Elon Musk's acquisition and subsequent running of Twitter will radically transform the current information landscape in much the same way that the emergence of Fox News changed the information landscape back in the late ‘90s — and we will all be worse off for it.

Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes used Fox News as a foothold for right-wing misinformation on cable and as a cudgel against the rest of the news media. They worked the refs elsewhere and forced the rest of the news media to privilege right-wing propaganda. Musk sees the current landscape in a similar way.

From the beginning, Elon Musk wanted Twitter as a tool to advance his own red-pilled ideological agenda. He was explicit about his intentions to turn Twitter into a free-for-all, which is why right-wing extremists celebrated the news then — and why they are celebrating now today.

It is only a matter of time before Musk rolls back Twitter’s community standards, fires employees responsible for protecting users’ safety, and re-platforms Donald Trump and other accounts suspended for violence and abuse, and open the floodgates of disinformation.

Simply put: Twitter is now on a glide path to becoming a supercharged engine of radicalization. Under Musk’s leadership, Twitter will become a fever swamp of dangerous conspiracy theories, partisan chicanery, and operationalized harassment.

The fact that this is happening just days before millions of Americans head to the polls is deeply concerning.

What comes next is up to the major brands and their media buyers who spend billions each year advertising on Twitter. Companies like Unilever, HBO, Disney, Verizon, Comcast, Coca-Cola, and Procter & Gamble should be proactive and make it clear that they will walk if Musk follows through with his promises to roll back brand safety and community safeguards.