As the deadline for Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition looms, the billionaire has released a statement to “Twitter Advertisers,” letting them know why he has chosen to go through so much trouble to take over the social media company.

On Wednesday, the New York Times released a piece on the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, labeling him a “geopolitical chaos agent” for simply wanting to promote free speech in America.

The Times attacked Musk for leaving chaos in his wake as he pursues the acquisition of Twitter. They wrote, “While plenty of billionaire executives like to tweet their 2c on world affairs, none can come close to Mr. Musk’s influence and ability to cause trouble. He has waded into situations even after he was advised not to, and has left behind plenty of messes.”

The following day, just one day before Musk is expected to close the $44 billion deal with Twitter, he posted a message written to the advertisers on Twitter explaining and defending his actions as of late:

“I wanted to reach out personally to share my motivation in acquiring Twitter. There has been much speculation about why I bought Twitter and what I think about advertising. Most of it has been wrong. 

The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence. There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society. 

In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much of traditional media has fueled and catered to those polarized extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but, in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost. 

That is why I bought Twitter. I didn’t do it because it would be easy. I didn’t do it to make more money. I did it to try to help humanity, whom I love. And I do so with humility, recognizing that failure in pursuing this goal, despite our best efforts, is a very real possibility.

That said, Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences! In addition to adhering to the laws of the land, our platforms must be warm and welcoming to all, where you can choose your desired experience according to your preferences, just as you can choose, for example, to see movies or play video games ranging from all ages to mature.”

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