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X (formerly Twitter)

X (formerly Twitter)221 posts

X, formerly known as Twitter, is an online service that lets users send and read short messages. The site is used by celebrities, brands and journalists to distribute news directly to their fans. The site was launched in July 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone and Noah Glass. The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange on November 7, 2013. The company was purchased by Elon Musk, for $44 billion, in September 2022 and rebranded as X on July 24, 2023.

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4 Sep, 2023

Musk to sue ADL for £22 billion for ‘trying to kill’ X with false anti-semitism claims

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In a series of tweets, Musk says he will sue the Anti-Defamation League for $22 billion, which he says is 60% in lost revenue, as a result of the organisation putting pressure on advertisers to stop using the platform with claims that Musk and X is anti-semitic.

To be super clear, I’m pro free speech, but against anti-Semitism of any kind. Since the acquisition, The @ADL has been trying to kill this platform by falsely accusing it & me of being anti-Semitic. Our US advertising revenue is still down 60%, primarily due to pressure on advertisers by @ADL (that’s what advertisers tell us), so they almost succeeded in killing X/Twitter! If this continues, we will have no choice but to file a defamation suit against, ironically, the “Anti-Defamation” League. If they lose the defamation suit, we will insist that they drop the the “anti” part of their name, since obviously …

Musk later explains:

Advertisers avoid controversy, so all that is needed for ADL to crush our US & European ad revenue is to make unfounded accusations. They have much less power in Asia, so our ad revenue there is still strong. This “controversy” causes advertisers to “pause”, but that pause is permanent until ADL gives the green light, which they will not do without us agreeing to secretly suspend or shadowban any account they don’t like. That is the relationship they’ve had with X/Twitter for many years. Presumably, they have that with all western search or social media orgs.

When told about a $10.5 million defamation fine awarded against ADL, Musk says that the organisation would be potentially liable for half of X’s revenue:

Interesting. In our case, they would potentially be on the hook for destroying half the value of the company, so roughly $22 billion.

20 Aug, 2023

Musk blocks Woods after actor complains about block feature removal

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Musk blocks Woods following his comments on the X CEO’s plans to remove the block feature from Twitter.

If @elonmusk removes the ability to block concerted harassment by trolls or organized political entities, how will “X” be any different from Jack Dorsey’s horrid Twitter? Musk, whom I once championed, is only doing this to protect his advertisers anyway. Users of X are mere pawns to turn the site into an electronic shopping mall. The man I thought was a defender of free speech is just another greedy capitalist. Disappointing, but not surprising.

To which Musk responds:

Then delete your account

Woods then posts a screenshot showing that Musk has blocked him:

Your prerogative, sir, which is exactly my point. Have a nice day.

30 Jul, 2023

Musk lifts West’s X block after anti-semitic assurances

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After assurances that he will not post anti-semitic or harmful content, Musk reinstates West’s account on X (formerly Twitter), almost eight months after Musk banned him from Twitter after West posted an image of a swastika blended with a star of David to Twitter.

2 Jun, 2023

Twitter’s head of Trust and Safety resigns

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Ella Irwin, Head of Trust & Safety at Twitter, resigns after just under one year in the company. She joined Twitter in June 2022 and took over as head of the trust and safety team in November when previous head Yoel Roth resigned. She oversaw content moderation. Irwin declined further comment and Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Twitter’s press email replied with a poop emoji.

27 May, 2023

Cuban: Twitter algorithms designed to help Musk

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Cuban accuses Musk of rigging Twitter algorithms to promote his own tweets. He says that because Twitter’s “For You” timeline, which is the first thing users see on the app, ranks tweets by the amount of interaction by a user’s followers, that it make’s Musk’s posts more influential, as he has the most followers, and the most interactions on the app. Cuban still has 8.8 million followers, but worries the algorithm change will affect how he promotes his online pharmacy, Cost Plus Drugs.

I figured I was/am on some Twitter s— list that doesn’t show me to new or existing users as a possible follow. I thought maybe, by paying the annual contract, that would change. It didn’t…It stands to reason that the person with the greatest number of followers will have the greatest influence on the most number of For You timelines. And For You candidates include, as stated above , tweets that people you follow engage with. So who @elonmusk engages with on Twitter has an ENORMOUS impact on what an indeterminable number of people see in their For You Timelines

23 Apr, 2023

Musk to King: ‘I’ve donated $100M to Ukraine, how much have you donated?’

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After King says that Musk should give the blue check fee he donated to King to a Ukraine charity:

I think Mr. Musk should give my blue check to charity. I recommend the Prytula Foundation, which provides lifesaving services in Ukraine. It’s only $8, so perhaps Mr. Musk could add a bit more.

Musk responds, saying he has donated $100 million to Ukraine, and asks King how much he has donated.

I’ve donated $100M to Ukraine, how much have you donated?

Musk links his tweet to an October 22, 2022, tweet from former Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, thanking him for donating Starlink to Ukraine’s war effort.

Thanks @elonmusk. Before all the talks about funding, you confirmed to me that in any case you will ensure the work of Starlinks in Ukraine. This was critically important for Ukraine. We are grateful to you!

20 Apr, 2023

Musk pays for Shatner, LeBron and King blue ticks

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After legacy blue verification checkmarks are removed from Twitter, Musk says he is personally paying the $8 a month fee for William Shatner, LeBron James & Stephen King. King had previously said that he would not pay for the verification. After the author tweeted he has been subscribed, despite not giving his phone number, Musk replies:

You’re welcome namaste

18 Apr, 2023

Trans advocates criticise Twitter policy change

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Trans advocates criticise Elon Musk for quietly removing a Twitter policy designed to protect transgender people from harassment. The policy previously forbade users of the social media network from deliberately “misgendering” (referring to someone using pronouns that do not reflect their gender identity) or “deadnaming” (calling a transgender person by the name they were given at birth, rather than the name and gender they now identify with) trans users. An archived version of Twitter’s policy indicates that the rule was scrubbed on April 8 without announcement. GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis:

Twitter’s decision to covertly roll back its longtime policy is the latest example of just how unsafe the company is for users and advertisers alike.

Trans rights group Human Rights Campaign:

This policy change makes Twitter more unsafe for trans and non-binary users and paves the way for outright discrimination. Twitter has an obligation to protect people on the platform, not expose them to hate and vitriol.

6 Apr, 2023

Twitter’s FTC lawyer resigns

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Christian Dowell, a top lawyer for Twitter who was responsible for substantially coordinating Twitter’s response to an investigation by Federal Trade Commission, submits his letter of resignation. The resignation comes in part due to the growing number of executive departures and intensifying legal woes facing the social media platform. It is unclear who will succeed Mr. Dowell in navigating Twitter through its FTC investigation and lawsuits concerning unpaid bills, services, and labor practices.

15 Dec, 2022

Twitter suspends @ElonJet account, Musk to take legal action

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Despite earlier vowing to allow the account that tracks his private jet to continue on Twitter, Musk bans the @elonjet account and says he will take legal action against Jack Sweeney, the accounts owner. Musk had previously offered Sweeney $5000 to delete the account.

Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. This includes posting links to sites with real-time location info. Posting locations someone traveled to on a slightly delayed basis isn’t a safety problem, so is ok. Last night, car carrying lil X in LA was followed by crazy stalker (thinking it was me), who later blocked car from moving & climbed onto hood. Legal action is being taken against Sweeney & organizations who supported harm to my family.

For hours after the suspension of the @elonjet account, other Sweeney-run accounts tracking private jets used by Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and various Russian oligarchs were still live on Twitter. But by later on Wednesday, Twitter suspended all of them, including Sweeney’s personal account of Jack Sweeney. Twitter’s Help Center tweeted an updated media policy that begins: “You may not publish or post other people’s private information without their express authorization and permission.”

13 Dec, 2022

Twitter dissolves Trust and Safety Council

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Twitter dissolves its Trust and Safety Council, the advisory group of nearly 100 independent civil, human rights and other organisations which had been formed by the company in 2016 to address hate speech, child exploitation, suicide, self-harm and other problems on the platform. Twitter informed the group via email shortly before a meeting, scheduled for the night of Dec 13, was to take place, that it was disbanding it. Last week, three council members resigned. Email:

Our work to make Twitter a safe, informative place will be moving faster and more aggressively than ever before, and we will continue to welcome your ideas going forward about how to achieve this goal.

9 Dec, 2022

Elton John quits Twitter, Musk responds

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John says he is leaving Twitter:

All my life I’ve tried to use music to bring people together. Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world.   I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked.

Musk responds:

I love your music. Hope you come back. Is there any misinformation in particular that you’re concerned about?

2 Dec, 2022

Musk bans West from Twitter: ‘I tried my best’

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After West posts an image of a swastika inside a Star of David…

…and an image of Musk half- naked, Musk says that the latter is fine, but the swastika/star ‘is not’ and that West will be suspended for ‘incitement to violence’

I tried my best. Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence. Account will be suspended.

West then posted a screenshot of his Twitter ban message on TruthSocial. Musk appeared to comment on the ban by later posting:

FAFO [F*ck around, find out]

28 Nov, 2022

Musk: Apple is threatening Twitter’s presence on the App Store

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After Musk publishes a poll, asking if Apple should publish all censorship actions it has taken that affect its customers…

…a Twitter user asks if Apple is threatening Twitter’s presence in the App Store or otherwise making moderation demands? Musk:

Yes

Musk then directly tweets that Apple has threatened to withhold Twitter from its App store:

Apple has also threatened to withhold Twitter from its App Store, but won’t tell us why

When a Twitter user points out that 97.5% of Apple’s political donations were to the Democratic Party, Musk replies:

Wow, they don’t sound biased at all!

21 Nov, 2022

Musk invokes first child’s death for not restoring Jones’ Twitter account

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Musk refuses to restore Jones’ Twitter account saying:

He later elaborates:

My firstborn child died in my arms. I felt his last heartbeat. I have no mercy for anyone who would use the deaths of children for gain, politics or fame.

18 Nov, 2022

Musk reinstates Peterson, Griffin & The Babylon Bee

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As part of of a thread talking about free speech at Twitter, Musk says:

Kathie Griffin (sic), Jorden Peterson & Babylon Bee have been reinstated. Trump decision has not yet been made.

Griffin responds on Instagram, by misspelling Musk’s name:

Dear Eilon, You f**ked up, fool. I’m going downstairs to my basement of heads. You’re up. Xxoo, The Beheader

Peterson says:

7 Nov, 2022

Twitter bans Griffin for impersonating Musk

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After Musk announced an immediate ban on accounts pretending to be someone else without flagging them as parodies…

Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying “parody” will be permanently suspended.

…the company banned Griffin, who had tweeted about the midterm elections under Musk’s name. Musk said Griffin had been removed for “impersonating a comedian” but could have her account back for $8.

Griffin responded on Mastodon, a rival network:

I guess not ALL the content moderators were let go? Lol

2 Feb, 2017

Twitter staff donate $1m against Trump immigration order

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Nearly 1,000 Twitter employees donate more than $500,000, to the American Civil Liberties Union, to fight Trump’s temporary ban on refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. The donations are matched by CEO Dorsey and Chairman Kordestani. Twitter lawyer:

Our work is far from done. In the coming months we’ll see a flurry of legal challenges, legislative pushes and public pronouncements. But as long as civil liberties are threatened, I’m proud to know that as individuals we will stand up to defend freedom and look after people.