DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Elon Musk Clashes With Australian Court Over Violent Videos on X
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Kate Conger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

An Australian court on Wednesday extended an injunction ordering the social media platform X to remove videos depicting the recent stabbing of a bishop, setting the country’s judicial system up for a clash with the company’s owner, Elon Musk, who has decried the court’s order as censorship. Videos of the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during a church service on April 15 quickly started circulating on X, racking up hundreds of thousands of views. Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, a regulator overseeing online safety, ordered X and other social media platforms to remove posts showing the video the next day. Other platforms complied, and X blocked the content for Australian viewers. That order was extended on Wednesday until a May 10 hearing, and X faces potential daily fines of roughly $509,000 for noncompliance.

Persons: Elon Musk, Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, Australia’s, Musk, ’, ” Locations: Australia, USA

☆ In Latest A.I. War Escalation, Elon Musk Releases Chatbot Code
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Kate Conger | Cade Metz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk released the raw computer code behind his version of an artificial intelligence chatbot on Sunday, an escalation by one of the world’s richest men in a battle to control the future of A.I. Grok, which is designed to give snarky replies styled after the science-fiction novel “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” is a product from xAI, the company Mr. Musk founded last year. While xAI is an independent entity from X, its technology has been integrated into the social media platform and is trained on users’ posts. By opening the code up for everyone to view and use — known as open sourcing — Mr. Musk waded further into a heated debate in the A.I. Mr. Musk, a self-proclaimed proponent of open sourcing, did the same with X’s recommendation algorithm last year, but he has not updated it since.

Persons: Elon Musk, snarky, Musk Organizations: Galaxy Locations: xAI

☆ After Testy Interview With Elon Musk, Don Lemon Says His Deal With X Is Canceled
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-13 | by ( Kate Conger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the wake of a testy interview with Elon Musk, the former television anchor Don Lemon’s deal for a new talk show on X combusted just days before it was scheduled to air. Mr. Musk called off Mr. Lemon’s partnership with X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, the day after filming an hour-and-a-half long interview with the former news anchor at SpaceX’s office in Austin, Texas. Lemon said, as he asked probing questions about the upcoming U.S. presidential elections, Mr. Musk’s reported drug use and his various business ventures. Lemon said he would release the interview on March 18 on YouTube and would continue to share his content on X. “My questions were respectful and wide ranging, covering everything from SpaceX to the presidential election,” Mr.

Persons: Elon Musk, Don Lemon’s, Musk, Lemon, Musk’s, ” Mr, “, ” Organizations: Elon, X, Twitter, YouTube, SpaceX, The New York Times Locations: Austin , Texas

☆ Former Twitter Executives Sue Elon Musk for $128 Million
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Kate Conger | More About Kate Conger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Four former Twitter executives sued Elon Musk on Monday, accusing the billionaire of withholding severance payments worth $128 million after he fired them from the company during his 2022 takeover. When Mr. Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion, he fired Parag Agrawal, its chief executive; Ned Segal, its chief financial officer; Vijaya Gadde, its head of legal and policy; and Sean Edgett, its general counsel. Mr. Musk later renamed the company X. In the event of an involuntary termination, Mr. Agrawal was entitled to a so-called golden parachute payment of $60 million, according to a Twitter securities filing. Under those same circumstances, Mr. Segal would receive $46 million and Ms. Gadde $21 million, according to the filing.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Parag Agrawal, Ned Segal, Vijaya Gadde, Sean Edgett, Agrawal, Segal, Gadde Organizations: Twitter, Northern, Northern District of Locations: U.S, Northern District, Northern District of California

☆ Terrorists Are Paying for Check Marks on X, Report Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Kate Conger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, is potentially violating U.S. sanctions by accepting payments for subscription accounts from terrorist organizations and other groups barred from doing business in the country, according to a new report. The report, by the Tech Transparency Project, a nonprofit focused on accountability for large technology companies, shows that X, formerly known as Twitter, has taken payments from accounts that include Hezbollah leaders, Houthi groups, and state-run media outlets in Iran and Russia. The subscriptions, which cost $8 a month, offer users a blue check mark — once limited to verified users like celebrities — and better promotion by X’s algorithm, among other perks. “We were surprised to find that X was providing premium services to a wide range of groups the U.S. has sanctioned for terrorism and other activities that harm its national security,” said Katie Paul, the director of the Tech Transparency Project. “It’s yet another sign that X has lost control of its platform.”

Persons: Elon Musk, —, ”, Katie Paul, “ Organizations: Elon, Tech, U.S . Treasury Department, . Locations: Iran, Russia, U.S

☆ How X Is Trying to Win Over Influencers
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Kate Conger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The last time Don Lemon sat down to film a TV segment in April, he perched on a stool in front of the glaring lights of a CNN studio. He will begin his next act, “The Don Lemon Show,” on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. In its former life as Twitter, the social media service never quite figured out how to attract influencers — and the money that comes with them. Linda Yaccarino, X’s chief executive, is now relying on her television industry ties to make the site a destination for video creators. If successful, the effort could bring advertisers and eyeballs back to the platform after its owner, Elon Musk, excoriated brands and told them not to spend their money with X.

Persons: Don Lemon, Lemon, X, influencers, Linda Yaccarino, Elon Musk Organizations: CNN, Twitter

One proposal to Mr. Zuckerberg for 45 new staff members was declined. It was rejected and he returned to Mr. Zuckerberg in November with a scaled-down proposal for 32 new hires. It is unclear what Mr. Zuckerberg decided. At the hearing, Mr. Zuckerberg plans to suggest that Apple bear the responsibility for verifying ages via its App Store, according to his prepared remarks. Mr. Zuckerberg has long positioned Meta — and the internet writ large — as a place for both good and ill.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Zuckerberg, Meta, Richard Blumenthal, Marsha Blackburn, Mr, Blumenthal, “ We’ve, Andy Stone, Sheryl Sandberg, Nick Clegg, Clegg, Zuckerberg’s, ”, “ Organizations: Meta, Facebook, Republican, Apple Locations: Connecticut, Tennessee

Fake, sexually explicit images of Taylor Swift likely generated by artificial intelligence spread rapidly across social media platforms this week, disturbing fans who saw them and reigniting calls from lawmakers to protect women and crack down on the platforms and technology that spread such images. X suspended several accounts that posted the faked images of Ms. Swift, but the images were shared on other social media platforms and continued to spread despite those companies’ efforts to remove them. While X said it was working to remove the images, fans of the pop superstar flooded the platform in protest. They posted related keywords, along with the sentence “Protect Taylor Swift,” in an effort to drown out the explicit images and make them more difficult to find.

Persons: Taylor Swift, X, Swift, Ben Colman Organizations: Twitter

Elon Musk hit out at brands that have pulled their advertising from X after he endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory on the social media platform. Mr. Musk apologized for the post at the DealBook Summit in New York on Wednesday, but said that the advertisers were attempting to “blackmail” him. His message for those brands was simple: “Don’t advertise” and used an expletive multiple times to emphasize his point. About 200 big advertisers, including Disney, Apple and IBM, stopped spending on X after Mr. Musk agreed with a post that accused Jewish communities of pushing “hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.” If the freeze continues, it could end up costing the company up to $75 million this quarter, according to internal documents seen by The New York Times. Although Mr. Musk acknowledged that an extended boycott could bankrupt X, he suggested that the public would blame the brands rather than him for its collapse.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, ” Organizations: Disney, Apple, IBM, The New York Times Locations: New York

X, the social media company formerly known as Twitter, could lose as much as $75 million in advertising revenue by the end of the year as dozens of major brands pause their marketing campaigns after its owner, Elon Musk, endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory this month. They list how much ad revenue X employees fear the company could lose through the end of the year if advertisers do not return. On Friday, X said in a statement that $11 million in revenue was at risk and that the exact figure fluctuated as some advertisers returned to the platform and others increased spending. The company said the numbers viewed by The Times were either outdated or represented an internal exercise to evaluate total risk. X is also running ad campaigns during the holiday period to try to make up for revenue shortfalls.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, X, Musk’s, Linda Yaccarino, ” Leesha Anderson, ”, Uber, Jack, Netflix’s, Chris Christie, it’s Elon Musk, Yaccarino, ” X, “, ’, Ms, “ Lean, Tiffany Hsu Organizations: The New York Times, IBM, Apple, Disney, X, Microsoft, The Times, Twitter, Netflix, Google, NBC Universal, NBC, Press, Republican, Media, National Football League, New York Times, Athletic Locations: ”, Gaza, Israel

X, the social media service formerly known as Twitter, sued Media Matters in federal court on Monday after the advocacy organization published research showing that ads on X appeared next to antisemitic content. A post last week from Elon Musk that endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory, which he wrote a day before the Media Matters research was published, kicked off an advertiser exodus, with major brands like IBM, Apple, Warner Bros. X has rejected Media Matters’ findings, saying they were not representative of a regular user’s experience on the platform. On Friday, Mr. Musk promised a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against Media Matters and its backers. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, claims that Media Matters tried to damage X’s relationships with advertisers.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, ’, X Organizations: Twitter, Media, Elon, IBM, Apple, Warner Bros . Discovery, Sony, Media Matters, Northern, Northern District of, “ Locations: U.S, Northern District, Northern District of Texas

More major advertisers have paused their spending on X, the social media service formerly known as Twitter, as the backlash continued over Elon Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory on X. The spending freeze comes as X has fought to win back advertisers who were wary of spending on the platform after Mr. Musk took it over a year ago and said he would loosen content moderation rules. The organization followed accounts that posted the content, then refreshed the X timeline until ads appeared, X said in a blog post. Only one of the nine posts highlighted by Media Matters violated its content moderation rules, X added. “Musk admitted the ads at issue ran alongside the pro-Nazi content we identified.

Persons: X, Musk, ” Mr, Robert Bowers, Andrew Bates, Hitler, ” X, Joe Benarroch, ”, Angelo Carusone, “ Musk, ” Ryan Mac Organizations: Elon, Warner Bros, Sony, IBM, Apple, Lionsgate, Paramount Global, CBS, Twitter, White, Media Matters, Nazi Party, X Corp, Media, “, ” Media Locations: Israel, Pittsburgh

☆ How Elon Musk Changed the Meaning of Twitter for Users
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Kate Conger | More About Kate Conger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After Nicholas Campiz evacuated from Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, in February 2022, he stayed glued to Twitter. “As more Ukrainians hopped onto Twitter to tell their story, you had a lot of good accounts from them,” Mr. Campiz said. When war broke out this month in Israel and Gaza, Mr. Campiz, 40, a cartographer who now lives in Florida, turned to Twitter again. With the war in Ukraine, “Twitter was invaluable because you were able to get connected to accounts that were providing good information,” he said. “I feel really helpless in this Israel-Gaza thing because on Twitter now, the ability to do that is just gone.”

Persons: Nicholas Campiz, ” Mr, Campiz, ”, “ Organizations: Twitter Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine’s, Tbilisi , Georgia, Israel, Gaza, Florida, Ukraine

☆ Trump Returns to the Service Formerly Known as Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Kate Conger | More About Kate Conger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Former President Donald J. Trump returned to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday night after a hiatus of more than two years. Mr. Trump posted a link to his website and a photo of his mug shot in his first new post on X since Twitter banned his account after the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. “Never surrender!” the caption under the mug shot read. Mr. Trump returned to X one day after the airing of an interview he gave to Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host, who now streams his talk shows on the service. When Twitter barred Mr. Trump, the company said he had glorified violence with his posts on the platform, encouraging his supporters to storm the Capitol.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, “, Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk, ”, Mr Organizations: Twitter, U.S, Capitol, Fox News

☆ X Slows Down Access to Some Rival Sites
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Kate Conger | More About Kate Conger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

X, the social media service formerly known as Twitter, slowed down access from its platform to rival sites such as Substack and Facebook, but on Tuesday began reversing an effort to restrict its users from quickly viewing news sites, according to a New York Times analysis. The slowness, known in tech parlance as “throttling,” initially affected rival social networks including Facebook, Bluesky and Instagram, as well as the newsletter site Substack and news outlets including Reuters and The New York Times, according to The Times’s analysis. The delay to load links from X was relatively minor — about 4.5 seconds — but still noticeable, according to the analysis. By Tuesday afternoon, the delay to reaching the news sites appeared to have lifted, according to The Times’s analysis. X did not comment on the throttling, which was first noticed by users.

Persons: Elon Musk Organizations: Twitter, Facebook, New York Times, Reuters, The New York Times, Washington Post

☆ So What Do We Call Twitter Now Anyway?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Kate Conger | More About Kate Conger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The bewilderment stems from Mr. Musk’s move last month to rebrand Twitter, which he owns, as X. The rebranding has been hair-raising for Twitter fans, who embraced the company’s iconic blue-and-white bird logo and used a bird-related lexicon when talking about the platform. A tweet referred to a post; tweeting was a verb for posting, and sharing another person’s post was known as retweeting. Some people have wondered if the X name will stick, especially with the word tweets still appearing on the site. The app’s home button is also still shaped like a birdhouse, and the company’s website — at least for now — remains Twitter.com.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk’s, Snapchat, tweeting, — Organizations: Twitter, Facebook, Meta

One is about the possibility that we’re going to have this super intelligent AI that’s capable of great destruction. casey newtonI think that’s right. But it’s just like — I don’t think — I don’t think about to do these things in the moment like Dan. I don’t think that there’s an ethical issue with doing what he wants to do. And yeah, I just think it’s going into an area that’s going to be uncomfortable for the friend.

Persons: kevin roose, casey newton, we’re, ” casey newton I’ve, kevin roose It’s, Kevin Roose, ” casey newton, Casey Newton, clowned, New York Times ’, Kate Conger, Casey, Ajeya Cotra, kevin roose Totally, Sam Altman, Demis Hassabis, Dario Amodei, Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, They’re, Kevin, Dan Hendricks who’s, “, “ I’m, don’t, you’re, I’m, — casey newton, it’s, ChatGPT, casey newton I’m, I’ve, Martinez, Varghese, kevin roose Tyler, —, Steven A, Schwartz, ”, they’re, it’ll, there’s, Mr, Bean, We’ve, James Vincent, It’s, Jensen Huang, Harry Potter, Harry Potter of, kevin roose —, casey newton Parallelelizable, Parallelizable, — casey newton Let’s, that’s, who’s, NVIDIA —, casey newton Well, doesn’t, katie cogner, Kate Conger who’s, katie cogner Hi, katie cogner I’m, Dan, what’s, Getty, casey newton Kate, let’s, John, Here’s John, john, kevin roose That’s, Kate, he’s, He’s, he’ll, casey newton That’s, There’s, we’ve, “ I’ve, ” Kate, cogner, Prince Harry, katie cogner Doesn’t, Harry, casey newton We’re, We’re, kevin roose Kate, they’ve, Joni Mitchell, Chris Vecchio, Chris, kevin roose I’m, You’d, casey newton “, you’ll, casey newton Oh, ” kevin roose Organizations: The New York Times, NVIDIA, New York Times, Safety, Google, AI, ChatGPT, Avianca Airlines, Delta Airlines, China Southern Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Royal Dutch Airlines, “, Bar Association, Texas, M University Commerce, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, Harry Potter of Kentucky Christian, Facebook, eBay, “ New York Times, Boston, Garden, MetLife, TED, AIs Locations: British, Avianca, Durden, ChatGPT, Taiwan, Kentucky, Hogwarts, Harry Potter of Kentucky, California, Madison, —

Twitter on Thursday sent a letter to Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive, accusing the tech giant of improperly using the social media company’s data. In the letter, which was reviewed by The New York Times, Twitter said Microsoft had violated an agreement over its data and had declined to pay for that usage. In some cases, the letter said, Microsoft had used more Twitter data than it was supposed to. Microsoft also shared the Twitter data with government agencies without permission, the letter said. The letter may be a prelude to Twitter trying to charge Microsoft for its data.

☆ Jack Dorsey Has a Lot to Say, Including About Elon Musk and Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Kate Conger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Jack Dorsey has barely posted on Twitter, the social media platform he helped create, since January. “and Google Play Store.”Since then, Mr. Dorsey has posted on Nostr an average of 59 times a day — including messages that take aim at Twitter and its new owner, Elon Musk. “This is weak,” Mr. Dorsey wrote on Nostr last month of Mr. Musk’s move to prevent Twitter’s users from linking to Substack, a newsletter platform that started a Twitter competitor. Mr. Dorsey has also started using another new social network, Bluesky. On Saturday, in response to a Bluesky user’s question about whether Mr. Musk was the best steward for Twitter, Mr. Dorsey replied bluntly, “No.”

In December, Elon Musk became angry about the development of artificial intelligence and put his foot down. He had learned of a relationship between OpenAI, the start-up behind the popular chatbot ChatGPT, and Twitter, which he had bought in October for $44 billion. Mr. Musk believed the A.I. So Mr. Musk cut OpenAI off from Twitter’s data, they said. Since then, Mr. Musk has ramped up his own A.I.

☆ Twitter Begins Removing Check Marks From Accounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Kate Conger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter began removing check mark icons from the profiles of thousands of celebrities, politicians and journalists on Thursday, in one of the most visible indicators of how Elon Musk is changing the company. But under Mr. Musk, who bought Twitter for $44 billion in October, the social media service has begun to charge individuals $8 per month to maintain their verification status. Mr. Musk has said those who do not pay will have their check marks removed. Mr. Musk initially proposed charging $20 monthly for verification, but he lowered the price after blowback. As Twitter began removing check marks from accounts on Thursday, some users said that they noticed the symbols disappearing and then reappearing on their profiles.

☆ How Elon Musk Is Changing the Twitter Experience
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Kate Conger | More About Kate Conger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk has declared he wants to transform Twitter into an all-inclusive app that people can use for payments, news and food orders. “Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app,” Mr. Musk posted in October, weeks before completing a $44 billion acquisition of the social network. He later said Twitter could be like WeChat, the popular Chinese app that combines social media, instant messaging and payment services. But nearly six months after Mr. Musk took over Twitter, his ambitions for the platform have remained mostly that — ambitions. Although the billionaire has made dozens of tweaks to Twitter, they have largely been cosmetic.

Persons: Elon Musk, Mr, Musk, Jane Manchun Wong Organizations: Twitter

☆ Elon Musk says he's resolved a 'misunderstanding' with Tim Cook about Twitter potentially being yanked from Apple's App Store
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk said a "misunderstanding" over Twitter with Apple CEO Tim Cook was resolved on Wednesday. Cook was clear that Apple never considered removing Twitter from the App Store, Musk said. Musk claimed earlier this week that Apple had threatened to remove Twitter from the App Store. "Among other things, we resolved the misunderstanding about Twitter potentially being removed from the App Store," Musk wrote in the tweet. Musk claimed on Monday the iPhone maker had threatened to remove Twitter from its App Store and "won't tell us why."

☆ Elon Musk claims to have met with Tim Cook at Apple's HQ after putting the company on blast
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk posted a video on Wednesday, claiming Tim Cook showed him around Apple's campus. Apple didn't respond to a request for comment; Musk's tweet comes after he slammed the company on Twitter. New York Times reporter Kate Conger said on Twitter that Apple employees saw Musk and Cook together on campus on Wednesday. Musk, who calls himself Twitter's "Chief Twit," on Monday accused Apple of exercising monopoly powers through its App Store. Musk later added that Apple had "threatened" to take Twitter off its App Store and "won't tell us why."

Search resuls for: "Kate Conger"

25 mentions found