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Twitter is an online service that lets users send and read short messages called “tweets”. 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.

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28 Nov, 2022

Musk to release Twitter free speech files

Elon MuskMakes Statement0 Comments

Musk says he will release internal Twitter documents that he claims will show suppression of free speech:

The Twitter Files on free speech suppression soon to be published on Twitter itself. The public deserves to know what really happened…

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

AppleElon MuskAccusation0 Comments

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!

Musk asks Cook: Why has Apple stopped advertising on Twitter?

AppleElon MuskTim CookMakes Statement0 Comments

Musk asks Cook to tell him why Apple has stopped advertising on Twitter.

What’s going on here @tim_cook?

26 Nov, 2022

King: Musk has been ‘a terrible fit’ for Twitter

Elon MuskStephen KingMakes Statement0 Comments

King says:

I think Elon Musk is a visionary. Almost singlehandedly, he’s changed the way Americans think about automobiles. I have a Tesla and love it. That said, he’s been a terrible fit for Twitter. He appears to be making it up as he goes along.

Musk replies:

Suggestions are welcome Mr. (crown emoji)….The goal is a trusted digital town square, where a wide range of views are tolerated, provided people don’t break the law or spam. For example, any incitement to violence will result in account suspension.

King also noted that “Twitter ain’t cars. And Twitter ain’t rockets.

Musk later praises King:

Stephen King is one of most creative people on Earth. While I may not agree with everything he says, I do actually want to hear it.

25 Nov, 2022

Musk will make phone if Apple, Google block Twitter

AppleElon MuskGoogleMakes Statement0 Comments

In response to a Twitter user who says Musk should make his own phone if Apple and Google remove Twitter from their app stores, Musk replies:

I certainly hope it does not come to that, but, yes, if there is no other choice, I will make an alternative phone

Twitter to launch blue, gold and grey verification ticks

Elon MuskAnnouncement0 Comments

Musk says Twitter verification will return on Friday next week with colour-coded categories for individuals, government accounts and companies.

Sorry for the delay, we’re tentatively launching Verified on Friday next week. Gold check for companies, grey check for government, blue for individuals (celebrity or not) and all verified accounts will be manually authenticated before check activates. Painful, but necessary.

All verified individual humans will have same blue check, as boundary of what constitutes “notable” is otherwise too subjective. Individuals can have secondary tiny logo showing they belong to an org if verified as such by that org. Longer explanation next week.

24 Nov, 2022

Musk offers ‘amnesty’ to suspended accounts

Elon MuskAnnouncement0 Comments

After a poll that Musk ran, asking users if Twitter should offer a ‘general amnesty’ to suspended accounts, provided they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam, ends in yes, Musk says Twitter will restore accounts from the end of November.  Musk does not give details on how the amnesty process would be carried out.

The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week. Vox Populi, Vox Dei.

More than 3.1m Twitter users responded to the poll, with 72.4% of them voting “Yes”. Mask has already reactivated some accounts, inculding Kanye West, Donald Trump and influencer Andrew Tate.

21 Nov, 2022

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

Alex JonesElon MuskSocial media ban0 Comments

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.

20 Nov, 2022

Musk says Trump will be reinstated after 52% poll win

Donald TrumpElon MuskPoll result0 Comments

Musk’s poll, asking if former President Trump’s account should be reinstated, ends at 51.8% Yes to 48.2% No. Musk claims 134 million people saw the poll, with over 15 million votes were cast. When the poll first started, Musk claimed it was receiving one million votes per hour.

Musk comments:

The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei.

19 Nov, 2022

Roth: Twitter ‘safer’ under Musk than before

Elon MuskYoel RothMakes Statement0 Comments

In an op-ed in the New York Times, Roth says Twitter is safer under Musk’s ownership:

Almost immediately upon the acquisition’s close, a wave of racist and antisemitic trolling emerged on Twitter. Wary marketers, including those at General Mills, Audi and Pfizer, slowed down or paused ad spending on the platform, kicking off a crisis within the company to protect precious ad revenue. In response, Mr. Musk empowered my team to move more aggressively to remove hate speech across the platform — censoring more content, not less. Our actions worked: Before my departure, I shared data about Twitter’s enforcement of hateful conduct, showing that by some measures, Twitter was actually safer under Mr. Musk than it was before.”

His ability to make decisions unilaterally about the site’s future is constrained by a marketing industry he neither controls, nor has managed to win over.

However:

[Even as Musk] criticizes the capriciousness of platform policies, he perpetuates the same lack of legitimacy through his impulsive changes and tweet-length pronouncements about Twitter’s rules. In appointing himself ‘chief twit,’ Mr. Musk has made clear that at the end of the day, he’ll be the one calling the shots. It was for this reason that I chose to leave the company: A Twitter whose policies are defined by edict has little need for a trust and safety function dedicated to its principled development.

18 Nov, 2022

Over 1000 staff leave Twitter after Musk’s ultimatum

Elon MuskLayoffs0 Comments

Fortune magazine estimates that Twitter loses 1000-1200 staff, out of 2700 remaining, including multiple ‘critical’ engineering teams after Musk send a mail asking staff to commit to hardcore work or leave the company. A former emplyee said the resignations will affect the company’s perfomance.

I know of six critical systems (like ‘serving tweets’ levels of critical) which no longer have any engineers. There is no longer even a skeleton crew manning the system. It will continue to coast until it runs into something, and then it will stop.

The estimated 2,500 who are said to remain, have been locked out of their offices until Monday at least over fears they could sabotage the site. Many staff shared their departures on social media, including Twitter staff in Boston, who counted down their final seconds in the company.

Following the mass resignations, Musk sends an email asking ‘anyone who actually writes software’ to meet him at the Silicon Valley office on Friday at 2pm:

Anyone who actually writes software, please report to the 10th floor at 2 pm today. Before doing so, please email a bullet point summary of what your code commands have achieved in the past ~6 months, along with up to 10 screenshots of the most salient lines of code,” Musk wrote in the first of three emails reportedly sent around midnight PT Friday.

Musk reinstates Peterson, Griffin & The Babylon Bee

Elon MuskJordan PetersonKathy GriffinThe Babylon BeeSocial media ban0 Comments

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:

Twitter HQ projection trolls Musk

Elon MuskMakes Statement0 Comments

A projection displayed on Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters trolls Musk with taunts and insults, including calling him a “bankruptcy baby”,”supreme parasite”,”petulant pimple”,”apartheid profiteer”,”space Karen” and “mediocre manchild”. It is not clear who ran the projection.

17 Nov, 2022

Musk: Twitter will drop 280-character limit ‘soon’

Elon MuskAnnouncement0 Comments

After a user complains about a Twitter thread that is 82 posts long, Musk says:

Ability to do long tweets coming soon

Musk later says he is working on the project personally.

16 Nov, 2022

Musk to Twitter staff: Do hardcore work or get out

Elon MuskMakes Statement0 Comments

In an internal email, Musk gives Twitter employees until the evening of Nov 17 to  commit to “extremely hardcore” work or else leave the company:

A Fork in the Road

Going forward, to build a breakthrough Twitter 2.0 and succeed in an increasingly competitive world, we will need to be extremely hardcore. This will mean working long hours at high intensity. Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade.

Twitter will also be much more engineering-driven. Design and product management will still be very important and report to me, but those writing great code will constitute the majority of our team and have the greatest sway. At its heart, Twitter is a software and servers company, so I think this makes sense.

If you are sure that you want to be part of the new Twitter, please click yes on the link below. Anyone who has not done so by 5pm ET tomorrow (Thursday) will receive three months of severance. Whatever decision you make, thank you for your efforts to make Twitter successful. Elon

15 Nov, 2022

Musk reschedules Blue Verification to Nov 29

Elon MuskProduction delay0 Comments

Musk says the relaunch of Twitter Blue verification will be delayed until Nov 29:

Punting relaunch of Blue Verified to November 29th to make sure that it is rock solid

He also says that all unpaid legacy Blue checkmarks will be removed in a few months.

Musk ‘rehires’ Ligma and Johnson

Elon MuskHire0 Comments

Musk ‘rehires’ Rahul Ligma and Daniel Johnson, the two fake employess who pranked news networks by claiming to be laid off Twitter employees. Ligma later claimed he had been hired and fired by FTX.

Welcoming back Ligma & Johnson! Important to admit when I’m wrong & firing them was truly one of my biggest mistakes

14 Nov, 2022

SpaceX buys Twitter Starlink ad campaign

Elon MuskSpaceXStarlinkAdvertising campaign0 Comments

Musk confirms SpaceX purchased a $250,000 ad campaign on Twitter to promote Starlink services in Australia and Spain, which will place SpaceX’s ad on top of the main Twitter timeline for a full day. Users will see the ad the first three times they open Twitter when the ad campaign is scheduled. The ad buy is the first for any of Musk’s companies, including Tesla, which does not engage in traditional advertising.

11 Nov, 2022

Verified Twitter users complain they can’t change name

Count DankulaElon MuskDesign Change0 Comments

Users complain to Musk after Twitter disables name changes on legacy verified accounts. A user called Count Dankula pleads for help after his name gets stuck after what he thought was a temporary change to “GIANT PENIS (parody)”:

Hello Elon, you seem to have disabled name changes. I was wondering when that would be getting turned back on as I appear to have gotten myself into a bit of a situation.

This is not a drill any time you try it just says DENY and doesn’t let you change it. I am literally stuck as GIANT PENIS this is not the future I imagined for myself Elon pls.

Twitter suspends Blue after impersonations

Elon MuskDrops Product0 Comments

After reports of multiple impersonations of major brands and politiciansaccounts, Twitter suspends it’s Twitter Blue $8 verification process. An account impersonating Nintendo  tweeted an image of the Super Mario character holding up a middle finger. One posing as Eli Lilly & Co. tweeted that insulin was now free, forcing the company’s official account to say:

We apologize to those who have been served a misleading message from a fake Lilly account

An internal Twitter memo confirmed the change:

An update on what we did tonight: hid the entry point to Twitter Blue, added the ‘official’ label for ONLY advertisers. Note: here is at least one way for users to sign up for Blue. Legacy Blue users can go to subscriptions and upgrade.

In an email to staff, Musk wrote:

Over the next few days, the absolute top priority is finding and suspending any verified bots/trolls/spam

Yoel Roth, the company’s head of trust and safety also resigned