American microblogging and social networking service Twitter has agreed to sell the platform to Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Inc, for $44 billion.
As stated by Musk, his reason for buying Twitter is for him to promote free speech and democracy, and to enhance the platform with new features and algorithms.
According to Reuters, the White House voiced concerns about “concentrated power when it comes to social media companies.”
In Lebanon, the news of Elon Musk buying Twitter for $44 billion has brought a wave of bitter sarcasm from the Lebanese people, as Lebanon’s electricity sector has cost the country more than $40 billion in public debt.
“With the money that we squandered on the Ministry of Energy, we would have bought TWITTER,” said Serge Zarka on Twitter.
Other Lebanese Twitter users expressed their rather funny takes on this news. Here are some relevant ones:
@elonmusk paid 44B$ to buy Twitter… The Ministers of Electricity in Lebanon wasted ~45B$ during the last 12 years and now they "achieved" 24/24 darkness with no electricity.
— B@ssem 🇱🇧 (@bassemabdallah) April 25, 2022
Consequently, the topic of 24/24 electricity in Lebanon has become a rather unrealistic standard to many in the country as some, and not a few, are living in total darkness.
People seem no longer able to contain their anger and frustrations towards this matter. On Monday, an individual assaulted the Lebanese Minister of Energy and Water, Walid Fayyad, calling it a “message from the Lebanese people.”
However, as commented by several Lebanese on Twitter, the disastrous management of the Electricity and its funds that yielded this long-lasting crisis started years back before Minister Fayyad took charge of the ministry.
Billions of dollars were wasted or evaporated in thin air, leaving the people struggling for years with scarce electricity supply and paying double bills.
