If you already suspect that billionaire Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter may have harmful implications, you’re not wrong. It looks like the damage is already starting to be done.

Musk completed his $44 billion takeover of the social media giant on October 27, following months of conflict. He has long said he would like to turn Twitter into a “digital town square” where free speech and content aren’t strictly moderated, Newsweek reports.

There are also reports that Musk intends to scupper Twitter’s lifetime ban policy, meaning of course, that former President Donald Trump will likely be allowed back on the platform. This may also pave the way for extremists, and conspiracy theorists. Concerns centered around changes to Twitter’s policies have resulted in speculation that Twitter may begin to resemble Parler or Gab, right-wing sites where hate speech and misinformation proliferate.

And some notoriously right-wing Republicans are already benefitting from Musk’s takeover of Twitter.

This includes GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia), who’d previously had her own Twitter account suspended for continually repeating COVID-19 misinformation. She celebrated Musk’s takeover by tweeting “FREEDOM OF SPEECH!!!!” on October 27, then added in a separate tweet, “We are winning.”

FREEDOM OF SPEECH!!!!

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) October 28, 2022

We are winning.

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) October 28, 2022

Newsweek, in conjunction with Social Blade, which tracks social media statistics, found Greene was one of several GOP figures who saw a big boost in Twitter followers the day after Musk’s takeover.

Greene gained 1,995 new followers on October 27, but the next day, she had earned 41,520 new followers, with another 24,287 following her on October 29.

Donald Trump Jr. saw one of the biggest leaps in followers. Donald Trump’s eldest son, who habitually attacks Democrats on Twitter, gained more than 76,000 new followers the day after Musk’s takeover, after only gaining 3,543 the day before. He gained an additional 49,600 followers on October 29. His followers increased by 39, 625 on October 30 and 32,846 on October 31.

Other notable GOPers gained literally thousands of followers — including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, far-right nutter Rep. Lauren Boebert (Colorado), and Rep. Matt Gaetz (Florida) who’s buddies with Greene and Boebert.

But the bad news here is that Democrats haven’t fared nearly as well. A report from the Economist shows that Democratic House and Senate representatives lost a whopping 420,000 followers between October 27th and October 30th. The New York Times reported similarly bad news, noting that high-profile Democratic figures such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York) and Vice President Kamala Harris, and even former President Barack Obama lost thousands of followers the day after Musk’s takeover.

This has, of course, resulted in speculation that progressive Twitter users are leaving the platform in protest of Musk’s ownership.

That’s signaled a note of alarm for the Stop the Deal coalition group, which consists of organizations like the Center for Countering Digital Hate, Accountable Tech, and The Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. The coalition argues that Musk will make Twitter into an “even more hate-filled cesspool, leading to irreparable real-world harm.

“Musk’s plans will leave the platform more vulnerable to security threats, rampant disinformation, and extremism just ahead of the midterm elections,” the group warned. “Elon Musk has a thirst for chaos and utter disregard for anyone other than himself and should not own Twitter.”

Well, folks here we are. Musk owns Twitter and there’s no telling how the platform will fare. But this is a disappointing turn of events that may turn out dangerous.

All I can say is stay tuned.