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☆ Elon Musk’s Twitter accused of unlawful staff firings in the UK
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The letter also said Twitter has failed to provide information about the selection criteria used to determine the layoffs. The letter states that 43 affected UK employees are prepared to take the issue to an Employment Tribunal, a UK system for employees to bring legal disputes against their employers, if the company does not agree to cooperate with negotiations over the layoff process. The warning marks the latest challenge to Twitter from former employees affected by mass layoffs that took place after Elon Musk acquired the company in October. Twitter is also facing four proposed class action lawsuits in the United States related to the layoffs. (Typically, negotiations over mass layoffs by UK companies involve discussions of the reasons for terminations and how to minimize their size and impact.)

☆ Musk’s Twitter restores accounts of prominent election deniers two years after Jan. 6 attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Elon Musk’s Twitter has restored the accounts of two prominent election deniers who were banned from the platform following the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol. “Stop the Steal” organizer Ali Alexander’s account was restored on Monday. Alexander assumed a leadership role in the movement that discredited the 2020 election in the weeks leading up to January 6. Watkins played a central role in spreading conspiracy theories about voting machine and the 2020 election. An HBO documentary in 2021 identified Ron as potentially being the anonymous figure behind the conspiracy theory, an assertion that Ron has denied.

☆ Fact Check-Fabricated Kevin McCarthy Twitter poll shared online amid GOP House Speaker deadlock
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A screenshot has been shared online purporting to show a tweet published by Rep. Kevin McCarthy amid the Republican deadlock over electing a Speaker of the House. The image appears to show a Twitter poll published via McCarthy’s official Twitter account (@GOPLeader) with text that reads: “Should I step down as head of Congress? A spokesperson for McCarthy told Reuters that no such poll was published via the Republican’s Twitter account. Archived versions of McCarthy’s Twitter account saved on Dec. 19 did not reveal the post (here), (here). Musk’s poll has the exact same number of votes, 17,502,391, indicating the McCarthy poll tweet was likely edited from Musk’s.

☆ Elon Musk’s Twitter Says It Plans to Expand Political Ads Allowed on Platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Meghan Bobrowsky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Twitter Inc. said it plans to expand the political advertising it allows on the social-media platform after banning most political ads in 2019, in the latest policy change by new owner Elon Musk. The company also said Tuesday that it is relaxing its policy for cause-based ads in the U.S. Such ads call for people to take action, educate and raise awareness in connection with the following categories: civic engagement, economic growth, environmental stewardship and social-equity causes.

☆ Biden’s Back Door Tesla Subsidy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Tesla ’s stock market value has plunged by some $850 billion this year amid investor worries over Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover and slumping demand for its electric vehicles. But lo, the Biden Administration is coming to Mr. Musk’s aid with a new plan to use the renewable fuel program in a way that subsidizes Teslas and other already subsidized EVs. Congress’s ethanol mandate offers a case study in the political difficulty of weaning industries off government support—and how regulators can revamp programs to serve new political ends. Politicians of both parties rallied around the renewable fuel standard (RFS) in 2005 as a way to boost U.S. energy independence and reduce CO2 emissions. It has done the opposite.

☆ Elon Musk’s Twitter obsession isn’t the core reason for Tesla stock’s plunge
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

New York CNN —A popular misconception has emerged about Elon Musk and Tesla: The megabillionaire’s love affair with Twitter is the main reason Tesla shares have lost so much value this year. Investors have been disappointed that Musk appears to be paying for so much of his $44 billion purchase of Twitter by selling Tesla stock. Musk, Tesla’s largest shareholder, has sold $23 billion worth of Tesla shares since his interest in Twitter became public in April. On Thursday’s Twitter Spaces call, Musk promised he was done selling shares of Tesla stock until at least 2024, if not beyond. But he hasn’t lived up to a previous promise in April that he was done selling Tesla shares, selling $14.4 billion of that stock since that time.

He lost a Twitter poll asking whether he should remain as CEO. Musk reinstated a handful of banned journalists Saturday after he conducted a Twitter poll asking users whether he should uphold the ban. Following backlash, Twitter also quickly rolled back its decision to ban users’ promotion of links to Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribel, Nostr and Post accounts. Won’t happen again.”But after all that, some users are skeptical that Twitter is a platform they want to remain on. “Should I run Twitter ?” Snoop Dogg wrote in a Twitter poll Sunday.

☆ Elon Musk’s Twitter Poll Shows Users Want Him to Step Down as CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Alexa Corse | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A majority of Twitter users said Elon Musk should step down as chief of the company in a poll the billionaire pledged to follow, casting new uncertainty on the social-media platform after more than seven weeks of turmoil since he took it over. More than 17 million users had voted by the time the poll on the platform closed after 6 a.m. ET, with 57.5% saying he should leave as head of the company. Mr. Musk, who in October closed a $44 billion deal for Twitter, had said when he launched the Twitter poll on Sunday that he would abide by the results.

☆ Elon Musk’s Twitter Poll Shows Users Want Him to Step Down
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Alexa Corse | Peter Stiff | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Elon Musk said when he launched the Twitter poll on Sunday that he would abide by the results. A majority of Twitter users said Elon Musk should step down as chief of the company in a poll the billionaire pledged to follow, casting new uncertainty on the social-media platform after more than seven weeks of turmoil since he took it over. More than 17 million users had voted by the time the poll on the platform closed after 6 a.m. ET, with 57.5% saying he should leave as head of the company he bought in October for $44 billion. Mr. Musk had said when he launched the Twitter poll on Sunday that he would abide by the results.

☆ Tesla gets downgraded on Wall Street over Elon Musk’s Twitter antics, banning of journalists
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Elon Musk’s management of Twitter, including the banning of multiple journalists, has “severely damaged” market sentiment around Tesla, and risks sparking a backlash from advertisers and consumers, a Wall Street analyst warned on Monday. Oppenheimer & Co. downgraded its rating on Tesla, where Musk is the CEO, solely because of risks posed by the billionaire’s ownership and management of Twitter. We see potential for a negative feedback loop from departure of Twitter advertisers and users,” Oppenheimer analyst Colin Rusch wrote to clients. Tesla shares briefly jumped in premarket trading Monday after Musk polled users on whether he should quit as Twitter CEO. “I think it is in the best interest for Tesla shareholders for Elon to be back at Tesla working full time,” Gerber said on Twitter.

☆ Analysis: The Twitter CEO is conspicuously quiet after users vote for him to step down amid chaotic policy changes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

In fact, Musk spent most of Monday conspicuously quiet, refraining from tweeting for a remarkable 18-hour period. In one Sunday night tweet, Musk wrote, “No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. Musk last month said he would “find somebody else to run Twitter” and that he expected to “reduce” his time there. The electric automaker bore the brunt of more bad news related to Musk’s Twitter obsession on Monday. As the saying goes, Vox populi, Vox dei.

☆ Elon Musk’s Twitter bans links to other social media sites, including Facebook and emerging rivals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Under the new policy, links to content on Facebook and Instagram are prohibited, as well as links to content on emerging Twitter alternatives, including Mastodon and Post. Despite the bans, Twitter says it will still “allow paid advertisement/promotion for any of the prohibited social media platforms.”Notably absent from the list is TikTok, one of the internet’s fastest-growing social media platforms whose links to China have sparked national security concerns among US policymakers. Now, that practice has been formalized into official Twitter policy, a move that could further raise eyebrows among Twitter’s regulators. As part of Twitter’s new policy, users may not “link out” to social media platforms subject to the restrictions. Users may continue to use third-party software to simultaneously publish their social media content to multiple sites, including Twitter, the company said.

☆ Elon Musk’s Twitter Suspends Accounts of Several Journalists
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Meghan Bobrowsky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The suspensions mark the latest instance of Twitter making user decisions without much transparency. Twitter Inc. suspended the accounts of several journalists Thursday without publicly specifying why, the latest instance of the platform making content or user decisions under Elon Musk without much transparency. The accounts belonged to journalists from publications including CNN, the Washington Post, the New York Times and Mashable. Representatives for the outlets said they didn’t receive any explanation of why the accounts were suspended.

☆ Elon Musk’s Twitter Barbs Have New Magnitude
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Tim Higgins | Alexa Corse | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

For years, Elon Musk has used Twitter to provoke, pontificate and go on the offensive against criticism and perceived threats from rivals, regulators, and regular folks. His flame-throwing has a new magnitude—and the perception of impunity—now that Mr. Musk owns the social-media platform where he has been a so-called super user for years.

☆ Elon Musk’s Twitter blocked links to rival Mastodon. That could raise alarms among regulators
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Soon, however, Twitter began throwing up roadblocks — marking links to Mastodon as “unsafe” and potentially malicious, blocking tweets containing those links and preventing users from adding Mastodon links to their profiles. Now, legal experts are pondering whether there may be anticompetitive or other regulatory implications arising from Twitter’s blocking of Mastodon links. Eugen Rochko, the founder and CEO of Mastodon, has not publicly addressed Twitter’s link blocking, but has amplified a public report about it. Baer added that Twitter’s link blocking doesn’t just raise potential competition concerns. And prior to Thursday, there did not appear to be grounds for Twitter to claim that Mastodon links were unsafe.

☆ Elon Musk’s Twitter Flame-Throwing Has New Magnitude
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Tim Higgins | Alexa Corse | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Elon Musk has said he wants to ensure that Twitter remains open to competing ideas—even ones that offend. For years, Elon Musk has used Twitter to provoke, pontificate and go on the offensive against criticism and perceived threats from rivals, regulators, and regular folks. His flame-throwing has a new magnitude—and the perception of impunity—now that Mr. Musk owns the social-media platform where he has been a so-called super user for years.

☆ Elon Musk sells chunk of Tesla shares worth $3.6B
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Tesla CEO Elon Musk sold about 22 million more shares in his electric vehicle business worth around $3.6 billion, according to a financial filing out Wednesday night. After Musk’s Twitter takeover, he told employees there that he sold Tesla shares to “save” their business. Tesla shares have been declining this year and sliding even further since he took on that new responsibility. Shares of Tesla closed down 2.6% on Wednesday at $156.80, dropping the company’s market capitalization to $495 billion. Tesla shares were down 55% year-to-date as of Wednesday’s close.

☆ Former employees suing Twitter over layoffs score an early victory
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —A group of former employees suing Elon Musk’s Twitter scored an early win Wednesday when a judge ordered the company to inform any laid-off staffers of the pending lawsuit. The order may be an early indication that the judge could be sympathetic to the employees’ argument. He later pushed out additional employees, asking remaining workers to agree to an ultimatum to work “hardcore” or leave the company. The others include complaints related to alleged disability and gender-based discrimination, as well as a suit on behalf of Twitter contractors who were laid off. The employees are seeking unspecified monetary damages, as well as a ruling that Twitter violated the California and federal WARN Acts requiring advanced notice of mass layoffs.

☆ NASA chief: SpaceX leader says Elon Musk’s Twitter drama is ‘nothing to worry about’
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Marc Caputo | Marc Caputo Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

“Tell me that the distraction that Elon might have on Twitter is not going to affect SpaceX,” Nelson, recalling the conversation, said he asked Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and CEO. She’s running SpaceX,” Nelson said. Asked whether he has any concerns about SpaceX, Nelson said, “No, I don’t." NASA pays billions to SpaceX to shuttle astronauts and cargo to and from the International Space Station. “Look at what SpaceX is delivering in crew and cargo to the space station.”

☆ Tumblr Shoots for a Comeback With Users and Advertisers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Katie Deighton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Wireless company Verizon Communications Inc., which bought Yahoo in 2017, saw Tumblr users nosedive when it banned adult content, including nudity, in 2018. Tumblr users in the past month have depicted anthropomorphized versions of the Tumblr and Twitter logos, for example, having a quasiromantic relationship. And in April, it introduced Tumblr Blaze, which offers users, including brand accounts, wider exposure for their posts. Advertisers that create custom campaigns using the parlance popular among Tumblr users to appeal to particular communities usually see the best engagement, according to Tumblr’s chief marketing officer, Matthew Ryan. Some of the most active advertisers on Tumblr are movie and television studios that create Tumblr campaigns for die-hard fans of genres or series, Mr. Ryan said.

☆ Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover Is in Its Early Chapters, But a Book Is Already Coming
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Elon Musk is just weeks into his ownership of Twitter—yet a new book about the billionaire’s takeover of the social platform is already in the works. “Breaking Twitter” is expected to be published next fall by Grand Central Publishing, a unit of Lagardère SCA’s Hachette Book Group.

☆ Twitter has the most to lose against news mob
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW YORK, Dec 6 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Meta Platforms (META.O) is taking a bold stand against a new piece of legislation, yet it’s Elon Musk’s Twitter that looks most exposed. The U.S. Congress is considering adding the “Journalism Competition and Preservation Act” to a defense bill that has a high likelihood of passing, according to Reuters. The Facebook operator is threatening to pull news off its feed if it is passed, spokesperson Andy Stone tweeted. Twitter meanwhile reaches about a quarter of the American adult population. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ Fact Check-‘Tweet’ suggesting Musk will buy Snapchat is fabricated
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Social media users have been sharing a fabricated image that appears to show a Twitter message from billionaire Elon Musk saying that he will buy Snapchat. An advanced search of Musk’s Twitter feed showed no evidence that he had posted any such remark (here)). A Google news search also showed no reports of Musk saying he would buy Snapchat (here). A screenshot of a tweet by Elon Musk saying he will buy Snapchat “next” is fabricated. Musk did not tweet that he would buy Snapchat.

☆ Elon Musk's 'amnesty' pledge brings back QAnon, far-right Twitter accounts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Brandy-Zadrozny-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Brandy Zadrozny | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +12 min

A “general amnesty” has restored hundreds of accounts of right-wing activists and QAnon adherents, according to data reviewed by NBC News. The reinstatement of far-right accounts has coincided with a series of bans of left-wing accounts, leaving users unsure of how the company is now applying its rules. It’s a dangerous combination.”The reinstatements and bans come as researchers continue to monitor an uptick in hate speech, and high-profile users leave the platform. Among the spammers, copyright rule-breakers, adult-content creators and high-profile accounts, Twitter has reopened the door to a growing and emboldened community of trolls, white nationalists, conspiracy theorists and extreme right-wing activists. Those reinstatements also come after Twitter dramatically reduced its staff, including those dedicated to dealing with abuse and hate speech.

☆ Fact Check-Elon Musk did not say journalists with ‘they/them’ pronouns would pay more for Twitter verification
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Billionaire Elon Musk has not tweeted that he will double the Twitter verification fee for journalists who list nonbinary pronouns in their online bio, as claimed by some social media users. Instagram users shared a screenshot of a tweet that reads, “BREAKING: @elonmusk says journalists with ‘they/them’ pronouns in bio will pay a $16 monthly fee instead of the standard $8 verification because ‘they’ identify as multiple people.” (here) , (here) , (here). Musk has previously drawn criticism for mocking people who list their preferred pronouns in their online bios (here). After receiving backlash for the tweet, Musk tweeted in Dec. 2020, “I absolutely support trans, but all these pronouns are an esthetic nightmare” (here). Although Musk has been openly critical of people using nonbinary pronouns, there is no evidence that he said he would charge journalists using ‘they/them’ pronouns a higher fee for Twitter verification.

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