Relief and disappointment as Musk abandons Twitter deal

Elon Musk's move to abandon his purchase of Twitter has been greeted with a mix of relief and disappointment across the political spectrum, with many criticising the Tesla founder but others applauding his "exposure" of the influential messaging platform.

The announcement of the deal valued at $44 billion in late April sparked fears the platform would see a surge in abuse and disinformation after Musk - a self-proclaimed free speech absolutist - said he would largely let anyone say anything allowed by law on Twitter.

Musk's announcement Friday that he no longer wants to buy Twitter triggered celebration by advocacy groups that had launched a campaign to stop the wealthiest man in the world from going through with the purchase.

"A Twitter under Musk's leadership would have ripped open Pandora's box and reopened the floodgates for hate and baseless conspiracy theories -- making the platform, and the country a more dangerous place," said Bridget Todd, communications director at UltraViolet, an advocacy group.

The deal breakdown "is a welcome reprieve for women, people of colour and members of the LGBTQ+ community."

Nicole Gill, co-founder and executive director of the left-leaning watchdog Accountable Tech, slammed Musk's bid as "a chaotic crusade."

"Our information ecosystem, safety, and democracy cannot remain at the whim of unaccountable billionaires," she said.

But hopes were dashed for others who believed Musk's stearing of the platform would lead to a decrease in measures aimed at curbing bullying, lies and other abuses deemed politically motivated and anti-free speech.

"The party is really over here. The purge is coming," tweeted conservative commentator Dave Rubin.

Donald Trump Jr, the son of the former president, predicted "censorship" at Twitter "will be back tenfold."