You’re giving Elmo too much credit as this Machiavellian character. Ordinary capitalist. Appeasing your investors is the most common commercial reason. It’s just that advertisers can’t really provide twitter with business anymore on account of his bigoted optics, but dangerous governments can.
He’s so transparent with his intentions, it’s embarrassing. The only explanation of removing your own tool to combat misinformation is because it does not align with your own interests. There’s no way to spin that fact in a positive light and yet there will still be people using twitter. It’s actually getting really fucking hard to not be a misanthrope.
Writing is firmly on the wall, gang. All I see is patch notes for the wars for arable land meta.
From an outsider’s perspective, it seems to me that the US got here by not being equally as petty. Lie, cheat, defame, appeal to tribalism, argue in bad faith. Populism is the meta and democrats need to get with it, cuz the whole world is on the line.