Cate Blanchett warns Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover is ‘very, very dangerous’

Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett has issued a dire warning about the consequences of tech billionaire Elon Musk’s recent Twitter takeover.

Musk, 50, acquired the social media giant for $61billion last week and has pledged to boost the platform so it can fulfil its potential as the world’s ‘digital town square’.

‘It’s dangerous,’ Blanchett, 52, told Variety of Musk’s Twitter acquisition while attending the Chaplin Award Gala in New York City on Monday. 

Takeover: Musk (pictured) acquired the social media giant for $61billion last week and has pledged to boost the platform so it can fulfil its potential as the world's 'digital town square'

‘Very, very dangerous’: Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett (left) has issued a dire warning about the consequences of tech billionaire Elon Musk’s (right) recent Twitter takeover 

‘That’s all I have to say. It’s very, very dangerous,’ the Don’t Look Up star added.

Blanchett isn’t the only Hollywood star to criticise Musk’s takeover, with several ‘woke’ celebrities including Jameela Jamil threatening to abandon Twitter in protest. 

The Good Life actress tweeted on Monday that Musk’s ‘free speech’ promise would lead to ‘lawless hate, bigotry and misogyny’ on the platform.

Criticism: 'It's dangerous. That's all I have to say. It's very, very dangerous', Blanchett said of Musk's Twitter acquisition while attending the Chaplin Award Gala in New York City on Monday

Criticism: ‘It’s dangerous. That’s all I have to say. It’s very, very dangerous’, Blanchett said of Musk’s Twitter acquisition while attending the Chaplin Award Gala in New York City on Monday

Pledging never to tweet again, Jamil added: ‘Ah he got Twitter. I would like this to be my what lies here as my last tweet.’ 

Actress-turned-activist Mia Farrow also tweeted: ‘Well if Twitter becomes even more toxic… it will be taken less seriously, and people like me will quit – for peace of mind.’

British television host Phillip Schofield said on Wednesday he’d deleted the Twitter app from his phone because he wanted ‘no part of it’ in his life – although his account remains active.

'My last tweet': Blanchett isn't the only Hollywood star to criticise Musk's takeover, with several 'woke' celebrities including Jameela Jamil (pictured) threatening to abandon Twitter in protest

‘My last tweet’: Blanchett isn’t the only Hollywood star to criticise Musk’s takeover, with several ‘woke’ celebrities including Jameela Jamil (pictured) threatening to abandon Twitter in protest

Deleted: British TV host Phillip Schofield said on Wednesday he'd deleted the Twitter app from his phone because he wanted 'no part of it' in his life - although his account remains active

Deleted: British TV host Phillip Schofield said on Wednesday he’d deleted the Twitter app from his phone because he wanted ‘no part of it’ in his life – although his account remains active

The This Morning presenter called the platform ‘a cesspit’ of ‘vile, disgusting’ trolls.

Star Trek actor George Takei also voiced his concerns about Musk’s takeover, but has so far refused to quit the platform on moral grounds.

The 85-year-old has instead vowed to redouble his efforts to make Twitter a place of civilised debate. 

Sticking around: Star Trek actor George Takei (pictured) also voiced his concerns about Musk's takeover, but has so far refused to quit the platform on moral grounds

Sticking around: Star Trek actor George Takei (pictured) also voiced his concerns about Musk’s takeover, but has so far refused to quit the platform on moral grounds

‘I’m not going anywhere. Should this place become more toxic, I pledge to strive even harder to lift up reason, science, compassion and the rule of law. The struggle against fascism, misinformation, and hate requires tough fighters,’ Takei tweeted. 

Musk, the world’s wealthiest person and a prolific Twitter user, has a controversial past with the app, and his decision to take the company private is likely to have substantial ramifications for a service used by more than 300 million people, including many world leaders.

The Tesla and SpaceX boss insists his takeover isn’t motivated by economic gain, but rather out of a desire to safeguard Twitter as a venue for free speech rather than censorship.

Elon's plan: In recent weeks, Musk has proposed relaxing Twitter content restrictions, while ridding the platform of fake 'spambot' accounts and shifting away from advertising as its primary revenue model

Elon’s plan: In recent weeks, Musk has proposed relaxing Twitter content restrictions, while ridding the platform of fake ‘spambot’ accounts and shifting away from advertising as its primary revenue model 

New boss: Meanwhile, Twitter has guaranteed its staff their jobs for the next six months and has confirmed that 'no layoffs are planned'. However, once the Tesla boss takes over, any HR decisions will be up to him

New boss: Meanwhile, Twitter has guaranteed its staff their jobs for the next six months and has confirmed that ‘no layoffs are planned’. However, once the Tesla boss takes over, any HR decisions will be up to him 

‘Having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilisation. I don’t care about the economics at all,’ he said in a recent public talk.

In recent weeks, Musk has proposed relaxing Twitter content restrictions, while ridding the platform of fake ‘spambot’ accounts and shifting away from advertising as its primary revenue model.

Musk believes he can increase revenue through subscriptions that give paying customers a better experience – possibly even an ad-free version of Twitter.

Meanwhile, Twitter has guaranteed its staff their jobs for the next six months and has confirmed that ‘no layoffs are planned’.

However, once the Tesla boss takes over, any HR decisions will be up to him.

How Musk will put his mark on Twitter: New boss wants to ditch ads in favor of subscriptions, introduce longer tweets, turn HQ into homeless shelter, fire woke staff and kill bots 

By James Gordon for Dailymail.com 

Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter will see substantial changes implemented on the social media platform with everything from longer tweets and paid subscriptions using ‘joke’ cryptocurrency Dogecoin all within the realm of possibility.

Musk is said to favour temporary ‘timeouts’ for users who break the new rules, rather than permanent bans such as those given to Donald Trump.

Details of his immediate plans are slim, but the Tesla chief portrays himself as a free-speech absolutist.

Other mooted changes include blue verification checkmarks for anyone who subscribes to Twitter’s premium Blue service, which costs $2.99 a month.

Musk is said to favour a subscription-based model over advertiser funding, as it would make Twitter less beholden to advertiser pressure. He has even suggested users could pay with cryptocurrency, including joke currency Dogecoin which Musk has long had an affection for.

He’s also likely to fire many of the firm’s woke staff. Workers have been told the transfer of ownership will last around six months, after which Musk is likely to wield the ax.

The firm’s downtown San Francisco could also be turned into a homeless shelter at Musk’s behest, with the California city engulfed by one of the worst homelessness crisis in the United States. 

Musk has also teased at other new features including an ‘edit’ button to adjust previously posted tweets and also making the platforms algorithms ‘open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots and authenticating all humans.’

That would enable people to see exactly why Twitter had chosen to make some tweets more visible to users than others.

A top priority for Musk is to eliminate ‘bots’ which frequently generate spam and run scams. 

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