Why it matters: No single company does more to drive instant political debate. Despite its toxicity and prejudice, Twitter is the first station of breaking news and opinion-making policies. Musk’s surprise move shocked Washington, even with Congress at recess – in both state and world capitals.

Many Republicans hailed Musk as a hero and Twitter as the problem. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) Wrote on Twitter (!): “Twitter censors are terrified of Elon Musk because they can not buy his silence.” Democratic analyst Mary Anne Marsh wrote on Twitter: “@elonmusk offers to buy @Twitter for # 2022Elections and # 2024Elections is no accident. It’s a threat to our #democracy.” “The cheers and jokes about this tweet are all the proof we need,” he wrote.

Between the lines: The debate over whether Musk would be good or bad for Twitter is not just about power or money. This is the most American of the ideas – freedom of speech – and the rights and obligations of private companies to draw the line between misinformation and censorship.

It’s also about where to draw the line for concentrating power on a person’s hands. And the antitrust frenzy against high technology at the moment means that there may be less chance of a competitive bid.

Background: Musk’s move shows how vital Twitter has become in its 16 years of operation for the immediate dissemination and analysis of political information.

Since the invasion of Russia, Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky has used it to send a message to the world and to press President Biden and other leaders for help. It is also an indication of how deeply partisanship divides every aspect of American involvement.

A spokesman for Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Chairman of the Republican Studies Committee, told Axios in a statement that “Republicans have not been able to communicate on an equal footing online since 2016 and it has become worse since Biden took office.”

“Big Tech has censored my posts about organic sex, COVID, Hunter Biden, and even kitchen table issues like energy prices,” Banks said. “Democrats’ electoral strategy is now based on censorship.”

Former President Trump’s permanent suspension from Twitter continues to be the driving force behind the Conservatives’ reaction. And shortly before Musk’s move, the former president’s rival platform, Truth Social, was forced to withdraw a verified Fox News account after a spokesman said the network had nothing to do with it.

Undoubtedly, Musk seems to be thinking about what Trump wants to do – but with the money to do so.

What they say: “I think the reason Twitter matters is that it’s the place where a very select chunk of highly politically motivated people go,” said Aaron Smith, director of Data Labs at the Pew Research Center.

10% of US adults on Twitter generate 90% of tweets, he said. Twitter users are turning to college-educated users versus non-college users. They also bend the Democratic. Of the 30 members of Congress with more than 1 million supporters, Smith said that since his last count, 20 were Democrats and 10 Republicans. And 10% of U.S. lawmakers with the largest number of followers received 84% of favorites and 81% of retweets that go to Congress collectively.

Smith’s team reports that from the 114th Congress to the 116th Congress, legislators’ collective positions increased from just over 1 million to 1.6 million. At the same time, Democratic lawmakers’ use of Twitter has grown faster than Republican lawmakers.

“This is the ground on which things are being fought now,” Smith said. “There is a real-time feedback loop with journalists, legislators. What does this do to our speech?” “Twitter is a place where members of Congress are going to get their message across – everything from ‘Hello, I’ll be on this show at 5pm, check me out’ or ‘Come and support our local heroes.’ “. “in the memes and the party attacks and all the intermediates,” Smith said.

What we hear: A spokesman for Ken Buck (R-Colo.), A senior member of the House Subcommittee on Antitrust, told Axios in a telephone interview that when it comes to Musk, “I think if he’s rejected… he could very well start his own “.