When Your Ad Budget Supports Hate
November 22, 2023 12:47 PM Subscribe
As part of their investigative journalism on the social media platform once known as Twitter, Media Matters For America reported that ads were being served by the platform next to hateful, bigoted, antisemitic, and white supremacist content on the platform, resulting in advertisers such as IBM pulling their ads from the platform. Which led to the service filing a defamation lawsuit against MMFA over their reporting.
In the suit, the company asserts that MMFA's reporting is defamatory as the organization had used older accounts which they then used to "game" the platform's algorithms into serving ads against hateful content to create a "false image" of the "regular user experience". In response to that, users are performing searches on hate-focused hashtags and showing that ads are being served on them.
In the suit, the company asserts that MMFA's reporting is defamatory as the organization had used older accounts which they then used to "game" the platform's algorithms into serving ads against hateful content to create a "false image" of the "regular user experience". In response to that, users are performing searches on hate-focused hashtags and showing that ads are being served on them.
Hmmm I thought that guy was a "free speech absolutist"? Oh right, free speech for me, not for thee.
posted by phliar at 12:58 PM on November 22, 2023 [42 favorites]
posted by phliar at 12:58 PM on November 22, 2023 [42 favorites]
I guess there is the idea that if someone is searching for a hate speech hashtag, they should have zero ads served to them at all. That seems like a reasonable thing to have your engine do.
I do like how both Musk and the new CEO have both, in their responses to this situation basically said "yeah, we have nazi shit on twitter all the time, we just don't put ads next to it", as if the problem is the ad placement and not the existence of nazi shit on twitter. Admit the big bad to blow up the small bad.
posted by hippybear at 1:11 PM on November 22, 2023 [55 favorites]
I do like how both Musk and the new CEO have both, in their responses to this situation basically said "yeah, we have nazi shit on twitter all the time, we just don't put ads next to it", as if the problem is the ad placement and not the existence of nazi shit on twitter. Admit the big bad to blow up the small bad.
posted by hippybear at 1:11 PM on November 22, 2023 [55 favorites]
Oh, so the nazi posts are only shown to accounts older than 30 days? Is that what Musk is saying?
Does that mean that (1) X knows who the nazi are, and (2) slow-drips the nazis into your feed only after you get hooked to the platform?
posted by ryanrs at 1:17 PM on November 22, 2023 [27 favorites]
Does that mean that (1) X knows who the nazi are, and (2) slow-drips the nazis into your feed only after you get hooked to the platform?
posted by ryanrs at 1:17 PM on November 22, 2023 [27 favorites]
Ooooh if this gets to discovery then get the popcorn.
(Narrator: it will not get to discovery.)
posted by azpenguin at 1:19 PM on November 22, 2023 [24 favorites]
(Narrator: it will not get to discovery.)
posted by azpenguin at 1:19 PM on November 22, 2023 [24 favorites]
Discovery is just another word for finding out.
posted by ryanrs at 1:21 PM on November 22, 2023 [31 favorites]
posted by ryanrs at 1:21 PM on November 22, 2023 [31 favorites]
In legal terms, discovery means finding out with the full force of law behind you.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 1:22 PM on November 22, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 1:22 PM on November 22, 2023 [7 favorites]
Metafilter Favorite Ken White has had a bunch to say about this recently.
posted by Dr. Twist at 1:23 PM on November 22, 2023 [20 favorites]
posted by Dr. Twist at 1:23 PM on November 22, 2023 [20 favorites]
Hmmm I thought that guy was a "free speech absolutist"?
He has never suggested that defamation should be legal, and he sees defamation everywhere.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 1:26 PM on November 22, 2023
He has never suggested that defamation should be legal, and he sees defamation everywhere.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 1:26 PM on November 22, 2023
Hmmm I thought that guy was a "free speech absolutist"? Oh right, free speech for me, not for thee.
I'm SO SICK of Cowboy X. I feel almost Trumpian levels of loathing for him now.
posted by JHarris at 1:26 PM on November 22, 2023 [13 favorites]
I'm SO SICK of Cowboy X. I feel almost Trumpian levels of loathing for him now.
posted by JHarris at 1:26 PM on November 22, 2023 [13 favorites]
Every time with this guy, it's just the pettiest shit imaginable. Every single time.
A near trillionaire bottomless well of need paired with a near trillionaire gargantuan ego is not a good combination. Him going after Media Matters is something we can't say we did Nazi coming. Mars needs Elon. The sooner the better. We can do without.
posted by y2karl at 1:27 PM on November 22, 2023 [11 favorites]
A near trillionaire bottomless well of need paired with a near trillionaire gargantuan ego is not a good combination. Him going after Media Matters is something we can't say we did Nazi coming. Mars needs Elon. The sooner the better. We can do without.
posted by y2karl at 1:27 PM on November 22, 2023 [11 favorites]
He has never suggested that defamation should be legal
Defamation? Like calling someone a pedophile just because they disagree with your cockamamie scheme to use a submarine to rescue people trapped in a cave?
posted by TedW at 1:33 PM on November 22, 2023 [65 favorites]
Defamation? Like calling someone a pedophile just because they disagree with your cockamamie scheme to use a submarine to rescue people trapped in a cave?
posted by TedW at 1:33 PM on November 22, 2023 [65 favorites]
I'm SO SICK of Cowboy X. I feel almost Trumpian levels of loathing for him now.
The other day I saw someone refer to him as the AliExpress version of Iron Man and it had me hootin’ and hollerin’ with laughter. I think that should stick, in my opinion.
posted by azpenguin at 1:36 PM on November 22, 2023 [28 favorites]
The other day I saw someone refer to him as the AliExpress version of Iron Man and it had me hootin’ and hollerin’ with laughter. I think that should stick, in my opinion.
posted by azpenguin at 1:36 PM on November 22, 2023 [28 favorites]
Mars needs Elon. The sooner the better. That might be the only way to stop him from having more kids
posted by Dr. Twist at 1:37 PM on November 22, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Dr. Twist at 1:37 PM on November 22, 2023 [6 favorites]
Why the hell is Yaccarino still hanging out with this psychopathic stunted manchild
Sure, she’s smart, bleed him for all the cash you can, i can support that.
But still. She’s gotta have some particularly intense bang-head-against-desk moments.
The stories…
posted by armoir from antproof case at 2:19 PM on November 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
Sure, she’s smart, bleed him for all the cash you can, i can support that.
But still. She’s gotta have some particularly intense bang-head-against-desk moments.
The stories…
posted by armoir from antproof case at 2:19 PM on November 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
> Imagine sitting down at a smorgasboard with the full breath of the possible human experience laid out before you, and choosing ketamine and spite over and over again. Imagine being able to have anything, anything at all, and every time, picking "a tantrum".
One thing his money hasn't been able to buy yet is universal acclaim, respect and, most importantly, obedience. That's part of the reason why so many rich people are fascists; nobody can pay the entire world to kiss their ass, but forcing them to at gunpoint is the real dream anyway.
posted by The Card Cheat at 2:23 PM on November 22, 2023 [38 favorites]
One thing his money hasn't been able to buy yet is universal acclaim, respect and, most importantly, obedience. That's part of the reason why so many rich people are fascists; nobody can pay the entire world to kiss their ass, but forcing them to at gunpoint is the real dream anyway.
posted by The Card Cheat at 2:23 PM on November 22, 2023 [38 favorites]
Elon Musk pal Ken Paxton the corrupt, yet somehow still AG of Texas has also announced an official investigation of MMFA.
posted by interogative mood at 2:34 PM on November 22, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by interogative mood at 2:34 PM on November 22, 2023 [10 favorites]
Sure, she’s smart
Why do you say this? Like what has she done other than become a CEO which it appears any old dumbass can be.
posted by Uncle at 2:35 PM on November 22, 2023 [28 favorites]
Why do you say this? Like what has she done other than become a CEO which it appears any old dumbass can be.
posted by Uncle at 2:35 PM on November 22, 2023 [28 favorites]
"Never be petty." - Richard M. Nixon, impeached fewer times than Ken Paxton
posted by credulous at 2:38 PM on November 22, 2023 [15 favorites]
posted by credulous at 2:38 PM on November 22, 2023 [15 favorites]
Why is anyone treating X as having some relation to Twitter of old? If these companies won't advertise on Truth Social, why would they advertise on X?
posted by swift at 2:43 PM on November 22, 2023 [20 favorites]
posted by swift at 2:43 PM on November 22, 2023 [20 favorites]
Why the hell is Yaccarino still hanging out with this psychopathic stunted manchild
At this point, she's stuck. If she leaves, he and his weirdo fans will be attacking her even unto the end of the world. (I don't mean this with the slightest iota of sympathy; any non-idiot would have seen all of this coming.)
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 2:43 PM on November 22, 2023 [8 favorites]
At this point, she's stuck. If she leaves, he and his weirdo fans will be attacking her even unto the end of the world. (I don't mean this with the slightest iota of sympathy; any non-idiot would have seen all of this coming.)
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 2:43 PM on November 22, 2023 [8 favorites]
I guess there is the idea that if someone is searching for a hate speech hashtag, they should have zero ads served to them at all.
shit please don't have the simple user-end hack of removing ads from the user experience be "add hashtag whitegenocide to everything"
posted by FatherDagon at 2:53 PM on November 22, 2023 [14 favorites]
shit please don't have the simple user-end hack of removing ads from the user experience be "add hashtag whitegenocide to everything"
posted by FatherDagon at 2:53 PM on November 22, 2023 [14 favorites]
> psychopathic stunted manchild
I much prefer popehat's rendition: "personality disordered Boer" ... is calling him a Boer a slur?
posted by I-Write-Essays at 2:53 PM on November 22, 2023 [6 favorites]
I much prefer popehat's rendition: "personality disordered Boer" ... is calling him a Boer a slur?
posted by I-Write-Essays at 2:53 PM on November 22, 2023 [6 favorites]
Has no one ever heard of an ad blocker? I don’t engage with apps for platforms that I can engage with via a browser. I don’t think I’ve seen an ad on a website in I don’t know how many years.
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 2:54 PM on November 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 2:54 PM on November 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'm pretty sure the point isn't whether or not you, Conrad-Casserole, as an individual are seeing these ads. The point is that these companies don't want their brands to be associated with overt Nazi speech, and Twitter as a platform is doing nothing to prevent these ideas from being posted and spread.
Whether you are using an ad blocker or not, if you're reading the open algorithm of Twitter, you're encountering Nazi shit. That you're using an ad blocker just means you're getting to look at it for free to Twitter.
posted by hippybear at 2:59 PM on November 22, 2023 [33 favorites]
Whether you are using an ad blocker or not, if you're reading the open algorithm of Twitter, you're encountering Nazi shit. That you're using an ad blocker just means you're getting to look at it for free to Twitter.
posted by hippybear at 2:59 PM on November 22, 2023 [33 favorites]
I've heard that about half of people use an ad blocker, but regardless of the veracity of such a claim, telling the advertising companies "Don't worry, no one is going to see your ads next to the nazis because they're blocking all ads anyway" isn't going to go over well.
posted by I-Write-Essays at 2:59 PM on November 22, 2023 [25 favorites]
posted by I-Write-Essays at 2:59 PM on November 22, 2023 [25 favorites]
As for nicknames, Apartheid Clyde seems to be stickiest presently.
posted by nofundy at 3:05 PM on November 22, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by nofundy at 3:05 PM on November 22, 2023 [10 favorites]
Sure, the old "they manipulated my own site which has Nazis on it to also show ads" defense.
posted by airing nerdy laundry at 3:06 PM on November 22, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by airing nerdy laundry at 3:06 PM on November 22, 2023 [7 favorites]
Sure, she’s smart
Why do you say this?
Is there an Overton Window for intelligence? I kind of feel like there should be. Like, Elon is the sort of guy that if he was a line cook you'd be like, "yeah he's pretty smart... if he just knocked off the coke as saw a shrink he could make something of himself."
But in terms of the pantheon of engineering or business? Nah.
I mentioned on a certain other site that Elon isn't a real engineer and about a thousand people angrily linked me to a list of testimonials to Elon's engineering genius by engineers presumably in his employ. Almost all of them boiled down to, "he read a high school textbook on physics and understands when I explain things to him" or "he's not afraid to get his fancy Italian shoes dirty."
Which, well... call me unconvinced. At this point his companies are essentially an Ourobourian pump-and-dump circle-jerk sustained by government subsidies, regulatory malfeasance and the delusional optimism of the market, a diminishing number of successes notwithstanding.
posted by klanawa at 3:08 PM on November 22, 2023 [34 favorites]
Why do you say this?
Is there an Overton Window for intelligence? I kind of feel like there should be. Like, Elon is the sort of guy that if he was a line cook you'd be like, "yeah he's pretty smart... if he just knocked off the coke as saw a shrink he could make something of himself."
But in terms of the pantheon of engineering or business? Nah.
I mentioned on a certain other site that Elon isn't a real engineer and about a thousand people angrily linked me to a list of testimonials to Elon's engineering genius by engineers presumably in his employ. Almost all of them boiled down to, "he read a high school textbook on physics and understands when I explain things to him" or "he's not afraid to get his fancy Italian shoes dirty."
Which, well... call me unconvinced. At this point his companies are essentially an Ourobourian pump-and-dump circle-jerk sustained by government subsidies, regulatory malfeasance and the delusional optimism of the market, a diminishing number of successes notwithstanding.
posted by klanawa at 3:08 PM on November 22, 2023 [34 favorites]
Is D leadership finally catching on that they should be opposing rather than embracing Musk?
Chuck Schumer was still hosting events with Musk just two months ago.
posted by airing nerdy laundry at 3:12 PM on November 22, 2023 [7 favorites]
Chuck Schumer was still hosting events with Musk just two months ago.
posted by airing nerdy laundry at 3:12 PM on November 22, 2023 [7 favorites]
Elon did actual coding and software design back in the early days of his career which are... um... 30 years behind him at this point? He's been an executive for a very long time, and while I don't doubt he could knock out one of those weekend coding project challenges, I am quite quite certain that the complexity of anything even have the scale of Twitter and what it requires [ed note: required] to keep running is entirely beyond anything he is willing to put the time and patience into learning.
I don't know if you know the podcast Behind The Bastards or not. They do pretty lengthy biographic profiles of horrible people. Here are the Two [1h10m] Episodes [1h31m] about Musk entitled I Do Not Like Elon Musk Very Much, which are from a few of years ago but are still a pretty deep dive into Musk. Their style involves a lot of insulting and taking down of the subject, so it isn't an awful listen even if the subject is horrible.
The detail of his life that sticks with me is that it seems that he watched his father kill someone while living in South Africa. That has to fuck you up.
posted by hippybear at 3:15 PM on November 22, 2023 [15 favorites]
I don't know if you know the podcast Behind The Bastards or not. They do pretty lengthy biographic profiles of horrible people. Here are the Two [1h10m] Episodes [1h31m] about Musk entitled I Do Not Like Elon Musk Very Much, which are from a few of years ago but are still a pretty deep dive into Musk. Their style involves a lot of insulting and taking down of the subject, so it isn't an awful listen even if the subject is horrible.
The detail of his life that sticks with me is that it seems that he watched his father kill someone while living in South Africa. That has to fuck you up.
posted by hippybear at 3:15 PM on November 22, 2023 [15 favorites]
Mars needs Elon. The sooner the better.And end the Great RElonplacement theory, I should hope.
That might be the only way to stop him from having more kids
posted by y2karl at 3:16 PM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
This all happened the week Elon personally amplified a white supremacist, anti-Semitic tweet.
The hate field is so strong that even Paris Hilton's media company's moral compass is pointing to the exit.
posted by Nelson at 3:20 PM on November 22, 2023 [10 favorites]
The hate field is so strong that even Paris Hilton's media company's moral compass is pointing to the exit.
posted by Nelson at 3:20 PM on November 22, 2023 [10 favorites]
No one, absolutely NO ONE, should still be on Twitter.
If you can't quit because you must must MUST see certain tweets, at least have the basic human decency to use nitter.net.
posted by senor biggles at 3:49 PM on November 22, 2023 [36 favorites]
If you can't quit because you must must MUST see certain tweets, at least have the basic human decency to use nitter.net.
posted by senor biggles at 3:49 PM on November 22, 2023 [36 favorites]
Just want to add this incident to evidence list for Wilhoit's Law: “Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition …There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”
posted by zardoz at 3:51 PM on November 22, 2023 [19 favorites]
posted by zardoz at 3:51 PM on November 22, 2023 [19 favorites]
Mars needs Elon. The sooner the better. We can do without.
I'll insert a For All Mankind joke here: stick him in the North Korean capsule area with Danny.
testimonials to Elon's engineering genius by engineers presumably in his employ. Almost all of them boiled down to, "he read a high school textbook on physics and understands when I explain things to him"
I still think his so-called "physics" degree is probably some kind of fake. I know you categorically cannot argue with "the registrar said so," but seriously, no actual diploma should look like that. Also there's enough fishy shit he said here that makes me wonder, because it doesn't sound like legit degree processing issues at all.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:54 PM on November 22, 2023 [7 favorites]
I'll insert a For All Mankind joke here: stick him in the North Korean capsule area with Danny.
testimonials to Elon's engineering genius by engineers presumably in his employ. Almost all of them boiled down to, "he read a high school textbook on physics and understands when I explain things to him"
I still think his so-called "physics" degree is probably some kind of fake. I know you categorically cannot argue with "the registrar said so," but seriously, no actual diploma should look like that. Also there's enough fishy shit he said here that makes me wonder, because it doesn't sound like legit degree processing issues at all.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:54 PM on November 22, 2023 [7 favorites]
He has never suggested that defamation should be legal, and he sees defamation everywhere.
Techdirt: Congrats To Elon Musk: I Didn’t Think You Had It In You To File A Lawsuit This Stupid. But, You Crazy Bastard, You Did It!
Techdirt: Congrats To Elon Musk: I Didn’t Think You Had It In You To File A Lawsuit This Stupid. But, You Crazy Bastard, You Did It!
If it was actually defamatory, Musk would have sued for defamation. The problem was that it was not. So calling it defamatory and not alleging defamation in the claims kinda makes it clear that they’re really just suing because Musk is mad about the article.posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 4:13 PM on November 22, 2023 [25 favorites]
Honestly, it reads like the poor lawyer who had to do this rush job thought he was filing a defamation claim, and so added in a few claims of defamation, then a more senior lawyer realized before filing that there’s no fucking way any of this is even remotely defamation, but no one bothered to take out the language about defamation.
Mars needs Elon. The sooner the better. We can do without.
I would personally contribute to paying for his one-way ticket there.
posted by Dip Flash at 4:14 PM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
I would personally contribute to paying for his one-way ticket there.
posted by Dip Flash at 4:14 PM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
the service filing a defamation lawsuit against MMFA over their reporting
what a Wilde move.
They styled the claim "Business Disparagement." Here's a random law office blog on the technical differences.
It's probably reasonably correct to think of 'business disparagement' as a version of defamation with the elements tweaked for commercial purposes.
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:24 PM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
what a Wilde move.
They styled the claim "Business Disparagement." Here's a random law office blog on the technical differences.
It's probably reasonably correct to think of 'business disparagement' as a version of defamation with the elements tweaked for commercial purposes.
posted by snuffleupagus at 4:24 PM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
I would personally contribute to paying for his one-way ticket there.'
If you live in the US and are a normal person, I promise you that the amount of taxes you are paying vs the amount of taxes he is paying vs the amount of tax dollars he is receiving from various government contracts GUARANTEES that you are doing exactly that.
posted by hippybear at 4:33 PM on November 22, 2023 [28 favorites]
If you live in the US and are a normal person, I promise you that the amount of taxes you are paying vs the amount of taxes he is paying vs the amount of tax dollars he is receiving from various government contracts GUARANTEES that you are doing exactly that.
posted by hippybear at 4:33 PM on November 22, 2023 [28 favorites]
is calling him a Boer a slur?
When I lived in The Netherlands, boer was a pretty common insult, meaning "simple farmers, people of the land, the common clay."
You know, morons.
posted by swift at 4:39 PM on November 22, 2023 [44 favorites]
When I lived in The Netherlands, boer was a pretty common insult, meaning "simple farmers, people of the land, the common clay."
You know, morons.
posted by swift at 4:39 PM on November 22, 2023 [44 favorites]
Someone went to law school and paid thousands of dollars in tuition to order to be able to file this, one of the most useless filings in US history. Great job.
Just once I would like one of these rich assholes to see some actual consequences for their actions. There are candidates but I need one to actually land.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 4:39 PM on November 22, 2023 [15 favorites]
Just once I would like one of these rich assholes to see some actual consequences for their actions. There are candidates but I need one to actually land.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 4:39 PM on November 22, 2023 [15 favorites]
Elon did actual coding and software design back in the early days of his career which...
...were so bad they had to rebuild from scratch after the acquisition. This and the degree thing follow a pattern that he's been in since high school. Just keep 'em believing until the cheques are signed and don't look back. He's a confidence man.
posted by klanawa at 4:40 PM on November 22, 2023 [22 favorites]
...were so bad they had to rebuild from scratch after the acquisition. This and the degree thing follow a pattern that he's been in since high school. Just keep 'em believing until the cheques are signed and don't look back. He's a confidence man.
posted by klanawa at 4:40 PM on November 22, 2023 [22 favorites]
It's probably reasonably correct to think of 'business disparagement' as a version of defamation with the elements tweaked for commercial purposes.
Which still runs into the same issue - where did MMFA lie? Everything in their reporting shows to be true, and Musk has admitted as such In the fucking filing. Which is why it's not his usual white shoe firms filing this, because they a) know better and b) can tell him to fuck off.
posted by NoxAeternum at 4:58 PM on November 22, 2023 [15 favorites]
Which still runs into the same issue - where did MMFA lie? Everything in their reporting shows to be true, and Musk has admitted as such In the fucking filing. Which is why it's not his usual white shoe firms filing this, because they a) know better and b) can tell him to fuck off.
posted by NoxAeternum at 4:58 PM on November 22, 2023 [15 favorites]
I am an Elon book truther in that I believe Elon has never read a book and when he claims to have done so it’s a lie based on him getting a half assed summary from him or a reading a meme or something.
posted by Artw at 5:02 PM on November 22, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by Artw at 5:02 PM on November 22, 2023 [6 favorites]
> "simple farmers, people of the land, the common clay."
Okay, now I understand what it really means when someone says he doesn't "identify as a boer."
posted by I-Write-Essays at 5:05 PM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
Okay, now I understand what it really means when someone says he doesn't "identify as a boer."
posted by I-Write-Essays at 5:05 PM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
Which still runs into the same issue - where did MMFA lie?
Indeed, that would be the Wilde part. Including inviting discovery of their internal comms around these issues.
Texas also has an Anti-SLAPP statute, but I'm not sure what the standing requirements are. They may not be as generous as California's when it comes to the scope of 'public participation.'
posted by snuffleupagus at 5:10 PM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
Indeed, that would be the Wilde part. Including inviting discovery of their internal comms around these issues.
Texas also has an Anti-SLAPP statute, but I'm not sure what the standing requirements are. They may not be as generous as California's when it comes to the scope of 'public participation.'
posted by snuffleupagus at 5:10 PM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
I still think his so-called "physics" degree is probably some kind of fake.It sounds to me like he legit earned the Wharton degree, did all the coursework for the Physics major, and couldn't graduate with a Physics degree because he hadn't done some general education classes that were required for the College of Arts and Sciences but not for Wharton. And then something happened, which I would guess was that someone was told that it would be in their best interest to keep this rich kid and his big-bucks-having parents happy, so maybe some general education requirements got quietly waived. He says that the requirements changed between 1995, when he should have graduated, and 1997, when the diploma was issued, but apparently there weren't any relevant changes in requirements. So maybe they changed for him and not for anyone else.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 5:10 PM on November 22, 2023 [13 favorites]
because he hadn't done some general education classes that were required for the College of Arts and Sciences but not for Wharton
God i knew so many whartonites like this. Assholes, to the man. Just can’t be arsed to think the rules apply to them and were happier being smug about “yeah, i would have been double majored BUT….” (a lot in engineering with me unfortunately).
posted by supercres at 5:18 PM on November 22, 2023 [13 favorites]
God i knew so many whartonites like this. Assholes, to the man. Just can’t be arsed to think the rules apply to them and were happier being smug about “yeah, i would have been double majored BUT….” (a lot in engineering with me unfortunately).
posted by supercres at 5:18 PM on November 22, 2023 [13 favorites]
The detail of his life that sticks with me [from Behind the Bastards] is that it seems that he watched his father kill someone while living in South Africa. That has to fuck you up.
The detail I remembered is the story of a young Elon outright walking into a New York department store and directly selling them an emerald. I'm still now sure I remember it right, it seems like too crazy a thing as to be possible, but that's what I remember them saying.
posted by JHarris at 5:29 PM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
The detail I remembered is the story of a young Elon outright walking into a New York department store and directly selling them an emerald. I'm still now sure I remember it right, it seems like too crazy a thing as to be possible, but that's what I remember them saying.
posted by JHarris at 5:29 PM on November 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
Human, what is this Streisand effect you speak of?
posted by BrotherCaine at 6:19 PM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by BrotherCaine at 6:19 PM on November 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
I am an Elon book truther in that I believe Elon has never read a book and when he claims to have done so it’s a lie based on him getting a half assed summary from him or a reading a meme or something.
The Elon Musk Idiot's Guide for Dummies [World Omnibus Edition] ¡Ask Him Anything!
**** Offer Void Where Exhibited ****
posted by y2karl at 6:38 PM on November 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
The Elon Musk Idiot's Guide for Dummies [World Omnibus Edition] ¡Ask Him Anything!
**** Offer Void Where Exhibited ****
posted by y2karl at 6:38 PM on November 22, 2023 [4 favorites]
Texas also has an Anti-SLAPP statute, but I'm not sure what the standing requirements are.
From the Techdirt article I linked above:
From the Techdirt article I linked above:
Of course, we all know the real reason it was filed in a Texas federal court. While Texas has a pretty good anti-SLAPP law, the 5th Circuit had deemed that you can’t use it in federal court. If the lawsuit had been filed in the 9th Circuit, where exTwitter is, then California’s (or Nevada’s) anti-SLAPP law would apply.posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 7:01 PM on November 22, 2023 [7 favorites]
Why the hell is Yaccarino still hanging out with this psychopathic stunted manchildHer interest is probably not strictly monetary:
Sure, she’s smart, bleed him for all the cash you can, i can support that.
But still. She’s gotta have some particularly intense bang-head-against-desk moments.
The likely new Twitter CEO follows just some 1,161 accounts; among them are rabid far-right conspiracy theorists and stochastic terrorists, including Chaya Raichik, Jack Posobiec, Sidney Powell, Catturd, Ron DeSantis, and Michael Shellenberger.posted by adamsc at 7:08 PM on November 22, 2023 [27 favorites]
Is calling him a Boer a slur?
...
When I lived in The Netherlands, boer was a pretty common insult, meaning "simple farmers, people of the land, the common clay."
You know, morons.
...
Okay, now I understand what it really means when someone says he doesn't "identify as a boer."
In South Africa, "boer" (when used as an insult, and not just the word for farmer) means either a racist, white male Afrikaner, or a cop.
Afrikaner as distinct from Afrikaans. Meaning not just a person (like me) who speaks Afrikaans as their first language, but a person who believes in a particular flavour of white supremacy called Afrikaner Nationalism.
I don't think Elon is a boertjie, although apparently he attended Pretoria high school so presumably can speak Afrikaans?
I think he's probably a bog-standard English South African white suprematist. Eats a koeksister when he wants to connect to his roots but otherwise knows fokkol about South Africa.
posted by Zumbador at 7:23 PM on November 22, 2023 [65 favorites]
...
When I lived in The Netherlands, boer was a pretty common insult, meaning "simple farmers, people of the land, the common clay."
You know, morons.
...
Okay, now I understand what it really means when someone says he doesn't "identify as a boer."
In South Africa, "boer" (when used as an insult, and not just the word for farmer) means either a racist, white male Afrikaner, or a cop.
Afrikaner as distinct from Afrikaans. Meaning not just a person (like me) who speaks Afrikaans as their first language, but a person who believes in a particular flavour of white supremacy called Afrikaner Nationalism.
I don't think Elon is a boertjie, although apparently he attended Pretoria high school so presumably can speak Afrikaans?
I think he's probably a bog-standard English South African white suprematist. Eats a koeksister when he wants to connect to his roots but otherwise knows fokkol about South Africa.
posted by Zumbador at 7:23 PM on November 22, 2023 [65 favorites]
What's ridiculous about his apparent inability to stop ads from appearing next to hate speech tweets is that YouTube will completely demonetize a 1 hour long video for using the word "fuck" once, and that's not even in text! That's doing speech recognition! What Elon is being asked to do is SO MUCH EASIER THAN THAT.
posted by hippybear at 7:38 PM on November 22, 2023 [15 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 7:38 PM on November 22, 2023 [15 favorites]
But Elon doesn't want to do that.
posted by ryanrs at 8:24 PM on November 22, 2023 [13 favorites]
posted by ryanrs at 8:24 PM on November 22, 2023 [13 favorites]
On the Boer question, South Africans of English descent distinguish themselves from the Boers, South Africans of Dutch descent. I don't know that Musk would identify with the Boers. English South Africans subtly claim the moral high ground by insinuating that apartheid was forged by the Boers rather than the English. I would like to hear from Black, Indian and Malay South Africans about whether they agree with this distinction drawn by the English South Africans.
posted by SnowRottie at 8:29 PM on November 22, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by SnowRottie at 8:29 PM on November 22, 2023 [6 favorites]
Boer/Boar/Bore...
Are any of them appealing?
Also, just a sidenote not a derail, but the Dutch have gone back to being right wingers after this last election.
posted by hippybear at 8:32 PM on November 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
Are any of them appealing?
Also, just a sidenote not a derail, but the Dutch have gone back to being right wingers after this last election.
posted by hippybear at 8:32 PM on November 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
Don’t forget boor!
posted by eviemath at 9:32 PM on November 22, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by eviemath at 9:32 PM on November 22, 2023 [8 favorites]
And then something happened, which I would guess was that someone was told that it would be in their best interest to keep this rich kid and his big-bucks-having parents happy, so maybe some general education requirements got quietly waived. He says that the requirements changed between 1995, when he should have graduated, and 1997, when the diploma was issued, but apparently there weren't any relevant changes in requirements. So maybe they changed for him and not for anyone else.
Sounds about right. I can't speak for Prestige Colleges With Rich Students or Penn specifically, but my general knowledge of college requirements (I have never been an advisor but I've certainly talked to a lot of 'em) is that (a) students are held to the requirements that were set in the year that they first started college and (b) that generally isn't a thing that would change that you follow a later catalog year--usually because requirements get harder as time goes on, not easier. For example, my alma mater had ridiculously easy "math" requirements at the time that I graduated under, but since then they have made it much more math-y.
This especially does come up with anybody who, y'know, forgot to file to graduate, walked in the ceremony and got their pretty pictures taken, and then went "oops" about it when they were forced to prove their graduation and suddenly can't. Elon claiming he finished in 1995 and actually finishing in 1997 is actually pretty typical oblivious college behavior so that didn't surprise me (albeit the US government is pretty stickler-y about international students and degrees, so why didn't that bite him in the butt?), but surprise shifting college requirements made me go O RLY? My alma mater is pretty stickler-y for holding people to the requirements and you have to have huge special arrangements made if they let you out of one, which usually boils down to "oops, someone misadvised the student" and that's about the only way to get around it, if it's proven to be not the student's fault. But just letting him have it? Ugh.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:58 PM on November 22, 2023 [6 favorites]
Sounds about right. I can't speak for Prestige Colleges With Rich Students or Penn specifically, but my general knowledge of college requirements (I have never been an advisor but I've certainly talked to a lot of 'em) is that (a) students are held to the requirements that were set in the year that they first started college and (b) that generally isn't a thing that would change that you follow a later catalog year--usually because requirements get harder as time goes on, not easier. For example, my alma mater had ridiculously easy "math" requirements at the time that I graduated under, but since then they have made it much more math-y.
This especially does come up with anybody who, y'know, forgot to file to graduate, walked in the ceremony and got their pretty pictures taken, and then went "oops" about it when they were forced to prove their graduation and suddenly can't. Elon claiming he finished in 1995 and actually finishing in 1997 is actually pretty typical oblivious college behavior so that didn't surprise me (albeit the US government is pretty stickler-y about international students and degrees, so why didn't that bite him in the butt?), but surprise shifting college requirements made me go O RLY? My alma mater is pretty stickler-y for holding people to the requirements and you have to have huge special arrangements made if they let you out of one, which usually boils down to "oops, someone misadvised the student" and that's about the only way to get around it, if it's proven to be not the student's fault. But just letting him have it? Ugh.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:58 PM on November 22, 2023 [6 favorites]
I remember Reddit started "quarantining" hate subreddits a few years back, which meant that if you were in those subreddits, you didn't see ads. Which, of course, meant you had an improved user experience compared to the rest of the site.
posted by one for the books at 10:08 PM on November 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by one for the books at 10:08 PM on November 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
Boer on the floer.
posted by jontyjago at 11:58 PM on November 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by jontyjago at 11:58 PM on November 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
What I don't understand is why people keep willingly working with and for this second-rate Bezos.
posted by Dysk at 1:05 AM on November 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Dysk at 1:05 AM on November 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
> (a) students are held to the requirements that were set in the year that they first started college and (b) that generally isn't a thing that would change that you follow a later catalog year--usually because requirements get harder as time goes on, not easier
Yeah, I came in to say this.
As a rule you can choose to follow the later requirements if you like. BUT if you follow the new requirements, you have to follow ALL OF THEM not just the single cherrypicked one that makes life easier for you.
Usually this is just not realistically possible because they never just remove one little class or whatever. They shift a bunch of requirements around, rename and combine things, etc etc etc and so switching over to the new requirements would mean re-doing a whole bunch of your degree.
I will mention that I was personally involved in a situation where degree requirements were simplified quite dramatically, and current students were given a choice of proceeding according to the old requirements or the new, simpler ones (covered in great detail in my usual 20,000-word comment style here). But that was a graduate program and really a quite different situation.
Nevertheless, I suppose such a thing is just barely possible. But it would be really be quite odd for an undergraduate degree program, in the way described. It's far more likely a bit of Le droit du plus riche as suspected by others above.
posted by flug at 1:39 AM on November 23, 2023 [5 favorites]
Yeah, I came in to say this.
As a rule you can choose to follow the later requirements if you like. BUT if you follow the new requirements, you have to follow ALL OF THEM not just the single cherrypicked one that makes life easier for you.
Usually this is just not realistically possible because they never just remove one little class or whatever. They shift a bunch of requirements around, rename and combine things, etc etc etc and so switching over to the new requirements would mean re-doing a whole bunch of your degree.
I will mention that I was personally involved in a situation where degree requirements were simplified quite dramatically, and current students were given a choice of proceeding according to the old requirements or the new, simpler ones (covered in great detail in my usual 20,000-word comment style here). But that was a graduate program and really a quite different situation.
Nevertheless, I suppose such a thing is just barely possible. But it would be really be quite odd for an undergraduate degree program, in the way described. It's far more likely a bit of Le droit du plus riche as suspected by others above.
posted by flug at 1:39 AM on November 23, 2023 [5 favorites]
Kathryn Tewson's summary of the whole situation, in the ultra-simplified English style of XKCD's Up Goer Five, is hilarious and well worth a read (Nitter link).
posted by flug at 1:42 AM on November 23, 2023 [29 favorites]
posted by flug at 1:42 AM on November 23, 2023 [29 favorites]
Twitter/ X - that joint is a fucking nazi bar. Back in March I didn't think it wasn't, that it was just a town with a nazi bar (that you could avoid) but now it's pretty clear the mayor and board of supervisors are all nazis. And fuck nazis.
posted by From Bklyn at 3:08 AM on November 23, 2023 [12 favorites]
posted by From Bklyn at 3:08 AM on November 23, 2023 [12 favorites]
Kathryn Tewson's summary of the whole situation, in the ultra-simplified English style of XKCD's Up Goer Five, is hilarious and well worth a read (Nitter link).
That nitter thread caused me to aspirate my drink multiple times. Fantastic!
posted by Literaryhero at 3:53 AM on November 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
That nitter thread caused me to aspirate my drink multiple times. Fantastic!
posted by Literaryhero at 3:53 AM on November 23, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'd update the moniker to "NaziBar formerly known as X formerly known as Twitter".
posted by signal at 4:42 AM on November 23, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by signal at 4:42 AM on November 23, 2023 [5 favorites]
Wilhoit's Law: “Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition …There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”
Adam Conover and Corey Robin fleshing this principle out a little
posted by flabdablet at 4:49 AM on November 23, 2023 [5 favorites]
Adam Conover and Corey Robin fleshing this principle out a little
posted by flabdablet at 4:49 AM on November 23, 2023 [5 favorites]
I’ve heard that Musk has an aide whose job is solely to translate large English words into Afrikaans for him.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 5:21 AM on November 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 5:21 AM on November 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
I wasn't on Twitter for very long, maybe only a year or so before the Elon happened. But every now and then since I'll remember something I really enjoyed and I feel sad.
Like, I followed an author I loved, Tananarive Due, who is not very well known outside of Black horror lit, and from her posts I'd learn about awesome books I wouldn't otherwise come across. I also really enjoyed following the author Brandon Taylor, who seemed such a sweet guy and was obsessed with knit sweaters and beautiful fountain pens.
Or the Cocaine Decor person who only posted about once every two months but would write these amazing essay-length analyzes of 1980s aesthetics, which I was learning so much from. And the woman who rated the historical accuracy of Jane Austen TV/Movie adaptations based on how well they measured up to the accuracy of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (apparently the most perfectly accurate depiction ever shown).
And then there was the Weird Medieval Guys account.
I think of all the random little nuggets of knowledge and joy I got from these lovely strangers sharing their stuff for free, and how beautiful that was. And that must have been the case for millions of other people all around the world.
And then I remember that one fucking bastard dickhead took all that away from all of us.
FUCK that guy! Fucking vandalism!
posted by EllaEm at 6:33 AM on November 23, 2023 [63 favorites]
Like, I followed an author I loved, Tananarive Due, who is not very well known outside of Black horror lit, and from her posts I'd learn about awesome books I wouldn't otherwise come across. I also really enjoyed following the author Brandon Taylor, who seemed such a sweet guy and was obsessed with knit sweaters and beautiful fountain pens.
Or the Cocaine Decor person who only posted about once every two months but would write these amazing essay-length analyzes of 1980s aesthetics, which I was learning so much from. And the woman who rated the historical accuracy of Jane Austen TV/Movie adaptations based on how well they measured up to the accuracy of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (apparently the most perfectly accurate depiction ever shown).
And then there was the Weird Medieval Guys account.
I think of all the random little nuggets of knowledge and joy I got from these lovely strangers sharing their stuff for free, and how beautiful that was. And that must have been the case for millions of other people all around the world.
And then I remember that one fucking bastard dickhead took all that away from all of us.
FUCK that guy! Fucking vandalism!
posted by EllaEm at 6:33 AM on November 23, 2023 [63 favorites]
(EllaEm, I just realized today that Tananarive Due is on bsky! Not sure whether Brandon Taylor is moving there yet, I haven't seen him thus far, but I keep looking!)
posted by mittens at 6:50 AM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by mittens at 6:50 AM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
I also really enjoyed following the author Brandon Taylor, who seemed such a sweet guy and was obsessed with knit sweaters and beautiful fountain pens...Tananarive Due is on bsky! Not sure whether Brandon Taylor is moving there yet...Brandon Taylor has a substack called sweater weather.
posted by RichardP at 7:06 AM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
Don’t forget boor!
I think we can all agree that Musk is a boor. Probably also a bore. I am starting to see where the whole Boer confusion stems from.
I’ve heard that Musk has an aide whose job is solely to translate large English words into Afrikaans for him.
You’d think he could get a bespoke program to do this for him. Opgangef Vyf, we could call it.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:32 AM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
I think we can all agree that Musk is a boor. Probably also a bore. I am starting to see where the whole Boer confusion stems from.
I’ve heard that Musk has an aide whose job is solely to translate large English words into Afrikaans for him.
You’d think he could get a bespoke program to do this for him. Opgangef Vyf, we could call it.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:32 AM on November 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'm just pissed Elon paid $44B so he'd get sycophantic comments that make him feel like somebody actually loves him.
I'd have written him a python script to do the same for half of that.
posted by signal at 7:58 AM on November 23, 2023 [20 favorites]
I'd have written him a python script to do the same for half of that.
posted by signal at 7:58 AM on November 23, 2023 [20 favorites]
God i knew so many whartonites like this. Assholes, to the man. Just can’t be arsed to think the rules apply to them and were happier being smug about “yeah, i would have been double majored BUT….” (a lot in engineering with me unfortunately).
One semester I had a temporarily embarassed whartonite in my physics lab group at a second-tier state university campus. He had a hyphenated last name, gave his @wharton.upenn.edu email address as contact information, never attended any lectures or labs, and only showed up at our group's study sessions to complain about the terrible work we were doing.
I have no idea why he was taking classes at my backwater campus, but I'm pretty sure I'd feel schadenfreude if I did. After I brought it to the professor's attention that the guy wasn't actually attending any classes, I never saw him again. Just before the semester ended, emails to his wharton address started bouncing, so I can only hope he became more permanently embarrassed, though I wouldn't be surprised if he landed in a nice cushy c-suite somewhere.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 8:27 AM on November 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
One semester I had a temporarily embarassed whartonite in my physics lab group at a second-tier state university campus. He had a hyphenated last name, gave his @wharton.upenn.edu email address as contact information, never attended any lectures or labs, and only showed up at our group's study sessions to complain about the terrible work we were doing.
I have no idea why he was taking classes at my backwater campus, but I'm pretty sure I'd feel schadenfreude if I did. After I brought it to the professor's attention that the guy wasn't actually attending any classes, I never saw him again. Just before the semester ended, emails to his wharton address started bouncing, so I can only hope he became more permanently embarrassed, though I wouldn't be surprised if he landed in a nice cushy c-suite somewhere.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 8:27 AM on November 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
I'm just pissed Elon paid $44B so he'd get sycophantic comments that make him feel like somebody actually loves him.
I'd have written him a python script to do the same for half of that.
I feel like odds are very good that there are people under him whose survival skill job of "managing their idiot boss" has led them to hard code fake Elon sycophant accounts into the Twitter codebase just to manage his mood.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:34 AM on November 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
I'd have written him a python script to do the same for half of that.
I feel like odds are very good that there are people under him whose survival skill job of "managing their idiot boss" has led them to hard code fake Elon sycophant accounts into the Twitter codebase just to manage his mood.
posted by jason_steakums at 10:34 AM on November 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
To be fair, Elon got other people to pay $44B, and promised to pay them back. As far as I know, that second part of the project hasn't gone that well so far.
posted by hippybear at 12:24 PM on November 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 12:24 PM on November 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Pretty sure a fair number of them got exactly what they wanted to n the destruction of Twitter/its conversion into a Nazi hell hole. The others will forgive him because, hey, rich people do that, and at the end of the day the debt will find some way to disappear or be conveniently shuffled onto someone who isn’t a Nazi shithead.
posted by Artw at 12:59 PM on November 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 12:59 PM on November 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Twitter’s Former Head of Trust and Safety Finally Breaks Her Silence
posted by Artw at 3:22 PM on November 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by Artw at 3:22 PM on November 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
(EllaEm, was "the woman who rated the historical accuracy of Jane Austen TV/Movie adaptations based on how well they measured up to the accuracy of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" by any chance Hilary Davidson? If so, in case this is any help at all:
Hilary Davidson's website
Hilary Davidson on Instagram
possibly on Bluesky at fourredshoes.bsky.social
and of course I found out about her here on MeFi.)
posted by kristi at 9:13 PM on November 23, 2023 [5 favorites]
Hilary Davidson's website
Hilary Davidson on Instagram
possibly on Bluesky at fourredshoes.bsky.social
and of course I found out about her here on MeFi.)
posted by kristi at 9:13 PM on November 23, 2023 [5 favorites]
I've got a couple invites if someone wants to follow somebody who left Twitter to go to bluesky. Memail me.
posted by straight at 11:36 PM on November 23, 2023
posted by straight at 11:36 PM on November 23, 2023
To be fair, Elon got other people to pay $44B, and promised to pay them back. As far as I know, that second part of the project hasn't gone that well so far.
According to Wiki, he ended up putting in $20B of his own cash (from sale of Tesla stock) along with another $6B of borrowed money he's personally on the hook for. The rest of the debt is owed by Twitter, which Elon owns. He doesn't stand to lose anything from that (besides Twitter) if the debt defaults.
posted by justkevin at 6:09 AM on November 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
According to Wiki, he ended up putting in $20B of his own cash (from sale of Tesla stock) along with another $6B of borrowed money he's personally on the hook for. The rest of the debt is owed by Twitter, which Elon owns. He doesn't stand to lose anything from that (besides Twitter) if the debt defaults.
posted by justkevin at 6:09 AM on November 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
> I guess there is the idea that if someone is searching for a hate speech hashtag, they should have zero ads served to them at all. That seems like a reasonable thing to have your engine do.
Interestingly, this is also bad! It means that the system is sponsoring and rewarding hate speech by providing it with a more user-friendly ad-free experience. Probably a (if not *the*) right thing to do is to put deradicalization PSA ads in the the search results and to not charge the deradicalization org for the ad views.
posted by pmb at 6:41 AM on November 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
Interestingly, this is also bad! It means that the system is sponsoring and rewarding hate speech by providing it with a more user-friendly ad-free experience. Probably a (if not *the*) right thing to do is to put deradicalization PSA ads in the the search results and to not charge the deradicalization org for the ad views.
posted by pmb at 6:41 AM on November 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
Alternatively you could take a lead from radio and have the ads all be anti hate public service announcements. Links to Unlearning and Undoing White Supremacy programs. Actual anti fascist information. Definitions for terms like CRT, socialism, or whatever word is being used for bad this week. Recent gun death statistics.
Or ads promoting stuff like the SPLC hate watch.
Or giving out information on how to vote including how to get registered.
If you wanted to be "edgy" have an add that says something like "you are seeing this ad after searching for FOO which means BLM/Planned parenthood/Brady campaign just received another cash contribution. Thanks for making that happen."
Of course the kind of organization that would do that would be attempting to not distribute the hate speech in the first place.
posted by Mitheral at 11:54 AM on November 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
Or ads promoting stuff like the SPLC hate watch.
Or giving out information on how to vote including how to get registered.
If you wanted to be "edgy" have an add that says something like "you are seeing this ad after searching for FOO which means BLM/Planned parenthood/Brady campaign just received another cash contribution. Thanks for making that happen."
Of course the kind of organization that would do that would be attempting to not distribute the hate speech in the first place.
posted by Mitheral at 11:54 AM on November 24, 2023 [6 favorites]
And because this can get dumber, we have Twitter's very special boy announcing that he is going to visit the Gaza border.
posted by NoxAeternum at 1:31 PM on November 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by NoxAeternum at 1:31 PM on November 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
He’s really been working on becoming the, walking, talking avatar for the whole “antisemitism and support for zionism are not opposed but fundamentally compatible” concept lately.
posted by Artw at 1:47 PM on November 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Artw at 1:47 PM on November 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
And because this can get dumber, we have Twitter's very special boy announcing that he is going to visit the Gaza border.
Can we trade him for some hostages? Though I doubt Hamas would want him any more than I do.
posted by Dip Flash at 1:51 PM on November 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Can we trade him for some hostages? Though I doubt Hamas would want him any more than I do.
posted by Dip Flash at 1:51 PM on November 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
And because this can get dumber, we have Twitter's very special boy announcing that he is going to visit the Gaza border.
Here's hoping the IDF mistakes him for a journalist.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 8:44 PM on November 24, 2023 [9 favorites]
Here's hoping the IDF mistakes him for a journalist.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 8:44 PM on November 24, 2023 [9 favorites]
Techdirt: Elon’s Censorial Lawsuit Against Media Matters Inspiring Many More People To Find ExTwitter Ads On Awful Content
Some users started calling for the #ElonHitlerChallenge, asking users to search the hashtag #heilhitler and screenshot that ads they found:posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 5:23 PM on November 27, 2023 [6 favorites]
NYT tech reporter Ryan Mac is reporting that Musk has told CEOs of firms pulling advertising to go fuck themselves.
Like that is his actual verbatim statement.
posted by NoxAeternum at 2:59 PM on November 29, 2023
Like that is his actual verbatim statement.
posted by NoxAeternum at 2:59 PM on November 29, 2023
ADL probably doubling their ad spend as we speak.
posted by Artw at 3:10 PM on November 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 3:10 PM on November 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
it's a curious thing where there's a funding source you're relying on for the existence of this company you brilliantly overpaid for and probably can't afford and you sit in a room and tell that funding source to go fuck itself.
It's a similar mindset to Trump sitting in a courtroom with a judge who will dissolve his ability to do business in New York State, and being confrontational to the point of having your lawyers asked to rein you in.
Peculiar how rich people get bent out of shape when their whims aren't being catered to by others.
posted by hippybear at 3:18 PM on November 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
It's a similar mindset to Trump sitting in a courtroom with a judge who will dissolve his ability to do business in New York State, and being confrontational to the point of having your lawyers asked to rein you in.
Peculiar how rich people get bent out of shape when their whims aren't being catered to by others.
posted by hippybear at 3:18 PM on November 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
Here's video of Musk telling advertisers to fuck themselves. The larger quote is
posted by Nelson at 3:48 PM on November 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
Some people are trying to blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go fuck yourself?It's remarkable to see Elon embrace his own free speech without concern for consequences. And such a potty mouth.
posted by Nelson at 3:48 PM on November 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
So now I'm left wondering, in Elon's mind, what other things does one blackmail people with aside from money? And in a corporate setting?
I'm all a-whirr trying to guess.
Is it possible he doesn't understand the advertiser-broadcaster relationship? Has he not seen things cancelled from pulled advertising in the past?
I'm at the point with Elon where I'm wondering exactly how much pot he is smoking and how much ketamine he is doing. I have zero interest in shaming anyone about their substance use, but I do think if you're going to do anything a lot, it is good to be educated about how that might affect how you approach the world.
posted by hippybear at 4:12 PM on November 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
I'm all a-whirr trying to guess.
Is it possible he doesn't understand the advertiser-broadcaster relationship? Has he not seen things cancelled from pulled advertising in the past?
I'm at the point with Elon where I'm wondering exactly how much pot he is smoking and how much ketamine he is doing. I have zero interest in shaming anyone about their substance use, but I do think if you're going to do anything a lot, it is good to be educated about how that might affect how you approach the world.
posted by hippybear at 4:12 PM on November 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
i enjoyed the closing bit from the cnn write-up:
posted by glonous keming at 4:18 PM on November 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
What began as an apology over antisemitic tweets turned into a meandering conversation about childhood trauma, aliens, cellphones in people’s heads and using X in the bathroom. A good portion of the room walked out before the discussion officially wrapped.emphasis mine
posted by glonous keming at 4:18 PM on November 29, 2023 [5 favorites]
cellphones in people’s heads and using X in the bathroom
Oh, honey. I was going to parties decades ago where people were doing x in the bathrooms, They were nothing like this.
posted by hippybear at 4:56 PM on November 29, 2023 [6 favorites]
Oh, honey. I was going to parties decades ago where people were doing x in the bathrooms, They were nothing like this.
posted by hippybear at 4:56 PM on November 29, 2023 [6 favorites]
Musk also argues that when Twitter finally dies, the world will see it as the advertisers killing the platform. When a reporter points out the reality that no, he'll be seen as the blue bird's murderer, he responds with "and let's see how earth responds to that."
Most. Divorced. Man. Ever.
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:17 PM on November 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
Most. Divorced. Man. Ever.
posted by NoxAeternum at 7:17 PM on November 29, 2023 [3 favorites]
So now I'm left wondering, in Elon's mind, what other things does one blackmail people with aside from money?
The doubly-bizarre thing is that blackmail is when someone threatens to reveal something secret about you if you don't do what they want. The advertisers fleeing his fascist or fascist-adjacent speech acts are, if anything, punishing him for things he's decided to make public about himself. It's so weird how his victimhood works that this, to him, is blackmail.
posted by nobody at 7:28 PM on November 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
The doubly-bizarre thing is that blackmail is when someone threatens to reveal something secret about you if you don't do what they want. The advertisers fleeing his fascist or fascist-adjacent speech acts are, if anything, punishing him for things he's decided to make public about himself. It's so weird how his victimhood works that this, to him, is blackmail.
posted by nobody at 7:28 PM on November 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
The whole "blackmail" argument comes from the same place as the bullshit idea of "self-censorship" - that it is somehow unfair and a breach of free speech to hold someone accountable to their conduct.
posted by NoxAeternum at 8:04 PM on November 29, 2023
posted by NoxAeternum at 8:04 PM on November 29, 2023
there is a new "Go. Fuck. Yourself." thread here: https://www.metafilter.com/201578/Oh-Elon
posted by glonous keming at 8:20 PM on November 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by glonous keming at 8:20 PM on November 29, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have an extremely close friend who has in my opinion one very large moral failing: he believes in strict compartmentilization of people’s lives. If there were a completely deplorable person who had also been a painter, for example, he claims he would have no problem hanging the person’s art in the living room if he liked it. It’s baffling to me how an otherwise thoroughly upright person can take that stance.
It’s less confusing that Musk, who doesn’t seem to be that upstanding in general, hangs on to the idea that what he says and does should have no effect on the businesses he is involved in. I suspect in his mind they are two entirely different arenas and while he can understand people disliking him for what he says, the concept that it would affect his business dealings is entirely alien.
In his mind, the company hasn’t done anything wrong, so why would someone boycott the company? It makes no sense.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:24 PM on November 29, 2023
It’s less confusing that Musk, who doesn’t seem to be that upstanding in general, hangs on to the idea that what he says and does should have no effect on the businesses he is involved in. I suspect in his mind they are two entirely different arenas and while he can understand people disliking him for what he says, the concept that it would affect his business dealings is entirely alien.
In his mind, the company hasn’t done anything wrong, so why would someone boycott the company? It makes no sense.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 8:24 PM on November 29, 2023
Even by that logic, the Media Matters expose is entirely about stuff Twitter is doing wrong as a company, not Apartheid Clyde himself.
posted by Dysk at 11:14 PM on November 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Dysk at 11:14 PM on November 29, 2023 [2 favorites]
Even by that logic, the Media Matters expose is entirely about stuff Twitter is doing wrong as a company, not Apartheid Clyde himself.
That’s a different kind of issue. If you’ll recall it only happens one in 5 billion times and the whole thing is a setup because Media Matters hates freedom.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:55 AM on November 30, 2023
That’s a different kind of issue. If you’ll recall it only happens one in 5 billion times and the whole thing is a setup because Media Matters hates freedom.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:55 AM on November 30, 2023
Wait, does Media Matters even have a blue check?
posted by flabdablet at 11:49 AM on November 30, 2023
posted by flabdablet at 11:49 AM on November 30, 2023
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Imagine sitting down at a smorgasboard with the full breath of the possible human experience laid out before you, and choosing ketamine and spite over and over again. Imagine being able to have anything, anything at all, and every time, picking "a tantrum".
posted by mhoye at 12:57 PM on November 22, 2023 [173 favorites]