Elon Musk is in the middle of a nightmare: his name is Twitter
Elon Musk, who has been the owner of Twitter since October 27, is increasingly controversial. The controversies are tied together without the billionaire doing anything to calm the game.
Ever since Elon Musk announced his intention to buy Twitter, everyone has been warning businessmen about the risks of running a social network. The billionaire, who is used to touching the field of greatness with Tesla and SpaceX, decided to play with fire by attacking one of the least regulated areas of the Internet, generally accused by all camps of all the evils of the world. Nevertheless, Elon Musk did indeed take over Twitter on October 27th (admittedly after months of trying to pull back).
What were the early days of Twitter Era 2 like? The most optimistic would imagine that Elon Musk would calm things down by empowering, but the billionaire seems to be on a mission of destruction. Even in worst-case scenarios, most people wouldn’t imagine Elon Musk causing this much chaos. More happened on Twitter in one weekend (November 4-7) than it usually does in a few months.
Elon Musk explores the hell that is Twitter
Elon Musk revealed his color from the first days of his capture. By dismissing the entire management of the social network and appointing himself the head of the company, Elon Musk wanted to make it clear that he is now the sole manager. He then went on to ask his fans what they should do first, offering some crazy ideas like splitting Twitter into two (a right-wing version and a left-wing version), ending the 280 character limit, bringing back Vine, or creating a new video. did the moderation commission, a bit like Facebook, is made up of people with different opinions (including extreme ones, as he promised activists).
These early moves may seem confusing, but they were just appetizers before the real chaos ensued. On November 1, Elon Musk announced that he intends to charge Twitter users $8 per month in exchange for certification and better promotion of the algorithm. His idea is simple: you will have to pay to be seen on Twitter at the risk of not appearing in the algorithm. The decision obviously earned him a lot of criticism, with some accusing him of selling a token typically used to verify the authenticity of data. Elon Musk usually responds with provocation rather than attempting dialogue.
Unfortunately, the debate over the end of free Twitter isn’t the only issue at the moment. Elon Musk appears to have entered a downward spiral, causing disorder wherever he goes.
Layoffs, advertisers, identity theft, constant exclusions and criticism of journalism… Elon Musk’s crazy weekend
Days go by and Elon Musk is getting eaten more and more by Twitter, which we always know is cursed. To get a sense of the extent of Elon Musk’s hell, check out everything that happened between November 4th and 7th (and we’re still probably forgetting some):
- Elon Musk fired 50% of Twitter employees via email after canceling all employee badges as a security measure.
- Some of the laid-off employees were brought back because Elon Musk realized he needed them for newly announced positions (like longer tweets).
- Elon Musk has complained that Twitter’s revenue has fallen significantly since his arrival as advertisers bowed to pressure from “activists”.
- Elon Musk refused to apologize after posting a conspiracy theory from a site known to be unreliable.
- He also answered sarcasticallyhe suggested to anyone who questioned himself with provocation or obfuscation.
- Elon Musk’s personality has been imitated by many verified accounts and wanted to prove to him that the badge has meaning.
- Elon Musk mocked comedian Sarah Silverman for not only usurping her name but also his work (he promised that “comedy is now legal on Twitter”).
- Elon Musk blocked many accounts of critics and people who tried to talk to him.
- Elon Musk announced a change in policy. Any account that changes its name will be permanently banned from Twitter as previously warned…
- Still due to identity theft, Elon Musk entered into a controversy regarding the certification. He criticized journalists, saying he believed Twitter could be the world’s best source of news because of its verified users and questioned the media’s legitimacy.
- Elon Musk also took issue with Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, asking him what reference he was citing to state that Twitter should become the world’s best source of information.
- Dorsey and Musk also clashed over the name of the “Community Notes” feature, which allows users to spoof each other. Jack Dorsey prefers the old name “Birdwatch”.
Perhaps we’re forgetting other controversies, as Elon Musk continues to respond to Internet users who ask him to solve their personal or political problems. Twitter seems to be totally over it, although the promised changes have yet to materialize…
And this hell is probably just beginning.
