The Bane That Is Social Media

[LFC]

Elon. That is all.

Earlier this month, when Twitter CEO Elon Musk locked his Twitter account to personally test whether locked tweets generated more views than public tweets, many wondered why he didn’t just ask a Twitter engineer how the platform worked. A new report says Musk did meet with engineers—after his test—and that meeting led him to impulsively fire an engineer who attempted to provide an alternative explanation for why Musk’s tweet views might be declining.

The meeting took place on Tuesday, according to the tech newsletter Platformer. Bringing together engineers and advisers, Musk asked his team why his account, which has “more than 100 million followers,” would only be getting “tens of thousands of impressions.”

“This is ridiculous,” Musk said, according to multiple sources.

A principal engineer stepped forward to explain that the decline may be due to easily chartable waning public interest in Musk. To back up the engineer, Twitter employees provided internal data that corresponded with a Google Trends chart, Platformer reported.

They also shared the results of an investigation into Twitter’s algorithm, which found “no bias” against the CEO. None of this seemed to satisfy Musk, whose immediate response was to remove the employee who suggested that since Musk’s move to purchase Twitter last April, people have been increasingly uninterested in following all of Musk’s moves online.

“You’re fired,” Musk told the engineer, whom Platformer did not name due to concerns that the engineer could face online harassment.

Twitter did not respond to Ars’ request for comment.

I guess he wants to get more experienced people to leave of their own accord. You know, the ones who actually who know how to keep things running and how to implement new features. Some business genius. He's become unhinged. Maybe he always was.

[LFC]

Scumbags of a feather...

After months of slamming the media and saying only idiots believe the press, Twitter CEO Elon Musk finally seems to have found an outlet he likes, judging by how cozy he was with Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch at the Super Bowl on Sunday.

Musk and Murdoch were spotted sitting in the same box at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona by none other than Fox, which was airing the game. The billionaires were joined by Murdoch’s daughter, Elisabeth, a producer and investor who lives in the United Kingdom. Although the cameras remained on Musk and Murdoch only briefly, that was all it took to create a spectacle on air and on social media. Musk previously said he would suspend “any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone.” Good thing it was a TV station showing where he was.

Broadcaster Kevin Burkhardt immediately lavished praise on his boss, his boss’ daughter, and Musk. Then, as if sensing he may have come off like a brown noser, Burkhardt added that Murdoch paid his salary.

“Well, you’ve got some brilliant minds in that photo, Rupert Murdoch, Elisabeth Murdoch, Elon Musk,” the broadcaster said. “Rupert pays our checks too, so that’s always good.”

Over on Twitter, some users commented that seeing Musk and Murdoch together was not a good sign. MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan pointed out that the image of the two was one to remember the next time Musk went on a rant over elitism and the media.

“Rightwing billionaire media moguls gotta stick together, I guess,” Hasan tweeted. “But remember that image next time you hear Musk pretending to be anti-elitist or anti-Establishment or anti the media, or some kind of populist.”

Others, like Democratic activist Andrew Wortman declared that Musk choosing Murdoch as his Super Bowl watch buddy cemented the Twitter owner’s role as a super villain. Podcast host and producer Cheri Jacobus summed up the hangout succinctly: “Elon Musk and Rupert Murdoch at the Super Bowl together. Be afraid. Be very afraid.”

[LFC]

Wow, he really is just a narcissistic man-baby.

After throwing a hissy fit last week because his tweets weren’t getting enough views, Twitter CEO Elon Musk seems to have finally gotten what he wanted: Musk-filled feeds.

On Monday, I noticed that my ‘For You’ feed on Twitter had surprisingly more Musk tweets than usual. I didn’t make much of the occurrence at first and reasoned Musk was probably tweeting up a storm while pretending to work again, until I saw that other users were getting Musk-bombed, too. Given that the billionaire fired an engineer who told him people didn’t seem to be interested in him anymore, a lightbulb went off in my head: Ah, this was on purpose.

Shortly after midnight on Tuesday, Musk himself seemed to chime in to confirm my theory, tweeting out a meme of a girl forcing another to drink milk. He labeled the girl holding the milk bottle “Elon’s tweets” and the girl being forced to drink the milk “Twitter.”



Although he didn’t acknowledge the Musk-filled feeds, the billionaire tweeted at 3 a.m. ET that his company was tinkering with the algorithm.

“Please stay tuned while we make adjustments to the uh .… ‘algorithm,’” he said.

[pnwguy]

A good demonstration of Elon's desire to make Twitter his kinky sub b*tch

[LFC]

Yet another Musky meltdown. He really has lost his shit.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk has a message for employees: Loyalty means nothing. Over the weekend, Musk laid off more than 50 employees at the social media company, including one of his most vocal supporters, product head Esther Crawford.

Crawford famously made headlines back in November when she quote-tweeted a photo of herself sleeping at the office days after Musk took over Twitter in order to meet his crazy deadlines. Despite criticism from folks who said Musk was making Twitter employees work round the clock to prove themselves, Crawford took it in stride, stating at the time that “doing hard things requires sacrifice.” The Platformer newsletter first reported Crawford’s dismissal.

After Musk took over the company in late October, Crawford began to look for bigger opportunities at Twitter, The Verge reported. She introduced herself to the new CEO and pitched him new ideas on how to improve the company. Pretty soon, Musk tasked her with relaunching Twitter’s Blue subscription product, which had a disastrous debut.

Crawford confirmed her departure from Twitter in a post on Saturday night.

“The worst take you could have from watching me go all-in on Twitter 2.0 is that my optimism or hard work was a mistake,” she said. “Those who jeer & mock are necessarily on the sidelines and not in the arena. I’m deeply proud of the team for building through so much noise & chaos.”

[AnBr]

[LFC]

Elon Musk has learned from the Faux News model that hatred sells.

Under Elon Musk’s leadership of Twitter, tweets linking LGBT people to “grooming” have skyrocketed, jumping 119 percent since Musk’s takeover in October 2022, according to a new report released by the Center For Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).

The study also found that Twitter is making millions from big-name advertisers, whose brands are appearing alongside hateful anti-LGBT rhetoric.

“Tolerance of this content is part of Elon Musk’s business model,” said Callum Hood, a CCDH researcher who helped write the new study. ““There is real world stuff happening now that appears to be a result of this rhetoric online.”

The study examined five high-profile Twitter accounts responsible for consistently linking LGBT to “grooming,” including Libs Of TikTok, the account run by Chaya Raichik; Gays Against Groomers, run by Jaimee Michell; right-wing commentator Christhoper Rufo; YouTuber Tim Pool; and James Lindsay, known for the phrase “Ok, Groomer.”

These five accounts alone are set to generate $6.4 million a year in advertising revenue for Twitter, CCDH researchers estimated. They found ads from big-name companies like Disney, T-Mobile, Kindle, and the NBA appeared next to explicitly anti-LGBT “groomer” tweets on these accounts, according to the report.

“An indifference to the rights of marginalized communities is converging with a ruthless drive for profit in real time,” Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of the CCDH said in a statement, “Twitter must decide if they believe in the fundamental rights and freedoms of LGBTQ+ people, or if they want to continue profiting from and normalizing hate. They cannot do both.”

[LFC]

I can't remember if this was noted elsewhere but Musk admitted that Twitter is worth a lot less now.

Twitter owner Elon Musk may have let the cat out of the bag about Twitter’s current total worth. According to a Sunday report from The Wall Street Journal, Musk told employees some have received stock rewards based on a $20 billion valuation. Just a reminder, Musk bought the platform last year for $44 billion. At the time he first made that privatization offer, he called the sum “a fair price.”

Musk reportedly called Twitter an “inverse startup” and said there was a “clear, but difficult path” to seeing a more than $250 billion valuation, eventually. Earlier this month, Musk claimed to the audience at a tech conference hosted by Morgan Stanley that the company would be making a profit in just a few months time. It’s a tall order, considering that in January the Twitter and Tesla CEO was trying to raise an additional $3 billion from investors. That’s on top of the nearly $13 billion in debt already put on the company to finance Musk’s buyout. The Twitter owner has been caught up in multiple fights over not paying rent on his office spaces around the world.

It’s unclear how many employees have received these stock options, and how much stock each may have gained. Like many other tech companies, Twitter had previously offered stock grants in employee compensation. The company spent $630 million in stock compensation back in 2021, according to regulatory filings, though of course that was back when Twitter was a private entity and it was easier to find buyers.

Gizmodo reached out to Twitter for comment, but the company responded with a (poop emoji). That’s how Musk plans to respond to every media request from now on, no matter if the report is about.

[LFC]

The Musky man continues to turn Twitter into a "free-for-all-hellscape where anything can be said with no consequences." He's pushing his $8/month little blue "verification" checkmarks except the users aren't really verified. Examples are popping up all over of people having their names hijacked by "verified" users. Here's a writer at TechCrunch on just how bad it's gotten.

[LFC]

I don't follow DailyKos but they have an interesting piece on how Twitter is becoming "pay to play" because they announced (and I think kinda' backtracked, or something ... but wait, who knows) that users would only get verified accounts show up in their feed. So the fake paying $64 is given instant validation and the real people who may have been on Twitter for years get hidden unless you know they're there.

When Twitter began adding blue checkmarks after the names of some users, it had a simple purpose: they were there as a benefit to the Twitter community. The checkmarks ensured that the person behind the tweet, whether a well-known actor, an author, or a journalist, was who they claimed to be. It was intended to limit the ability of just anyone to hop onto Twitter, sign up as @tomhanks39872, and start peddling megavitamins or spreading false claims about actions at some studio.

The wide use of Twitter, not as traditional social media in terms of “Hey, look at these cute puppy photos,” but as a primary way in which reporters used the platform to release breaking news added tremendously to the value of Twitter, both as a community and a company. For years, the first place people learned about events, from school shootings to FDA announcements to military movements in Ukraine, has been Twitter. The role the platform has played is unique and valuable. Not because of the one-liners, nasty exchanges, or quirky animal videos, all of which certainly exist, but because of the way Twitter had become a “meta news source,” where individuals, media outlets, and wire services all competed to get breaking news in front of human eyes. It will surprise no one to learn that the first time many writers and editors on Daily Kos learned of many stories was when it appeared on Twitter. That’s not just true of Daily Kos, but of every media outlet.

The previous system of checkmarks served that system by allowing quick verification of sources and information quality. The ease with which disinformation can be propagated through social networks has always been extremely high. The verification system at Twitter represented at least something of a small dike against the rising seas of propaganda.

But now Elon Musk hasn’t just torn down this wall; he’s flipped it on its head. The actions he is taking now at Twitter turn it into a disinformation delivery service for hire. And it’s obvious he’s doing this on purpose.

One of Musk’s first actions in his ridiculous purchase of Twitter was to set up the $8/month “Twitter Blue” accounts that allowed anyone to buy a checkmark. With most of those involved in vetting accounts already shown the door, Musk fundamentally reversed the nature of “verification.” The result was exactly what might be expected.

[indy]

Mar 29, 2023 17:16:34 GMT LFC said:

The Musky man continues to turn Twitter into a "free-for-all-hellscape where anything can be said with no consequences." He's pushing his $8/month little blue "verification" checkmarks except the users aren't really verified. Examples are popping up all over of people having their names hijacked by "verified" users. Here's a writer at TechCrunch on just how bad it's gotten.

I keep wondering...he is essential extracting a fee to provide lies, misrepresentations, and disinformation. Now, obviously, there is a segment of the population who will gleefully eat this stuff up (see Fox 'news'). Maybe he can turn a profit (again, you know, Fox news) but isn't twitter then just destined to become...fox news but with even less coherence? Won't the vast majority of twitter users just turn the channel to something else?

[LFC]

Mar 29, 2023 17:56:38 GMT indy said:

I keep wondering...he is essential extracting a fee to provide lies, misrepresentations, and disinformation. Now, obviously, there is a segment of the population who will gleefully eat this stuff up (see Fox 'news'). Maybe he can turn a profit (again, you know, Fox news) but isn't twitter then just destined to become...fox news but with even less coherence?

To repeat from the article above, "The actions he is taking now at Twitter turn it into a disinformation delivery service for hire. And it’s obvious he’s doing this on purpose."

Won't the vast majority of twitter users just turn the channel to something else?

That's the question. Right now he's holding onto critical mass but if it breaks, it could break fast and irretrievably. Meanwhile he's trying to replace ad revenue with subscription revenue. The more he causes engagement to drop, especially among demographics that tend to spend more, the further he cuts that ad revenue.

[LFC]

Cheezes! Is Musk trying to steal charitable donations from employees?

[pnwguy]

Mar 31, 2023 19:14:40 GMT LFC said:

Cheezes! Is Musk trying to steal charitable donations from employees?

Maybe he believes charity begins at (the Musk) home...

[LFC]

Twitter continues to try to make money by destroying what they were good at and ramming shit down people's throats.

[indy]

Apr 3, 2023 22:09:37 GMT LFC said:

Twitter continues to try to make money by destroying what they were good at and ramming shit down people's throats.

Pardon the stupid questions but I'm ignorant as to how twitter works...I assume this  behavior is different than the way it use to be? Did you previously only get tweets from people you had actually taken action to follow in this particular feed? And now you get tweets from other random people? Are these people paying twitter for 'engagement' then?

[LFC]

The Musky Man continues his support of fascism.

Facts, not that these have ever been important to him or the rest of the right-wing, anti-reality coalition.

[goldenvalley]

There are probably a lot of people who concluded NPR is state media simply because some funds come from the federal government.  And there are probably plenty of people who believe NPR is the analogue to the right wing radio talk shows.  

[LFC]

A number of people who were producing real content, not vapid trash, on Twitter moved a chunk of what they wrote to Substack. Now Substack is providing a way to walk away from Twitter altogether.

[LFC]

Elon Musk Is a Sentient Poop Emoji

Twitter’s boss fails at free speech advocacy, content-moderation transparency, and uplifting online discourse. But he sure can meme.

Beginning a few weeks ago, anyone who emailed [e-mail] has received an auto-reply consisting of nothing but a poop emoji.

It’s part of Elon Musk’s business-cratering, libs-owning, culture war strategy to let “the elites” know there’s a new sheriff in town. You want to ask the occasionally richest man in the world a direct question, or get clarification on one of his frequent contradictory policy edicts, or confirm reporting on the company that literally has no communications department anymore? You get the poop.

“Why, exactly, does a 51-year-old man appear to be stuck in Freud’s anal stage?” asked Matthew Cantor in The Guardian.

This is the Musk conundrum. He’s undeniably financially successful and, at times, has been a bold and early backer of companies that are producing technological breakthroughs. But he’s also got the sensibilities of (and inclination to pander to) right-wing internet shitposters.

He talks a big game about nuance, non-partisanship, and good faith debate—but he tweets pablum like “My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci.”

[LFC]

Once again the Musky Man isn't paying his bills.

Three former Twitter executives who were terminated by Elon Musk sued the company on Monday, alleging that they are owed reimbursement for more than $1 million in legal fees.

The executives are former CEO Parag Agrawal, chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde, and chief financial officer Ned Segal.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed in Delaware Chancery Court, Twitter agreed to indemnify the execs in the case of litigation or other situations where they required counsel. But after their departure, they say, the company failed to uphold those agreements. Instead, two months after the plaintiffs demanded payment in writing, Twitter offered only “a cursory acknowledgement of receipt, but still refused to acknowledge its obligations.”

[LFC]

Twitter no longer exists as a company. I thought this was a left over April Fools post. Who knows WTF is going on.

In a court filing on Tuesday, April 4, Twitter Inc. quietly revealed a major development: It no longer exists. The company is currently being sued by right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer, who accused it of violating federal racketeering laws when it banned her account in 2019. Loomer has a Twitter account again, and her absurd lawsuit is bound to fail—but until it does, Twitter, as a defendant, must continue to submit corporate disclosure statements to the court. And so, in its most recent filing, the company provided notice that “Twitter, Inc. has been merged into X Corp. and no longer exists.” As the “successor in interest” to Twitter Inc.—that is, the survivor of the merger—X Corp. is now the defendant in Loomer’s suit. Its parent corporation is identified as X Holdings Corp.

It’s hard to know what to make of Musk’s transformation of Twitter into X Corp. (When asked for comment, Twitter responded with a poop emoji, as is its recent custom.) Elon Musk, who owns Twitter as well as X Holdings Corp., has not yet revealed this merger to the public. But it appears to have been on his mind since he first plotted his purchase of the social media company. In April 2022, Musk registered X Holdings I, II, and III in Delaware, three separate companies designed to facilitate his purchase of Twitter. According to that deal, Twitter would merge with X Holdings II, but keep its name and general corporate structure while continuing to operate under Delaware law. X Holdings I, controlled by Musk, would then serve as the merged entity’s parent company, while X Holdings III would take on the $13 billion loan that a group of big banks provided Musk to help cover the $44 billion purchase. (According to Twitter’s demands in its litigation against Musk, X Holdings I would be intended “solely for the purpose of engaging in, and arranging financing for, the transactions.”)

Here’s where things get interesting. As the merger agreement stated, X Holdings II would cease to exist as a functioning entity after merging with Twitter. So the official structure after Musk’s takeover was: X Holdings I oversees Twitter Inc., while X Holdings III handles the cash. The Nevada filings show this exact arrangement is no longer in effect.

According to the Nevada secretary of state’s online business portal, Elon Musk registered two new businesses in the state on March 9: X Holdings Corp., and X Corp. Then, on March 15, Musk applied to merge those Nevada businesses with two of his existing companies: X Holdings I with X Holdings Corp., and Twitter Inc. with X Corp. In the latter’s case, the articles of the merger mandate that X Corp. fully acquire Twitter—meaning that, for all intents and purposes, “Twitter Inc.” no longer exists as a Delaware-based company. Now it’s part of X Corp., whose parent company is the $2 million X Holdings Corp. And that means X Holdings I no longer exists, either. Both X Holdings Corp. and X Corp. now fall under Nevada’s jurisdiction instead of Delaware’s. (It seems an anonymous SPAC-trader tracker first broke this news.)

[LFC]

Twitter continues to bleed actual content providers as it heads towards a platform of cat videos and QAnon. Maybe they can rename the company something reflective of that like "Qat!", with the exclamation point so you know you should be excited.

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) said they have stopped posting content on their official Twitter account, becoming the second major news outlet — after National Public Radio (NPR) — to ditch the popular social media platform.

PBS’ decision comes after Twitter labeled the non-profit TV network’s account as “government-funded media.”

“PBS stopped tweeting from our account when we learned of the change and we have no plans to resume at this time,” said a PBS spokesman, according to several news outlets. “We are continuing to monitor the ever-changing situation closely.”

NPR became the first major news outlet to announce it will no longer post content on its more than 50 official Twitter accounts on Wednesday, saying the platform’s decision to label them as a “state-affiliated media” account “undermine[d] our credibility by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent.”

“NPR’s organizational accounts will no longer be active on Twitter because the platform is taking actions that undermine our credibility by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent,” an NPR spokesperson told TPM.

[LFC]

More bleeding of real content.

[LFC]

Musky Man wants to create TruthGPT because OpenAI is teaching its platform to be politically correct, or something.

If he can even launch a product, and as flaky and unstable as he is I doubt he'll be able to hire the engineers to do it, I expect it to be the same " free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences" that Twitter is becoming. If there's one thing Musk has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, it's that he's no champion of actual truth or free speech.