Musk confirms X link post deprioritization
After Graham complains that the deprioritization of links in X posts:
The deprioritization of tweets with links in them is Twitter’s biggest flaw. It bothers me more than all the new right-wing trolls. Trolls I’m used to, but what draws me to Twitter is to find out what’s going on, and you can’t do that without links.
Musk responds:
Just write a description in the main post and put the link in the reply. This just stops lazy linking.
Just write a description in the main post and put the link in the reply. This just stops lazy linking.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2024
Essex Police: Post was ‘likely or intended to cause racial hatred’
In relation to Pearson’s case, Essex Police say that officers had opened an investigation under section 17 of the Public Order Act 1986 relating to material allegedly “likely or intended to cause racial hatred”. Spokesperson:
We’re investigating a report passed to us by another force. The report relates to a social media post which was subsequently removed. An investigation is now being carried out under section 17 of the Public Order Act. As part of that investigation, officers attended an address on Sunday November 10 to invite a woman to attend a voluntary interview on the matter.
Accused of non-crime hate incident
As Pearsons is getting ready to attend a Remembrance Sunday event, two police constables from Essex Police come to her door. The police inform her that she had been accused of a non-crime hate incident (NCHI) related to ‘stirring up hatred’ in a post on X a year before. When she asks which post, the constable says he is not allowed to say. When she asks who made the complaint, she is told she is not allowed to know that either.
Pearson: You can’t give me my accuser’s name?”
Police: It’s not ‘the accuser, they’re called ‘the victim’.
Pearson responds:
Today, we are commemorating hundreds of thousands of British men, most of them roughly the age you two are now, who gave their lives so that we could live in a free country, not under the jackboot of tyranny. And you, YOU come here on this sacred day… You know, those soldiers, they could never have imagined that their country, our country, the country they died for, would ever become a place where the police would turn up at the door of a person who has done nothing wrong…
Pearson accuses the police of wasting time and asks them why it has taken a year to come forward, with no response. One of the constables asks for her phone number and email address in case they needed to call her in for an interview; She gives him her email only.
Musk biography: Ex-Twitter CEO Agrawal lacked ‘leadership quality’
An excerpt from an upcoming Musk biography reports that, after meeting Twitter’s CEO Parag Agrawal for dinner in March 2022, Musk concluded that the CEO did not have leadership quality:
He’s a really nice guy. What Twitter needs is a fire-breathing dragon and Parag is not that.
Musk fired Agrawal shortly after he purchased the company.
Musk to sue ADL for £22 billion for ‘trying to kill’ X with false anti-semitism claims
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.
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!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2023
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.
Interesting.
In our case, they would potentially be on the hook for destroying half the value of the company, so roughly $22 billion.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2023
Musk: ‘How does the medicine taste?’
Musk mocks users on X for complaining about plans to remove the platform’s “block” feature (which he announced in response to an account questioning its utility), asking how “the medicine” tastes and saying that he is using the feature while it still exists to ignore users who want it to stay.
Pretty fun blocking people who complain that blocking is going away. How does the medicine taste?
Pretty fun blocking people who complain that blocking is going away.
How does the medicine taste? 😂😂
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 20, 2023
Musk blocks Woods after actor complains about block feature removal
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
Then delete your account
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 20, 2023
Woods then posts a screenshot showing that Musk has blocked him:
Your prerogative, sir, which is exactly my point. Have a nice day.
You prerogative, sir, which is exactly my point. Have a nice day. pic.twitter.com/qt8ZD3wbM9
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) August 20, 2023
Musk: X may fail
Musk says that X may fail:
The sad truth is that there are no great ‘social networks’ right now. We may fail, as so many have predicted, but we will try our best to make there be at least one.
The sad truth is that there are no great “social networks” right now.
We may fail, as so many have predicted, but we will try our best to make there be at least one.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 19, 2023
Twitter signs and equipment to be auctioned
In part due to its rebrand, X announces it is auctioning off a large number of Twitter-branded items, including the bird logo that was previously on the outside of the building. Other items for sale include sculptures, booths, chairs, computers, couches, musical equipment and artworks.
The auction, hosted by Heritage Global Partners, will start on September 12 at 7 a.m. PST and end on September 14 at 9 a.m. PST. All items have a starting bid of $25. They are all being sold out of X headquarters in San Francisco. According to HGP’s terms and conditions, buyers must use the items in their businesses and cannot purchase them for personal use.
Musk: Fight with ‘Zuck’ to be streamed on X
Musk says that his fight with Zuckerberg will be streamed on X. He tweets:
Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on 𝕏. All proceeds will go to charity for veterans.
Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on 𝕏.
All proceeds will go to charity for veterans.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2023
Musk: X will never launch crypto coin
Musk says that Twitter/X will never launch a crypto coin. In a tweet, user @DogeDesigner stated:
Elon Musk and 𝕏 never launched a crypto token
to which Musk replied:
And we never will.
Elon Musk and 𝕏 never launched a crypto token. Be careful of such articles. ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/tZqfwMMm2X
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) August 5, 2023
Musk: X will pay ‘unfairly’ treated users’ legal bills
Musk says that if any X (formerly Twitter) users are treated unfairly by their employers for posting or liking something on the platform, X will pay their legal bills and even sue on their behalf. Financial assistance from X will have no limit, he says, and asks that users “let us know” if they have experienced unfair treatment for their activity on the site.
If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill.
No limit.
Please let us know.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2023
Musk accuses South African party of pushing for white genocide
In response to footage of a football stadium of Economic Freedom Fighters Party loyalists singing “Kill the Boer,” Musk accuses the party of pushing for genocide of white people, tagging President Ramaphosa for a response:
They are openly pushing for genocide of white people in South Africa. @CyrilRamaphosa, why do you say nothing?
They are openly pushing for genocide of white people in South Africa. @CyrilRamaphosa, why do you say nothing?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 31, 2023
Musk takes over @x username without paying
Musk takes over the @x Twitter account without paying its owner as part of the app’s ongoing rebrand. The user. a photographer in San Franscisco, said he had been offered some X merchandise and a meeting with the company’s management, but was not offered any financial incentive. He stated:
They just took it essentially – kinda what I thought might happen. They did send an email saying it is the property of ‘x’ essentially.
X: no verification unless companies buy ads
X (formerly known as Twitter) warns companies on the site that they will lose their verification badges if they have not spent at least $1,000 on advertisements over the past month or $6,000 in the preceding 180 days. The yellow check marks will reportedly start disappearing on August 7.
Musk: Bronny James cardiac arrest may be vaccine related
Referring to Bronny James’ cardiac arrest, Musk says:
We cannot ascribe everything to the vaccine, but, by the same token, we cannot ascribe nothing. Myocarditis is a well known side-effect
We cannot ascribe everything to the vaccine, but, by the same token, we cannot ascribe nothing.
Myocarditis is a known side-effect. The only question is whether it is rare or common.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 25, 2023
Twitter briefly adds a Community Notes fact check to the tweet, however, it was removed later that day.
Studies show that the risk of myocarditis is significantly higher after an actual Covid infection than with the vaccine. Among adolescent boys, the risk of myocarditis following a Covid infection was approximately twice that of the risk following the second vaccine dose.
Musk: Twitter logo will change to X
Musk says Twitter is planning to change its logo, Larry the Bird, which has been in place since creation of the company in 2006, to an X. Along with the logo change, the domain for the social media site will become X.com, and Twitter will become a subsidiary of Musk-owned X-Corp.
And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds
And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023
Musk then asked for logo suggestions:
If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make go live worldwide tomorrow
If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make go live worldwide tomorrow
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023
Thousands of users replied before Musk posted a short video of an X with a flickering background.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 23, 2023
Musk: Twitter’s ad revenue down ~50%
Musk says Twitter has a “negative cash flow” and its advertising revenue has declined by about 50% amid a “heavy debt load” as competition between Twitter and Threads intensifies. This comes just as Twitter began paying content creators for posting advertisements. Some users are reporting payouts of over $100,000, and Musk himself says Twitter will pay creators $5 million through its first block of payments. It is unclear, though, which kinds of posts or which users are eligible for advertising payments, and some users have criticized the platform’s payout program.
We’re still negative cash flow, due to ~50% drop in advertising revenue plus heavy debt load. Need to reach positive cash flow before we have the luxury of anything else.
We’re still negative cash flow, due to ~50% drop in advertising revenue plus heavy debt load. Need to reach positive cash flow before we have the luxury of anything else.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 15, 2023
Twitter threatens legal action over Threads
Twitter threatens to take legal action over Threads, with an attorney from Twitter describing it as a “copycat” and claiming that it is developed by former Twitter employees using the company’s trade secrets. The attorney writes:
Twitter has serious concerns that Meta Platforms has engaged in systemic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property. The company plans to strictly enforce its intellectual property rights.
Meta declines to comment on the letter, but director Andy Stone responds on Threads:
No one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee — that’s just not a thing.
Yaccarino: Twitter ‘often imitated’ but never duplicated
After the release of Threads, Yaccarino tweets that the Twitter community is “often imitated,” but never duplicated. Many Twitter users have taken to the platform to point out similarities between Threads and Twitter, with Zuckerberg himself even taking several shots at Twitter.
YOU built the Twitter community. And that’s irreplaceable…This is your public square. We’re often imitated — but the Twitter community can never be duplicated.
On Twitter, everyone's voice matters.
Whether you’re here to watch history unfold, discover REAL-TIME information all over the world, share your opinions, or learn about others — on Twitter YOU can be real.
YOU built the Twitter community. 🙏👏 And that's irreplaceable. This…
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayacc) July 6, 2023