Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, struck a deal Monday to buy Twitter for $44 billion, capping a saga complete with hostile takeover threats before delivering him personal control of one of the most influential social media platforms on the planet. Twitter famously served as a megaphone for former US president Donald Trump before the platform banned him, and Musk – a self-proclaimed “free-speech absolutist” – has said he wants to reform what he sees as the platform’s over-zealous content moderation. “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town squar…