Twitter PR Is đ©
March 21, 2023 11:00 AM Subscribe
It is well known that Elon Musk views public relations as extraneous, and has an adversarial relationship with the press. These two aspects were combined with Twitter's PR email now being set to autorespond with the poop emoji.
Needless to say, the press has been responding to this by sending requests for follow up, such as Vice asking for a response to reports that antisemitism on Twitter is has more than doubled under Musk and getting the automated response.
Needless to say, the press has been responding to this by sending requests for follow up, such as Vice asking for a response to reports that antisemitism on Twitter is has more than doubled under Musk and getting the automated response.
Now, just imagine how quickly it would crumble if the media showed the same engagement with Twitter as Musk shows with them.
I swear, the first major media outlet to spurn Phony Stark completely and spin up their own Mastodon instance is going to dominate for months while everyone plays catch-up.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 11:08 AM on March 21, 2023 [47 favorites]
I swear, the first major media outlet to spurn Phony Stark completely and spin up their own Mastodon instance is going to dominate for months while everyone plays catch-up.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 11:08 AM on March 21, 2023 [47 favorites]
đ©
"And, for an instant, she stared directly into those soft blue eyes and knew, with an instinctive mammalian certainty, that the exceedingly rich were no longer even remotely human." â William Gibson, Count Zero
posted by AlSweigart at 11:11 AM on March 21, 2023 [93 favorites]
"And, for an instant, she stared directly into those soft blue eyes and knew, with an instinctive mammalian certainty, that the exceedingly rich were no longer even remotely human." â William Gibson, Count Zero
posted by AlSweigart at 11:11 AM on March 21, 2023 [93 favorites]
Musk acts like a malevolent child.
The good news is we finally have official confirmation of the long-rumoured Twitter HQ shower poop incident. (Which allegedly occurred pre-Musk.)
posted by Nelson at 11:18 AM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
The good news is we finally have official confirmation of the long-rumoured Twitter HQ shower poop incident. (Which allegedly occurred pre-Musk.)
posted by Nelson at 11:18 AM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
This seems like the perrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrfect opportunity for the press to start reaching out to former employees and ask them to contribute to a series of tell-all articles. And when Elon starts complaining - "well, hell, we asked you but you tweeted poop at us, we had to go SOMEWHERE."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:20 AM on March 21, 2023 [30 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:20 AM on March 21, 2023 [30 favorites]
Someone ask them what Elon eats for breakfast.
posted by hypnogogue at 11:25 AM on March 21, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by hypnogogue at 11:25 AM on March 21, 2023 [7 favorites]
Someone ask them what Elon eats for breakfast.
"What is Elon's biggest kink?" has apparently been emailed.
posted by NoxAeternum at 11:27 AM on March 21, 2023 [11 favorites]
"What is Elon's biggest kink?" has apparently been emailed.
posted by NoxAeternum at 11:27 AM on March 21, 2023 [11 favorites]
Christ, what an asshole
posted by Dr. Twist at 11:33 AM on March 21, 2023 [19 favorites]
posted by Dr. Twist at 11:33 AM on March 21, 2023 [19 favorites]
At this stage, I think the best thing for all concerned is a 100% embargo on Musk stories for at least a year. An Elonbargo.
posted by bonehead at 11:37 AM on March 21, 2023 [17 favorites]
posted by bonehead at 11:37 AM on March 21, 2023 [17 favorites]
This not-shocking-at-all news story dropped over on NYT early last week, I'm sure the timing of the emoji is entirely coincidental.
posted by Fizz at 11:37 AM on March 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
Elon Muskâs Appetite for Destruction: A wave of lawsuits argue that Teslaâs self-driving software is dangerously overhyped. What can its blind spots teach us about the companyâs erratic C.E.O.?The lawsuits it seems are starting to catch up. And there's enough in here that he should be worried. But then again, wealthy arrogant people like him are rarely punished these days. So who knows if this will result in anything, probably not.
posted by Fizz at 11:37 AM on March 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
And yet MeFi simply can't resist amplifying every single thing Musk does...
posted by davidmsc at 11:41 AM on March 21, 2023 [22 favorites]
posted by davidmsc at 11:41 AM on March 21, 2023 [22 favorites]
I mean, when the CEO on a near-daily basis corresponds publicly with a fascist troll named 'Catturd2', I'm not sure what could possibly surprise me anymore.
How in the fuck have the minority investors not cut him to shreds by this point?
posted by Room 101 at 11:43 AM on March 21, 2023 [6 favorites]
How in the fuck have the minority investors not cut him to shreds by this point?
posted by Room 101 at 11:43 AM on March 21, 2023 [6 favorites]
A friend recently reposted a comment on FB that Elon Musk is what happens when the ghost of a 19th century oil baron and the ghost of a 14 year old who died in 2011 both try to possess the same body. I might amend it to â12 year oldâ but otherwise pretty accurate.
posted by TedW at 11:46 AM on March 21, 2023 [39 favorites]
posted by TedW at 11:46 AM on March 21, 2023 [39 favorites]
Minority investors? Musk bought the whole thing and took it private. Maybe you mean the Saudis and the Dubai people?
posted by hippybear at 11:47 AM on March 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 11:47 AM on March 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'm squarely in the demographic for an electric vehicle, and if Musk wasn't such a total child I'd be interested in Tesla. But at this point anything he has touched has just been damaged by association, and I refuse to reward him in any way shape or form for his immaturity and failure of leadership.
posted by caution live frogs at 11:56 AM on March 21, 2023 [18 favorites]
posted by caution live frogs at 11:56 AM on March 21, 2023 [18 favorites]
Same. And everytime I see a friend has one, I instinctively check it over for awful panel gaps and struggle to contain myself from remarking on the shoddy workmanship.
posted by onetime dormouse at 12:00 PM on March 21, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by onetime dormouse at 12:00 PM on March 21, 2023 [9 favorites]
Huh. This is exactly the kind of thing my 13-year-old son and his friends do on Discord all the time.
posted by fimbulvetr at 12:01 PM on March 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by fimbulvetr at 12:01 PM on March 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
We bought a car recently and considered getting an electric vehicle. Teslas were the only ones that were available without an unreasonable waitlist -- we were told 1.5 years and up by everyone else -- but yeah, I'm not supporting that jackass. We got a VW GTI instead.
posted by fimbulvetr at 12:03 PM on March 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by fimbulvetr at 12:03 PM on March 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
I also don't want a Muksmobile. I recently rented a Polestar 2 and really liked it
posted by Nelson at 12:05 PM on March 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 12:05 PM on March 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Okay, I have a serious question.
The argument for "why Twitter had to sell to Musk" was "because it's good for the shareholders". But all of this shit was entirely predicted, and Twitter is tanking hard. There isn't going to be much value at all for shareholders in a couple years. Can someone who owns stock in Twitter sue them for breach of fiduciary duty?
posted by corb at 12:12 PM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
The argument for "why Twitter had to sell to Musk" was "because it's good for the shareholders". But all of this shit was entirely predicted, and Twitter is tanking hard. There isn't going to be much value at all for shareholders in a couple years. Can someone who owns stock in Twitter sue them for breach of fiduciary duty?
posted by corb at 12:12 PM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Minority investors? Musk bought the whole thing and took it private. Maybe you mean the Saudis and the Dubai people?
Yes. There is about $5Bn in other investment, and the bank is holding onto $13Bn, $3Bn of which isnât backed by anything other than Twitterâs value. Thatâs a lot of people who are going to be expecting returns. I donât know what recourse they have but each of those shareholders would have signed some kind of agreement.
posted by Room 101 at 12:16 PM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Yes. There is about $5Bn in other investment, and the bank is holding onto $13Bn, $3Bn of which isnât backed by anything other than Twitterâs value. Thatâs a lot of people who are going to be expecting returns. I donât know what recourse they have but each of those shareholders would have signed some kind of agreement.
posted by Room 101 at 12:16 PM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
The stockholders were bought out by Elon. He owns Twitter now. He is THE stockholder. Technically there are banks and some other rich idiots involved, but the stockholders were paid off for their shares.
posted by Slinga at 12:16 PM on March 21, 2023 [13 favorites]
posted by Slinga at 12:16 PM on March 21, 2023 [13 favorites]
What Is Elon Musk Building?
Musk has, during his brief stewardship of Twitter, happily acted as a customer service representative for a host of repellent, minor figures on the right, like Ian Miles Cheong, who has advocated for, among other things, mandatory execution for shoplifters, and a comrade of his, a conspiracy theorist who goes by the handle @catturd2. When Cheong and @catturd2 sensed their engagement drying up, they turned to Musk, who had someone look into it immediatelyâpresumably by ordering employees to find out why the tweets from a guy who didnât even have the foresight or wherewithal to register the handle @catturd, or, for that matter, @catturd1, were receiving fewer likes than usual.
He has, similarly, reinstated a host of banned right-wing accounts: most famously that of former President Donald Trump (who hilariously canât tweet due to an exclusive agreement with his own moribund social network, Truth Social), but also those of white nationalist Nick Fuentes (whose account was suspended less than 24 hours after it was restored), election denier Michael Flynn, and a raft of other kooks, nutcases, and hate-mongers. Twitter has, over the same period, suspended several accounts belonging to journalists and left-wingers, often for unspecified rule violations, including several who have posted critical reporting about Musk: The New York Timesâ Ryan Mac, The Washington Postâs Drew Harwell, and CNNâs Donie OâSullivan.
Muskâs rationale is not especially complicated. There was, for a brief time, the possibility that it was all kayfabe, a big act: Right-wingers were skeptical of Twitter, and Musk was just doing what was necessary to woo them back for the sake of expanding the site. Instead, itâs abundantly clear that Musk is simply a bog-standard right-wing trollâjust one with the keys to one of the worldâs largest social networks. He has stoked paranoia about the dangers of the Covid-19 vaccine and suggested that last Octoberâs hammer attack on Nancy Pelosiâs husband was a loverâs quarrel without any evidence whatsoever (despite his attackerâs steadfast admission soon after that he was there to âbreak her kneecapsâ if he caught her lying). Musk later apologized, sort of. He has, in his excruciatingly unfunny way, tried his hand at a kind of subâDennis Miller right-wing comedy: âMy pronouns,â he tweeted in December, âare Prosecute/Fauci.â Thisâa joke that is neither funny nor, for that matter, a jokeâis Muskâs specialty. He posts dozens like it a week.
posted by Artw at 12:18 PM on March 21, 2023 [17 favorites]
Musk has, during his brief stewardship of Twitter, happily acted as a customer service representative for a host of repellent, minor figures on the right, like Ian Miles Cheong, who has advocated for, among other things, mandatory execution for shoplifters, and a comrade of his, a conspiracy theorist who goes by the handle @catturd2. When Cheong and @catturd2 sensed their engagement drying up, they turned to Musk, who had someone look into it immediatelyâpresumably by ordering employees to find out why the tweets from a guy who didnât even have the foresight or wherewithal to register the handle @catturd, or, for that matter, @catturd1, were receiving fewer likes than usual.
He has, similarly, reinstated a host of banned right-wing accounts: most famously that of former President Donald Trump (who hilariously canât tweet due to an exclusive agreement with his own moribund social network, Truth Social), but also those of white nationalist Nick Fuentes (whose account was suspended less than 24 hours after it was restored), election denier Michael Flynn, and a raft of other kooks, nutcases, and hate-mongers. Twitter has, over the same period, suspended several accounts belonging to journalists and left-wingers, often for unspecified rule violations, including several who have posted critical reporting about Musk: The New York Timesâ Ryan Mac, The Washington Postâs Drew Harwell, and CNNâs Donie OâSullivan.
Muskâs rationale is not especially complicated. There was, for a brief time, the possibility that it was all kayfabe, a big act: Right-wingers were skeptical of Twitter, and Musk was just doing what was necessary to woo them back for the sake of expanding the site. Instead, itâs abundantly clear that Musk is simply a bog-standard right-wing trollâjust one with the keys to one of the worldâs largest social networks. He has stoked paranoia about the dangers of the Covid-19 vaccine and suggested that last Octoberâs hammer attack on Nancy Pelosiâs husband was a loverâs quarrel without any evidence whatsoever (despite his attackerâs steadfast admission soon after that he was there to âbreak her kneecapsâ if he caught her lying). Musk later apologized, sort of. He has, in his excruciatingly unfunny way, tried his hand at a kind of subâDennis Miller right-wing comedy: âMy pronouns,â he tweeted in December, âare Prosecute/Fauci.â Thisâa joke that is neither funny nor, for that matter, a jokeâis Muskâs specialty. He posts dozens like it a week.
posted by Artw at 12:18 PM on March 21, 2023 [17 favorites]
Here you have what was once a fun site turned literally to shit. At night I used to call it post-prandial Twitter. No more. I deleted my account a couple of months back.
posted by DJZouke at 12:23 PM on March 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by DJZouke at 12:23 PM on March 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
Nobody who is put money behind Elonâs buyout of Twitter did it because they thought he would restore free speech or increase its stock price. My guess as to their reasons is basically littlefingerâs âchaos is a ladderâ monologue from Game of Thrones
posted by Jon_Evil at 12:28 PM on March 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Jon_Evil at 12:28 PM on March 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
What is Elon Musk Building?
And now this just reminds me of Tom Waits' What's He Building In There?
And now this just reminds me of Tom Waits' What's He Building In There?
He has subscriptions to those magazinesposted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:32 PM on March 21, 2023 [29 favorites]
He never waves when he goes by
He's hiding something from the rest of us
He's all to himself, I think I know why
As a former reporter, I'm well aware that in journalism you're "supposed" to at least make a token attempt at getting "the other side's" opinion of the story, even if you know darn well you're going to get "Buckingham Palace has no comment"-type shit or get no response. But if he's set up an auto-poop-emoji? Fuck that. I want articles to finish an article on Elon's shenanigans with "At this point, we see no point in wasting anyone's time and asking Elon's opinion on this, since he got rid of the press team and has created an auto-poop-emoji."
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:34 PM on March 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:34 PM on March 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
On a ludicrous note, anyone know if Elon's been to Broadway recently?
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:39 PM on March 21, 2023
posted by jenfullmoon at 12:39 PM on March 21, 2023
Recently I had the misfortune of stumbling on to a TikTok style YouTube short featuring ol' Muskrat on Joe Rogan and learning yet something else idiotic.
Apparently the Starship design is more pointy instead of round specifically because of the movie The Dictator and he thought that part about making the ICBM more pointy and aggressive looking in particular was hilarious.
The pullquote was something like Rogan saying "Wait, is it better if it's pointy?" and Musk replying "No, it's arguably worse but I thought it was funny."
posted by loquacious at 12:42 PM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Apparently the Starship design is more pointy instead of round specifically because of the movie The Dictator and he thought that part about making the ICBM more pointy and aggressive looking in particular was hilarious.
The pullquote was something like Rogan saying "Wait, is it better if it's pointy?" and Musk replying "No, it's arguably worse but I thought it was funny."
posted by loquacious at 12:42 PM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Advertisers must be a real bunch of suckers to budget any of their ad spend on Twitter. Wow.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 1:00 PM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 1:00 PM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Although itâs just as immature, I kind of want to see the interview that goes like:
We asked Elon Musk to describe his management style and his press department responded:đ©
Etc.
posted by warriorqueen at 1:00 PM on March 21, 2023 [11 favorites]
We asked Elon Musk to describe his management style and his press department responded:đ©
Etc.
posted by warriorqueen at 1:00 PM on March 21, 2023 [11 favorites]
Advertisers must be a real bunch of suckers to budget any of their ad spend on Twitter. Wow.
Reading this, it occurs to me I haven't seen an in-line advertisement in my twitter timeline in ages. I wonder how he's making any money at all?
posted by hippybear at 1:05 PM on March 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Reading this, it occurs to me I haven't seen an in-line advertisement in my twitter timeline in ages. I wonder how he's making any money at all?
posted by hippybear at 1:05 PM on March 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
I wonder how he's making any money at all?
He loses money on every sale, but makes it up in volume!
posted by wenestvedt at 1:07 PM on March 21, 2023 [10 favorites]
He loses money on every sale, but makes it up in volume!
posted by wenestvedt at 1:07 PM on March 21, 2023 [10 favorites]
Musk acts like a malevolent child.
Even malevolent children act more mature than this POS.
posted by tommasz at 1:51 PM on March 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Even malevolent children act more mature than this POS.
posted by tommasz at 1:51 PM on March 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
My guess as to their reasons is basically...
..some idiot was willing to overpay by 2X-3X. That's it. If Elon didn't up his price just to make a drug/sex joke, Twitter would still be a public company.
posted by Back At It Again At Krispy Kreme at 2:09 PM on March 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
..some idiot was willing to overpay by 2X-3X. That's it. If Elon didn't up his price just to make a drug/sex joke, Twitter would still be a public company.
posted by Back At It Again At Krispy Kreme at 2:09 PM on March 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
BBC: How Elon Musk's tweets unleashed a wave of hate.
I had approached Elon Musk as part of my Panorama investigation, but he didn't respond.
Instead, he decided to share his reaction to it afterwards with more than 130 million followers on his social media site. His tweets then unleashed a torrent of abuse against me from other users. There have been hundreds of posts, many including misogynistic slurs and abusive language. There have also been threatening messages, including depictions of kidnap and hanging.
posted by dng at 2:15 PM on March 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
I had approached Elon Musk as part of my Panorama investigation, but he didn't respond.
Instead, he decided to share his reaction to it afterwards with more than 130 million followers on his social media site. His tweets then unleashed a torrent of abuse against me from other users. There have been hundreds of posts, many including misogynistic slurs and abusive language. There have also been threatening messages, including depictions of kidnap and hanging.
posted by dng at 2:15 PM on March 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
Well, at least some people are having fun with this poop emoji business.
posted by May Kasahara at 2:22 PM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by May Kasahara at 2:22 PM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
There was, for a brief time, the possibility that it was all kayfabe, a big act:
Why do we constantly give white rich guys like Elon and Trump this kind of credit? Did anyone think Kanye West's implosion was a big act?
posted by mmoncur at 2:40 PM on March 21, 2023 [19 favorites]
Why do we constantly give white rich guys like Elon and Trump this kind of credit? Did anyone think Kanye West's implosion was a big act?
posted by mmoncur at 2:40 PM on March 21, 2023 [19 favorites]
I would argue that this post basically serves as free advertising for Elon's personal brand and in the absence of a larger contextualizing link or the highlighting of some sort of action, we may be wise to avoid such posts.
posted by latkes at 2:48 PM on March 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by latkes at 2:48 PM on March 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
Can someone who owns stock in Twitter sue them for breach of fiduciary duty?
The shareholders overwhelmingly voted for the acquisition, because it was at an absurd premium to the market price.
posted by BungaDunga at 3:11 PM on March 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
The shareholders overwhelmingly voted for the acquisition, because it was at an absurd premium to the market price.
posted by BungaDunga at 3:11 PM on March 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Since there are still a ton of FPPs that are just Twitter threads, Iâll assume itâs ok for me to keep eating at Chik-Fil-A.
posted by caviar2d2 at 3:30 PM on March 21, 2023
posted by caviar2d2 at 3:30 PM on March 21, 2023
Hey, if you're still eating at it by now, it's clear what choices you've been making for years before this moment....
posted by hippybear at 3:35 PM on March 21, 2023 [15 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 3:35 PM on March 21, 2023 [15 favorites]
I'll add: While Elon's companies have relatively small communication teams, he does still have PR people. They are whisper-quiet and don't respond to external requests like most other groups would, but they still handle thorny issues and set strategy and so on. His "no PR people" schtick is just another bit of mythmaking that is done in concert with the PR people who push it.
Citation: I know those people IRL.
posted by matrixclown at 5:15 PM on March 21, 2023 [26 favorites]
Citation: I know those people IRL.
posted by matrixclown at 5:15 PM on March 21, 2023 [26 favorites]
Wow, fascinating. Do these not-quite-public relations people have any autonomy or mandate to plan ahead? Or is their job basically to clean up after Musk's nonsense or when a Tesla kills its passengers?
posted by Nelson at 5:57 PM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 5:57 PM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Did anyone think Kanye West's implosion was a big act?
I kinda did for the first year or so.
posted by aspersioncast at 6:15 PM on March 21, 2023 [8 favorites]
I kinda did for the first year or so.
posted by aspersioncast at 6:15 PM on March 21, 2023 [8 favorites]
Iâll assume itâs ok for me to keep eating at Chik-Fil-A.
Is that you, Kanye?
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 8:11 PM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Is that you, Kanye?
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 8:11 PM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Citation: I know those people IRL.
Tell them they are bad at their jobs.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 8:36 PM on March 21, 2023 [6 favorites]
Tell them they are bad at their jobs.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 8:36 PM on March 21, 2023 [6 favorites]
Did anyone think Kanye West's implosion was a big act?
I would like to invite you to visit this thread as some of the comments are in hindsight fucking hilarious.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 8:37 PM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
I would like to invite you to visit this thread as some of the comments are in hindsight fucking hilarious.
posted by Parasite Unseen at 8:37 PM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Musk once again demonstrating the inverse relationship between money and emotional maturity.
posted by Pouteria at 9:35 PM on March 21, 2023
posted by Pouteria at 9:35 PM on March 21, 2023
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world his PR department doesn't exist.
posted by biogeo at 9:41 PM on March 21, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by biogeo at 9:41 PM on March 21, 2023 [7 favorites]
I think people are getting confused between the pre-buyout Twitter shareholders and the peopleâand entitiesâthat helped musk put up the 44bn payment. These are âequity investorsâ which are different than people who used to own Twitterâs stocks.
The full list is here, but itâs right-wing billionaires, Binance, The Royal House of Saud, Qatar. All of whom could arguably benefit a lot from the further collapse of consensus reality regardless of how their revenue on this deal goes.
posted by Jon_Evil at 9:55 PM on March 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
The full list is here, but itâs right-wing billionaires, Binance, The Royal House of Saud, Qatar. All of whom could arguably benefit a lot from the further collapse of consensus reality regardless of how their revenue on this deal goes.
posted by Jon_Evil at 9:55 PM on March 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
Apparently per that old Kanye thread, I've been snarking on him since 2013. Not good to know?
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:17 PM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:17 PM on March 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Musk's Empire Could Put Him Beyond Government Reach - "Within the Biden administration, some top officials fear that between his business empire, his vast wealth and his political alliances Elon Musk is close to untouchable. They worry that because of Tesla's growing footprint in China and Musk's dependence on financing from the Middle East for his Twitter deal, he may be vulnerable to foreign manipulation."*
posted by kliuless at 12:56 AM on March 22, 2023
posted by kliuless at 12:56 AM on March 22, 2023
At this stage, I think the best thing for all concerned is a 100% embargo on Musk stories for at least a year. An Elonbargo.
Emuskulate the internet!
posted by JohnFromGR at 4:05 AM on March 22, 2023 [5 favorites]
Emuskulate the internet!
posted by JohnFromGR at 4:05 AM on March 22, 2023 [5 favorites]
My hope is that Elon's antics cause Tesla's to become a redneck car that anti-woke Trumpsters would get to spite the "system." In that case the end might justify the means. I've had my car for 4.5 half years now, and I would say that electric cars are 100x better in every way than combustion engine ones. However, there has been and continues to be reflective bias against them. Maybe Elon going Howard Hughes is the sacrifice to accelerate this switch.
posted by zeikka at 4:15 AM on March 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by zeikka at 4:15 AM on March 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
Small business owner down the street from me who was very vocal anti-shutdown, anti mask now has traded in his turbocharged German V8s for a pair of Teslas
posted by CostcoCultist at 6:34 AM on March 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by CostcoCultist at 6:34 AM on March 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
And Twitter has responded to the rise in antisemitism on the service by claiming that not every slur is hate speech.
Did someone change the definition of slur when I wasn't looking?
posted by NoxAeternum at 8:29 AM on March 22, 2023 [5 favorites]
Did someone change the definition of slur when I wasn't looking?
posted by NoxAeternum at 8:29 AM on March 22, 2023 [5 favorites]
I dunno. I stand up straight when someone calls me a faggot and claim the title proudly.
posted by hippybear at 7:50 PM on March 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 7:50 PM on March 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
Twitter blocked 122 accounts in India at the governmentâs request
posted by Artw at 11:22 AM on March 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 11:22 AM on March 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Twitter pushes hate speech, extremist content into âFor Youâ pages
posted by Artw at 7:34 AM on March 30, 2023
posted by Artw at 7:34 AM on March 30, 2023
Artw, I've checked the Wayback machine for an archive of those last two articles but it didn't have one; do you know where I could find one?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:53 AM on March 30, 2023
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:53 AM on March 30, 2023
a tip: add "archive.ph" to the start of an URL to pull up an archived version for a service with rather looser restrictions than archive.org
posted by sagc at 7:58 AM on March 30, 2023
posted by sagc at 7:58 AM on March 30, 2023
Twitter Adds âState-Affiliated Mediaâ Label To NPR Account Putting It On Par With Russia Today
posted by Artw at 10:57 AM on April 5, 2023
posted by Artw at 10:57 AM on April 5, 2023
And Musk removes a letter from the Twitter sign in a bad edgelord joke, giving up the sole W from his purchase.
posted by NoxAeternum at 4:44 PM on April 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by NoxAeternum at 4:44 PM on April 6, 2023 [1 favorite]
Man, how does he convince contractors to work for him (I assume he wasn't out there on a swing stage himself)? Are they getting paid in cash up front?
posted by Mitheral at 5:11 AM on April 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Mitheral at 5:11 AM on April 7, 2023 [1 favorite]
The Verge: Twitter is on the attack against Substack
Also, Matt Taibbi, fresh off of his stellar defense of his work on the Twitter Files, is leaving Twitter because he makes most of his money off of Substack these days.
Musk no longer follows Taibbi. Taibbi is the second Twitter Files writer to be unfollowed by catturd2's most avid follower.
posted by LostInUbe at 4:49 PM on April 7, 2023
Also, Matt Taibbi, fresh off of his stellar defense of his work on the Twitter Files, is leaving Twitter because he makes most of his money off of Substack these days.
Musk no longer follows Taibbi. Taibbi is the second Twitter Files writer to be unfollowed by catturd2's most avid follower.
posted by LostInUbe at 4:49 PM on April 7, 2023
I hadn't commented on the "Titter" sign because I assumed it was some unauthorized street art. No, it was the CEO man-child himself, Elon Musk Painted Over the âWâ on the Twitter Headquarters Sign, Which Now Reads âTitterâ. There's a tweet from Elon bragging about his joke and everything.
posted by Nelson at 6:54 AM on April 10, 2023
posted by Nelson at 6:54 AM on April 10, 2023
Twitter Circle tweets are not that private anymore
Reminder that no aspect of Twitter, including DMs, should be considered safe, secure or private and it should not be used for anything sensitive or that you wouldnât want shared with the absolute worst people and governments in the world.
posted by Artw at 9:41 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
Reminder that no aspect of Twitter, including DMs, should be considered safe, secure or private and it should not be used for anything sensitive or that you wouldnât want shared with the absolute worst people and governments in the world.
posted by Artw at 9:41 AM on April 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
And pour one out for Twitter the company, as it has been folded into Musk's latest version of X Corp.
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:59 PM on April 10, 2023
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:59 PM on April 10, 2023
Musk sets the deadline for legacy verification to 4/20, because he's a middle aged very divorced edgelord in love with the same stupid fucking joke that put him $44B in the hole.
Also, the new chief legal counsel of Twitter is a lawyer with four years of experience. Read into that what you will.
posted by NoxAeternum at 4:48 PM on April 11, 2023 [4 favorites]
Also, the new chief legal counsel of Twitter is a lawyer with four years of experience. Read into that what you will.
posted by NoxAeternum at 4:48 PM on April 11, 2023 [4 favorites]
NPR quits Twitter after being falsely labeled as 'state-affiliated media'
posted by Artw at 8:35 AM on April 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Artw at 8:35 AM on April 12, 2023 [3 favorites]
Nilay Patel of The Verge interviewed the head of Substack Notes, and the interview definitely went places:
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:38 PM on April 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
Wow. I mean, I just want to be clear, if somebody shows up on Substack and says âall brown people are animals and they shouldnât be allowed in America,â youâre going to censor that. Thatâs just flatly against your terms of service.That's just...yikes.
So, we do have a terms of service that have narrowly prescribed things that are not allowed.
That one Iâm pretty sure is just flatly against your terms of service. You would not allow that one. Thatâs why I picked it.
So there are extreme cases, and Iâm not going to get into theâ
Wait. Hold on. In America in 2023, that is not so extreme, right? âWe should not allow as many brown people in the country.â Not so extreme. Do you allow that on Substack? Would you allow that on Substack Notes?
I think the way that we think about this is we want to put the writers and the readers in chargeâ
No, I really want you to answer that question. Is that allowed on Substack Notes? âWe should not allow brown people in the country.â
Iâm not going to get into gotcha content moderation.
This is not a gotcha... Iâm a brown person. Do you think people on Substack should say I should get kicked out of the country?
Iâm not going to engage in content moderation, âWould you or wonât you this or that?â
That one is black and white, and I just want to be clear: Iâve talked to a lot of social network CEOs, and they would have no hesitation telling me that that was against their moderation rules.
Yeah. Weâre not going to get into specific âwould you or wonât youâ content moderation questions.
posted by NoxAeternum at 9:38 PM on April 13, 2023 [2 favorites]
NPR quits Twitter after being falsely labeled as 'state-affiliated media'The CBC / Société Radio-Canada has likewise removed themselves from the Twitter ecosystem for being labelled such.
posted by Clever User Name at 4:54 PM on April 17, 2023
And because the manchild can't help himself, he had to make a tasteless joke with the CBC's "labeling".
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:42 PM on April 17, 2023
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:42 PM on April 17, 2023
A Grand Unified Theory of Why Elon Musk Is So Unfunny. Remarkable in that it tries to take Musk's efforts at humor seriously.
posted by Nelson at 8:56 PM on April 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 8:56 PM on April 17, 2023 [2 favorites]
Twitter made it easier to harass transgender users
Ugh, that explains why I got told an account I reported wasn't breaking the rules, when it had a pinned tweet that was an image showing it had previously been suspended for deadnaming someone, and many more tweets attacking that same user.
posted by Pink Frost at 3:36 PM on April 18, 2023
Ugh, that explains why I got told an account I reported wasn't breaking the rules, when it had a pinned tweet that was an image showing it had previously been suspended for deadnaming someone, and many more tweets attacking that same user.
posted by Pink Frost at 3:36 PM on April 18, 2023
Alternately your complaint was ignored because only a robot reviewed it, or it was randomly ignored to prune the queue, or some untrained human reviewer actually looked at it and said "nah", or maybe just a bigoted reviewer who didn't like the policy decided not to enforce it.
Twitter's content moderation staff is so gutted that they are not practically functioning much anymore. This policy change sucks but Musk's decimation of policy capability is also very harmful.
posted by Nelson at 3:54 PM on April 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Twitter's content moderation staff is so gutted that they are not practically functioning much anymore. This policy change sucks but Musk's decimation of policy capability is also very harmful.
posted by Nelson at 3:54 PM on April 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Legacy checkmarks are now being pulled. Except that some accounts are finding that Elon is "paying for" their Twitter Blue account.
Which leads the the saddest story in two tweets.
posted by NoxAeternum at 5:55 PM on April 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Which leads the the saddest story in two tweets.
posted by NoxAeternum at 5:55 PM on April 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
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