Tweeting about Twitter: Trump or Musk? Donald Trump sued, the SEC fought back, and Twitter sued Musk to keep funding WeChat

Musk has said he plans to turn the platform into something more like WeChat and TikTok, would bring Donald Trump back to the platform, and thinks Twitter could have a billion users in just a few years.

“I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump; I think that was a mistake,” Musk said at a conference in May, pledging to reverse the ban were he to become the company’s owner.

But he also likes to taunt, occasionally with disastrous consequences. He is being sued for promoting the dogecoin as part of a pyramid scheme. (Musk says he still supports it.) The SEC is investigating him and he was previously fined for market-manipulating. Musk and the SEC settled on fraud charges, agreeing on penalties.

Legal experts widely believed that Twitter was on strong footing to have the deal enforced in court. Two weeks before the contentious legal battle was set to go to trial, Musk said he would follow through with the deal on its original terms after all. As the parties negotiated, Musk’s attorneys asked a judge to stay the legal proceedings, prompting pushback from Twitter, which feared that Musk might not stay true to his promise to close the deal.

The CNN report triggered a firestorm of criticism. Musk backtracked with the attitude of someone who makes decisions on the fly. “What the hell…we’ll just keep funding it for free,” he tweeted.

When Musk agreed to buy Twitter back in April, he said he would “unlock” the company’s potential by advancing free speech and “defeating the spam bots.”

Why Twitter should never be labelled as a “keyhole” for the prosecution of a convicted ‘no-go’ campaigner

The material that came to light ahead of the trial in Delaware does not lend much support to that argument. Miller says that there’s nothing that looks like fraud, despite the fact that his best claim is fraud. They are out of cards to play.

It could be that Musk’s decision to fold was influenced by the risk of damage to him personally. The entrepreneur watched the internet chew over a tranche of his personal text messages with major figures in Silicon Valley last week. This week he faced what Miller says would likely have been “a very embarrassing” deposition.

But more than professional utility ties me to the site. With an intermittent reinforcement schedule, experts call it the same way that you’d find slots in a casino. Occasionally, it is interesting, but most of the time it is repetitive and uninteresting. Unpredictable rewards, as the behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner found with his research on rats and pigeons, are particularly good at generating compulsive behavior.

“I don’t know that Twitter engineers ever sat around and said, ‘We are creating a Skinner box,’” said Natasha Dow Schüll, a cultural anthropologist at New York University and author of a book about gambling machine design. But that, she said, is essentially what they’ve built. It is one reason why people who self destroy on the site should know better.

It’s a theme he reiterated both in public, telling Twitter employees at an all-staff meeting that the platform should allow all legal speech, and in private, texting investor Antonio Gracias that “Free speech matters most when it’s someone you hate spouting what you think is bull****.”

The Supreme Court agreed to take up two cases that will determine the liability of the social network for illegal content.

“Simply look at alternative platforms such as Parler, Gab and Truth Social that promise less restrictions on speech and you’ll get a good look at what a ‘keyhole’ Musk will look like”, said the president of Media Matters for America.

He said that the bug is the fact that people can say and do things that aren’t allowed on more mainstream social media platforms. There is a cauldron of misinformation and abuse there.

“Would be great to unwind permanent bans, except for spam accounts and those that explicitly advocate violence,” he texted Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal shortly after agreeing to join the company’s board (a decision he soon backtracked).

Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist, was kicked off of the internet for abusing others in a court case. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia lawmaker, was accused of false and misleading claims about the use of vaccine on children.

The person suggested that Musk hire someone with a cultural and political view that would lead enforcement. Masters is the Republican Senate candidate in Arizona who has been endorsed by Trump and has echoed his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.

Facebook Can’t Work Together: A Twitter User’s Perspective on the Trump-Motorola Deal and the Challenge for Social Media

Allowing Trump and others to return could set a precedent for other social networks, including Meta-owned Facebook, which is considering whether to reinstate the former president when its own ban on him expires in January 2023.

After a video meeting a few weeks later with Agrawal and Musk, Dorsey tersely summed up the situation in a text to Musk: “At least it became clear that you can’t work together. That was clarifying.”

The people aren’t sure if the deal has been closed or if all the paperwork has been signed. They claimed that Musk was in charge of the social media platform and had fired several people, including the CEO. The deal is very sensitive and so neither person wanted to be identified.

It is likely that the billionaire will take this news in stride, since he complained about the company being overstaffed for its size.

He said on the earnings conference call that the long-term potential for the social networking site is greater than its current value.

He may have little choice other than to find alternate sources of revenue besides advertising, given the weak state of the digital ad market and the changes he wants to make to content moderation.

“Advertisers want to know that their ads are not going to appear alongside extremists, that they’re not going to be subsidizing or associating with the types of things that would turn off potential customers,” Carusone said.

The Story of Kanye West and the Censorship of the Social Media Super-Analog of Parler and Twitter

What exactly he meant is, as always, anyone’s guess. Musk told employees that the company should create its own “super app”, similar to the Chinese one that combines social media, messaging, payments and other things.

Other American tech companies, including Facebook and Uber, have tried this strategy, but so far Chinese-style super-apps haven’t caught on in the United States.

Kara Alaimo, associate professor in the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication at Hofstra University, writes about issues affecting women and social media. She worked for the Treasury Department during the Obama administration. This commentary is her own. View more opinion on CNN.

The conservative social media company Parler announced on Monday that it is being purchased by Kanye West, who was temporarily suspended from Twitter this month for an antisemitic tweet. A statement from Parler’s parent company announcing the deal described West, who has legally changed his name to Ye, as having taken “a groundbreaking move into the free speech media space” where “he will never have to fear being removed from social media again.”

In a world where conservative opinions are thought of to be controversial, West said that it’s important for them to have the freedom to express themselves.

If West and Musk take over Parler andtwitter, you will see an increased presence of conservatives on social media. These men have “free speech” policies that will likely drive people away from the internet. Those who remain in these conservative spaces will become even more extreme as a result of their interactions, which could cultivate a dangerous far-right ideology that has far-reaching effects on our politics.

In a letter posted to Twitter

            (TWTR), Musk said he doesn’t want the platform to become a “free-for-all-hellscape where anything can be said with no consequences,” despite his stated promise to rethink on its content moderation policies and bolster “free speech.”

University of Miami law Professor Mary Anne Franks said that when women become victims of online hate, they often Shut down their websites, avoid websites they formerly frequented, and refrain from engaging in online political commentary.

What these so-called free speech policies really boil down to is an ugly form of censorship that scares away the voices of people who are attacked by users of these platforms.

West has already described Parler as a place where conservative views can flourish, and nonconservatives are unlikely to flock to Truth Social, given its association with Trump. If women, people of color and others abandon the site, it could leave it as a platform for conservatives as well. This would likely make the views of those who remain even more zealous.

Far Right Views on Social Media: A Perspective on the Politics of the U.S. Social Media Landscape in the 21st Century

When people likeminded enough to talk to one another, they sometimes think of an even more extreme version of what they thought before. Sunstein says this happens because their exchanges heighten their preexisting beliefs and make them more confident.

When conservatives get together on social media, they will become far right. The politics of the country could be impacted by far-right views nurtured on these social networks, as they were in the 1990s when Rush Limbaugh and other conservatives made a huge impact on the political landscape. It is easy to see how the people on these sites could come together to support and vote for political candidates who share their beliefs.

We can also expect these male owners to use their platforms to amplify their own views — even when they’re sexist, misogynistic, racist or otherwise hateful.

A former CNN producer and correspondent named Fridaghitis is a world affairs columnist. She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, columnist for The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. The views expressed in this commentary are her own. View more opinion on CNN.

The Imprints of Putin on the World: The Case for a Master Manic View of Vladimir Putin and the Russia-Ukraine War

If Musk did not have such a big effect, we could enjoy the show. Since he likes weighing in heavily on consequential matters the rest of the world has to worry about the impact and who he is on. What are the principles – moral, ethical, financial – that drive his rambunctious forays into world affairs?

Nothing in Musk’s monumental series of business accomplishments suggest that he has any expertise to delve into the world’s most dangerous conflicts. But that hasn’t stopped him. Musk has spoken on the Russia-Ukraine war and on the Taiwan-Beijing tension with self-confidence of someone who knows what he is talking about.

But people who need a lot of attention make themselves vulnerable. And Musk, not content to possess the world’s largest fortune, is being played by a master manipulator.

Among his many manic moves, a recent “peace” proposal for Ukraine – offered in a Twitter poll – stood out. The plan that Musk wanted 100 million of his followers to vote on looked like it was drafted by the Kremlin, complete with distorted histories of the annexed territories, and was asked to be voted on.

It suggested that Russia be given control of the Ukrainian lands with UN supervision, that the Ukrainian people should hold another referendum under UN supervision, and even that Russia’s military activities in the country should be kept out of the referendum.

There was a new twist to the well-scrutinized account. Ian Bremmer, a political scientist from the US, said that Musk told him he had talked to Putin.

The most important analysis of Musk and Putin was that they were both models of excessive self-confidence.

“Putin,” she told Politico, “plays the egos of big men, gives them a sense that they can play a role. But in reality, they’re just direct transmitters of messages from Vladimir Putin.”

Putin is trained in the art of manipulating people, being a former KGB agent. It’s not uncommon for the images of Putin with world leaders, including bringing his black Labrador to the meeting with the German Chancellor, to be imprinted into the minds of everyone.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/18/opinions/elon-musk-russia-ukraine-putin-xi-china-ghitis/index.html

What Will It Do for Musk? The Case of Musk’s SpaceX Entanglement to Taiwan and the U.S./Russia Correspondence

What will it do for Musk? The man who put many thousands of people in electric cars, who turned space flight into a for-profit business, is now trying out a different vehicle. It is an ego trip.

He talked about his proposal to resolve the conflict between Beijing and Taiwan. Musk suggested the creation of a special administrative zone for Taiwan that would be more liberal than the one in Hong Kong. After promising only one country, two systems for Hong Kong, China broke its word and destroyed its freedom.

China was quick with their thanks and praise for the billionaire. Taiwan sells many products, but its independence and democracy are not for sale, said the envoy.

Perhaps it’s not fair to paint the Tesla tycoon as a friend of dictators. Life is not Twitter, and in the real world the Starlink internet service made by Musk’s SpaceX has been an invaluable tool for Ukrainians fighting Putin’s invasion.

CNN has learned that, a few days ago, SpaceX wrote to the Pentagon requesting it start paying tens of millions of dollars per month in order to continue funding Starlink.

Musk moved to humanitarian stance and declared, “even so, we should still do good deeds,” after someone replied that no good deed goes unheeded.

Despite his shenanigans, and even though he sometimes seems to act as a mischievous teenager, he likes to take himself seriously, thinking big thoughts about important topics. His business ideas and execution deserve a lot of praise.

He claimed he wanted to buy Twitter and put former President Donald Trump back on the platform because he’s a “free speech absolutist.” Free speech in the complicating, fast-changing age of social media is one of the topics where experts say he lacks a serious understanding of the extraordinarily complex issues a major platform has to grapple with.

In the Thursday post, he said that the platform must be warm and welcoming to all and that they can choose their experience according to their preferences. The goal of the company is to be the most respected advertising platform in the world that strengthens your brand.

Sarah Personette said that she had a good discussion with Musk on Wednesday. Personette said the commitment to brand safety for advertisers remained the same. “Looking forward to the future!”

According to the Wall Street Journal, at least 12 clients asked one ad buying agency to stop their advertising on the social networking site if Musk restores Trump’s account.

Musk also reiterated in the letter a lofty earlier statement he had made that the Twitter acquisition is not meant to be a money-making venture for him.

The acquisition also promises to extend Musk’s influence. The billionaire already owns, oversees or has significant stakes in companies developing cars, rockets, robots and satellite internet, as well as more experimental ventures such as brain implants. Now he controls a social media platform that shapes how hundreds of millions of people communicate and get their news.

It’s important for Musk to say that he’ll defeat the fake and scam accounts on the platform, as they often are active in the replies to his messages.

The Takeover of Twitter: Elon Musk’s Last Rescheduling at the YMCA Final Closing Ceremony in December 2015

The departures come just hours before a deadline set by a Delaware judge to finalize the deal on Friday. If an agreement was not reached, she would schedule a trial.

Since Musk suddenly proclaimed he actually wanted to buy Twitter again earlier this month, Twitter’s most internally visible leader has been Jay Sullivan, the general manager of consumer and revenue product. He had been holding listening sessions with employees but on Thursday the meeting was called off just hours after employees received a calendar invitation for an informal check in call with him.

Many employees of the social networking company have pointed out the absence of Parag Argawal, the CEO whom Musk soured on after they started talking about Musk joining the board. “He has been completely absent for weeks,” one current Twitter employee, who requested anonymity to speak without the company’s permission, said of Argawal. “He has ghosted us,” said another. There are many comments about Argawal in both the employee Only section of Blind and the employee only section of Slack.

The execs received handsome payouts for their trouble, Insider reports: Agrawal got $38.7 million, Segal got $25.4 million, Gadde got $12.5 million, and Personette, who tweeted yesterday about how excited she was for Musk’s takeover, got $11.2 million.

After six months of wrangling, it’s all over: Elon Musk owns Twitter. How did that happen? Read on — we’ll lay out every step of how it happened and how the billionaire is now in control of Twitter, with several former execs abruptly escorted out of the building and Twitter employees awaiting the first updates from their new “Chief Twit.”

Hitting a Sink: Musk’s Twitter Under the Microwave Guns: The Case Against Privacy and Public Integrity in Silicon Valley

Although they came quickly, the major personnel moves had been widely expected and almost certainly are the first of many major changes the mercurial Tesla CEO will make.

About the same time, he used Twitter to criticize Gadde, the company’s top lawyer. His tweets were followed by a wave of harassment of Gadde from other Twitter accounts. For Gadde, an 11-year Twitter employee who also heads public policy and safety, the harassment included racist and misogynistic attacks, in addition to calls for Musk to fire her. On Thursday, after she was fired, the harassing tweets lit up once again.

The note is a shift from Musk’s position that Twitter is unfairly infringing on free speech rights by blocking misinformation or graphic content, said Pinar Yildirim, associate professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

She said it’s also a realization that having no moderation is bad for business, and putsTwitter at risk of losing advertisers and subscribers.

“You do not want a place where consumers just simply are bombarded with things they do not want to hear about, and the platform takes no responsibility,” Yildirim said.

The deal is going through, according to Musk. He strolled into the company’s San Francisco headquarters Wednesday carrying a porcelain sink, changed his Twitter profile to “Chief Twit,” and tweeted “Entering Twitter HQ — let that sink in!”

And overnight the New York Stock Exchange notified investors that it will suspend trading in shares of Twitter before the opening bell Friday in anticipation of the company going private under Musk.

Musk was enthusiastic about visiting the headquarters this week, but his earlier suggestion that the building should be turned into a homeless shelter due to the low number of employees was out of place.

There is a new emphasis on advertising revenue, especially in the area of targeting ads that can collect and analyze users’ personal information.

The elitist gatekeepers of the information landscape: Ericson Musk’s recent 24 hours on the platform have failed to discredit the mainstream

Take Musk’s last 24 hours on the platform for example: The billionaire gave credence to a fringe conspiracy theory about the brutal attack on Paul Pelosi. Musk criticized the media outlets when they reported on his irresponsible behavior. He lashed out at The Guardian as a far left wing propaganda machine, and trolled The New York Times.

This article was included in theReliable Sources newsletter. Sign up for the daily digest chronicling the evolving media landscape here.

In fact, not only has Musk himself contaminated the information environment he now reigns over, but he is apparently working to dismantle the little infrastructure erected to help users sift through the daily chaos. Recent news reports, including from CNN, indicate that he plans to strip public figures and institutions of their blue verified badges if they do not pay.

There is a possibility that the business story will appear to be charging for verified badges. But the move will have significant ramifications on the information landscape. It will make it hard for users to distinguish authentic accounts from inauthentic ones.

The right has for years lashed out at “blue checks,” whom in their eyes represent elitist gatekeepers who control the conversation, even though many conservatives also don blue badges. Taking away the free blue checks and the authority of the profile they are appended to is a delight for some conservatives.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/31/media/elon-musk-tweets-reliable-sources/index.html

Why $240 a Year isn’t Too Much to Make a Sense Of Twitter, and How to Preserve That Trust

Musk’s authorized biographer, Walter Isaacson, tweeted in 2018 that “the best thing” one could do to “save social networks, the internet, civil discourse, democracy, email, and reduce hacking would be authenticating users.”

Power users are the first place that Musk wants to make money from. We learned over the weekend that Musk will be introducing an update to his service that will cost $20 per month. It fits with Musk’s plans to make the premium subscription service more valuable for its most active users. But verification serves a central trust-building role for Twitter — and Musk’s proposal could erode that trust just as the platform threatens to spiral out of control.

At their best, these two Twitter styles are complementary. The inherent seriousness of Newswire Twitter heightens the humor and absurdity of Nonsense Twitter, and the style of Nonsense Twitter bleeds into Newswire Twitter, doing things like turning government consumer protection agencies into memelords. There is even room for chaos, like the fake North Korean propaganda feed that has fooled several news outlets.

But the system works (to the extent it does work) because verification helps separate order from chaos. A blue checkmark is a sign that you can reasonably believe a brand, agency, or person is speaking for themselves. It removes the guesswork of scanning an account’s tweets and profile to gauge its veracity, especially in a fast-moving situation like a scandal, an election, or a public health emergency. It’s the seal of authenticity that gives serious accounts license to be playful, trusting that readers can check for their credentials.

All of which might sound like an argument for Musk’s new plan. $240 a year isn’t much to pay for preserving a sense of trust if you’re someone like Bey or Mcdonald’s.