Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Ten days of Twitter chaos

Ten days of Twitter chaos

Elon Musk has a reputation for being an erratic, but brilliant business leader. In his first 10 days as Twitter boss, we have seen more of the former than the latter.

Twitter has long been thought of by Silicon Valley investors as poorly run - but with bags of potential.

Mr Musk enticed his rich friends to invest with an argument that Twitter - in the hands of someone who knew what they were doing - could be great. Free speech would abound and profits would follow.

But the first 10 days as boss has exposed Mr Musk's lack of experience at running a social media company.

It was all smiles when he took over, tweeting: "The Bird is Freed."

However, Mr Musk's initial set of policies seemed at odds with his utterances in the summer.

Whereas he had said he was a "free speech absolutist" and Donald Trump would be allowed on to the platform - he now argued that a "council" would be set up full of "diverse" voices to decide on controversial moderation decisions and permanent suspensions.

Mr Musk was announcing a policy that looked very similar to Facebook's - which has an "oversight board" for these issues.

He also said in the short term that moderation policy would not be altered.

But he did announce one big change - to Twitter's verification system.

The platform will charge users who want a blue tick verified account $8 (£7) a month, after initial reports of a $20 monthly fee were met with complaints by some celebrities, including author Stephen King.

This price reduction may have already been decided, but it gave the impression that the pricing had not been thought through, and that famous users were dictating the policy.


Subscription route to profit


There were other criticisms too.

The policy was due to be implemented in a few days. Anyone could pay to get verified and not only would they receive a blue tick, but they would also have priority in replies, mentions and search. In other words, accounts could now pay for prestige - and to be amplified on the platform.

The policy announcement instantly raised questions about authenticity and fairness. Content would now float above others because the user had paid their monthly sub.

Mr Musk said his policy was a way of addressing Twitter's bot problem. Mass verification would weed out spam accounts. But this was also about money - he believes a subscription model for Twitter is a route to profit.

Others raised questions about what opening up the verification process would do to the spread of disinformation.

With verification open to anyone, how would Twitter be able to confirm everyone was who they said they were?

With the US midterms around the corner, some worried that people could pretend to be election co-ordinators or journalists, and spread voter disinformation.

It seemed obvious that a lot of human resources would be needed to adequately verify the expected flood of new accounts. with any of Twitter's 300 million daily active users able to apply.

During his first week, Mr Musk had reportedly asked managers to draw up lists of employees to release.

On Thursday - fewer than seven days after Mr Musk officially bought the company - staff were emailed saying their jobs were under threat. About half of Twitter's 7,500 employees were then released.

That huge cull in staff raised more than a few eyebrows. Why pay $44bn for a company and then sack half the staff?

The timing also seemed strange - how had an appraisal of who to fire been drawn up so fast?

Employees were told that they would receive an email by 16:00 GMT on Friday for official confirmation, but for many it never arrived.

Simon Balmain, a senior community manager who had been logged out of his Twitter account, told the BBC he was in "limbo".

Twitter's offices were reportedly locked to all employees, except for those in mission-critical jobs. Staff were locked out of their accounts en masse. Few knew what was going on.

Instantly, questions were raised about moderation. How could Twitter take down disinformation and hate speech on its platform with so many staff released?

On Friday evening, Twitter's head of integrity, Yoel Roth, tweeted that although half of the company had been sacked, those employed in front-line moderation had experienced "the least impact".

Even so, how could Twitter usher in an unprecedented policy change of its verified accounts structure in such a state of flux?

On Saturday it was announced that the new verification process was to go ahead - anyone could apply to get a blue tick.

But then reports from The New York Times suggested that the process had been delayed - until after the midterms.

It appeared Twitter recognised that bringing in such a consequential policy change - so close to key elections - could cause havoc.

And then on Sunday, Bloomberg reported Twitter was now asking some fired workers to come back - that it had been a mistake to let some of them go.

Twitter has not responded to BBC requests for comment on these stories.

It has been hard to follow at times - and we are only 10 days in. But the chaos does suggest that if Mr Musk did have a short-term strategy for how to change Twitter, it is not going exactly to plan.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
×