional social media heavyweights. Elon Musk recently acquired social media giant Twitter (Image: Getty)Musk’s biggest challenges, and one of Twitter’s principal faults, is that it offers a negative user experience. Nobody feels good from visiting Twitter. It’s never developed a sense of community or cohesiveness, but rather divisiveness and anonymous animosity.Much of this is negativity is driven by bots, the focus of Musk’s efforts to get out of the Twitter deal this summer. Musk speculated that as many as 20 percent of Twitter’s accounts might fall into this category, and he’s continued to talk about the bot problem even after taking control of the company.And while Musk might say he doesn’t want Twitter to become a free-for-all hellscape, the reality is that for many users it is one already.One of Musk’s greatest opportunities, however, plays to his strength as an innovator. While one of Twitter’s biggest shortcomings is that it has failed to innovate beyond the parameters of noisy microblogging, this is likely where Musk could offer the greatest upgrades.Twitter has never developed a serious livestreaming option for regular content creators, in contrast to other platforms such as GETTR or YouTube, and there’s no short video format on Twitter, as there is with GETTR Vision, TikTok or Instagram Reels, placing the platform at a serious competitive disadvantage.Musk is already talking of reviving Vine, which may or may not be a good thing, but it shows he recognizes the importance of content creation with today’s social media platforms.And finally, the elephant in the room. A burning question remains as it relates to whether or not Musk will allow President Trump back onto Twitter.I remain sceptical that Trump will be reinstated in the short term, and until his account is reactivated, the promise to restore free speech to Twitter is mere lip service.Musk can stand for free speech or he can stand with the woke elite, but he can’t stand with both. To be clear, I am pleased that Twitter is now in the hands of Elon Musk.If anyone can save the platform, it’s him. My fear, however, is that Musk will find it extremely difficult – and perhaps impossible – to effect the change which Twitter so badly needs. Years of political discrimination and innovation neglect aren’t removed quickly, if at all, but it’s a fight worth having.