Just when it is thought the relationship between conservatives and social media platforms could get better, it went presidentially sour. On Wednesday, the US President Donald Trump threatened to ‘strongly regulate’ or shut down social media platforms for perceived attempts to muzzle conservatives.

“Republicans feel that Social Media platforms totally silence conservatives’ voices. We will strongly regulate, or close them down, before we can ever allow this to happen,” Trump tweeted on Wednesday.

This was coming after Twitter applied a fact-check to two of his previous tweets that called mail-in voting fraud. It is the first time the social media platform is putting a fact-check on Trump’s tweet, even though his tweets are believed to be full of controversies and unsubstantiated claims. The action appears to have triggered a threat response from Trump, escalating what members of the Republican Party believe to be an unfair treatment deliberately targeted at conservatives.

Trump came on full throttle, accusing the tech industry of getting involved in the 2020 elections. For weeks now, he has been campaigning against mail-in voting, saying it’s a fast way to rig the elections, and it shouldn’t be allowed.

“We can’t let large scale Mail-in Ballots take root in our Country. it would be a free for all on cheating, forgery and the theft of Ballots. Whoever cheated the most would win. Likewise, Social Media. Clean up your act, Now!!!” Trump tweeted.

After the 2016 elections, democrats were particularly angered by the amount of misinformation that social media platforms allowed during the election period, especially sponsored posts linked to Russia. Since then, the social media platforms have pledged to get rid of fake news and misinformation; removing accounts linked to misleading contents and promoting credible sources of information for counter-claims.

Trump has been caught in a series of misleading information through his social media accounts, a development that has repeatedly placed social media platforms in compromising situations. The outbreak of coronavirus reinforced the need for checks on contents in the social media space. Google, Facebook and Twitter stepped up their game and created techniques to minimize false information as much as possible.

However, the new approach appears more likely to aggravate the existing discord between social media platforms and the Republicans.

Early this month, Facebook inaugurated a team of independent experts to check contents put out on the platform. The move was understood to be one of the measures Facebook is using to calm the nerves of conservatives and change the perception that the platform is working in favor of their political opponents.

Trump has been pushing the ‘bias media’ rhetoric and has repeatedly promised to do something to remedy the situation. Earlier this month, he tweeted that the radical left is in control of the social media.

“The radical Left is in total command & control of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google,” he tweeted. “The administration is working to remedy this illegal situation. Stay tuned, and send names & events.”

It is not known what Trump is going to do to remedy the situation since his options seem limited according to legal experts. Some believe he is going to leverage antitrust issues that many of the social media platforms have been caught up in recently. But agencies like the FCC and FTC are not ready to be pushed around for political interest yet. Trump’s earlier attempt to make them arbiters of politics has been resisted; suggesting that further attempts to get the commissions involved would hit a stone wall.

Andrew Schwartzman of the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society said the most obvious action Trump would take would be to push for amendment of the Communication Decency Act which shields social media platforms from legal liability for many of the contents put out on them.

Trump’s options seem narrow as the FCC and FTC lack the jurisdiction to execute the kind of action he would want against Twitter and Facebook. With no law on his side to tackle what he called “stifling of free speech” by social media platforms, Trump appears to be picking a fight he’s already lost.

However, Trump’s recent attack on social media means he is escalating his fight with the media beyond the mainstream. But his outbursts on Twitter over his own misleading information are believed to be borne out of a concealed desire for media censorship.

Following Tesla steps, Volkswagen AG is in talks with Chinese electric vehicle (EV) firms for investment deals in China. China has established itself as the largest market for electric cars and has been stirring investment interest from automakers from around the world.

The German company is buying 50% of Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Holding, the parent of EV partner JAC Motors for 3.5 billion yuan ($491 million) according to Reuters.

In 2019, Tesla ventured into China to become the first foreign company to establish an auto making plant in the south Asian country. With huge interest in environmentally friendly cars, China has become the biggest market for the automobile industry.

Volkswagen is also investing in EV battery maker Guoxuan High-tech Co Ltd, with the aim of becoming the highest shareholder according to the report.

China’s 2018 review of government ownership rules to allow more foreign direct investors has resulted in the surge of interest among western carmakers. And New Energy Vehicles (NEV) is becoming the focus as calls for cleaner energy continue. Volkswagen is keenly looking to retain its position as the highest car producer in China.

China sold 25 million cars at the end 2019 to maintain its position as the world’s biggest auto market. According to Reuters, Volkswagen targeted Anhui Jianghuai, a state owned company in the eastern city of Hefei. Part of its core assets is 25.23% stake in JAC, with a market value of $1.84 billion.

According to people familiar with the matter, Volkswagen plans to make fresh investment in its 50:50 venture with JAC, and build capacity with its modular MEB platform, an architecture enabling efficient production of various EV models.

Volkswagen interest in China is not limited to car manufacturing. Battery is also becoming of huge interest. The company plans to buy about 27% of Guoxuan mostly via a discounted private share placement as well as from top shareholder Zhuhai Guoxuan Trading Ltd, which holds 18%, and the founder Li Zhen, who owns 12%.

The Guoxuan’s market capitalization stood at $4.3 billion, which means that a 27% stake is worth $1.16 billion.

Volkswagen also has investment with another Chinese company, state-owned China FAW Group Corp Ltd and SAIC Motor Corp Ltd.

While the deal remains confidential, Guoxuan has stopped trading its stock since May 20. The company said on Tuesday that Zhuhai Guoxuan and Li Zhen would sell part of their holdings to a strategist whose identity was not made known. It added that the shares will be issued via private offering.

The deal is yet to be finalized and there is a tendency for change in investment sizes according to the sources.

Volkswagen’s big dream to be the biggest player in the automobile industry lies on finding its place in the world’s biggest automobile market, and putting up a fierce competition. The company aims to sell 1.5 million new energy vehicles in China by 2025.

The company told Reuters that it is poised to deepen its relationship with local partners and thereby secure long-term deals.

“Volkswagen consistently searches for ways to strengthen and deepen our relationship with local partners. In this regard we will explore possible options together with all stakeholders to secure long-term success.”

The German automaker is pushing to get over the strains of the 2015 scandal that rocked its market value and cost it billions in fines and legal fees. Volkswagen admitted that it installed software that lowered harmful emissions of nitrogen compounds under test conditions. The case involved 11 million vehicles produced by the Volkswagen Group.

Volkswagen has been made to pay more than €30 billion around the world in fines, compensation and legal costs since 2015 when the scandal became known. The company’s reputation and value went down so fast that investors feared it would take a long time to make up for the losses.

The company has struggled to break off the shackles of the scandal. With a new wave of suits springing up now and then, Volkswagen appears to be tied to the regrettable past. Its executives admitted that the scandal has pushed them to venture into electric vehicles faster than the company should, in a bid to repair the company’s reputation.

The Lagos State Government has approved the increment of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) fares effective Friday May 29. This was announced by the operator of the BRT services on Thursday.

The Managing Director, Primero Transport Services, the operators of the BRT, Mr. Fola Tinubu said the fares have been increased as a result of COVID-19 exigencies. It could be recalled that the transit service company had on Monday, stopped operation owing to financial loss it has been incurring as a result of skeletal operation and reduced the number of passengers recommended for the sake of social distancing.

Mr. Tinubu told the press: “We are going to increase our pricing effective tomorrow Friday, May 29. We agreed on this after our talk with the Lagos State Government.”

The transport firm got on the negotiation table with the state government in the morning of Thursday, and in the afternoon, the parties have agreed on increment of fares.

“Everywhere commuters are paying N200 for a trip, it is going to be N300 and everywhere commuters are paying N300 per trip, it is going to be N500. We are increasing our fares. We have secured the permission of the regulator, Lagos State Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA),” Tinubu said.

He said the development has become a bitter pill commuters have to swallow to keep the buses on the roads, though it appears insensitive due to economic hardship emanating from the health crisis.

“We are doing this not to punish anybody or to victimize anybody but because the circumstances we found ourselves forced us to do it. We need to make sure the company is on a sound financial footing, and if we don’t do this, the buses will not be available in the long run and there will be no way for us to fix buses and bring new buses.”

The Lagos State Government had earlier ordered the BRT services to cut the number of passengers from its capacity of 70 persons per a bus to 20 persons, in order to ensure that commuters observe social distancing.

However, the directive made the sustainability of the BRT services difficult according to Tinubu. He said if these steps are not taken, the BRT will be out of business in no time, and that will bring more hardship on Lagosians.

“The business must be on a solid financial footing. Without this, the company cannot survive, and if the company does not survive, it will even cost commuters more in the long run.

“We understand that this is going to put some hardship on people, but if we don’t do this and the company goes under, it will even cost the people more,” he said.

He added that the number of passengers will also be increased from 20 to 42, but assured that the company will offer world class services. He said with the approved pricing, the era of long queues as a result of bus scarcity is gone, as the firm will be rolling out 320 buses to effect rapid transit.

While the reasons for the hike seem justifiable, it brings questions on the government’s concern about the plight of Nigerians in the face of a health crisis that has crippled economic activities and increased people’s hardship.

Lagos is foremost among the three states in Nigeria that were placed on total lockdown by the federal government. The impact was unbearable on businesses that many workers have been laid off.

Upon lifting the lockdown, those who still have their job are struggling to cope with the high cost of living instigated by the disruption in the supply chain. And the cost of transportation has also skyrocketed due to the application of social distancing that limited the number of passengers commercial vehicles can take, forcing transport operators to hike the fees.

In the wake of this development, many see the BRT as the cheap alternative. Unfortunately, their hope has been dashed by the government’s decision to increase the BRT fares, as it will bring further financial burden upon them.

During the lockdown, the Lagos State Government failed to live up to people’s expectation in distribution of palliatives. Majority of the households in the state were left to fend for themselves in the face of scarcity. In view of this, many believe that the Lagos State Government should have compensated Lagosians by subsidizing BRT transportation in the state.