After the millionaire purchase of the social network Twitter by the businessman Elon MuskMany things have happened around the microblogging site, which led to uncertainty on Thursday night, as the new owner undertook several actions that call into question the future of this space for expression and dissemination.
The beginning of what is associated with hashtags in social networks #RIPTwitter Y #TwitterDown begins after the purchase for 44 billion dollars by Musk, transaction completed on October 27 past.
The purchase raised several questions among advertisers, many of whom chose to put in pause business relationship with Twitter until having a defined picture of the direction that the platform will take after its acquisition by Musk, this is the case of Audi, Lamborghini, Bentley, Porsche, Grupo VolkswagenCarlsberg Group, United Airlines, REI, General Engines and L’Oréal, among others.
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October 28Musk pointed out that Twitter would not become a “hell of freedom”, so he announced the creation of a content moderation council, this after human rights groups expressed their concern about the appearance of more speeches from hate and misinformation on the platform.
Another important point was the announcement, the November 1stof a kind of subscription called Twitter Blue that, for a cost of 8 US dollars a month, offered attractions such as the reduction of advertising and the possibility of sharing longer videos, however, the one that attracted the most attention was that of get a verification badge (blue tick).
The November 2, the billionaire again generates controversy by announcing that verified accounts that were suspended in the past could be reactivated after “a clear process.” The message was directly related to the account of former US President Donald Trump, who was banned from Twitter for inciting, from his account, the assault on the Capitol in 2021.
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Mass layoff of Twitter workers
On the other hand, Elon Musk had announced (since October 31) the massive dismissal of workers, at least 50% of the workforce worldwide, an action carried out on November 4th In the past, when thousands of now former employees of the social network denounced, ironically, through their Twitter profiles that when they arrived at their offices or started their work at home, they could not access anything related to work; others received emails announcing that in the afternoon they would know if they would be fired, a second message assured that the cuts were “necessary” because they represented “an effort to put Twitter on a healthy path.” In Mexico, things escalated further, as all personnel were terminated from their duties.
According to information from Bloomberg, the former workers organized to sue Twitter before a federal court in San Francisco, which aims to make employees aware that “they should not give up their rights and that they have a way to persecute them.” “said the attorney accompanying the suit, Shannon Liss-Riordan.
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Twitter Blue, the usurpation of identities for 8 dollars a month
The November 5th start the project Twitter Blue aforementioned. This is how, suddenly, many verified accounts began to appear from the areas where this pilot program was enabled, which led to a new problem for Twitter, the usurpation of identities and the proliferation of false accounts.
The case of a person with a subscription who usurped the graphic identity and name of the company stands out. pharmacist Eli Lilly: The fake account published a message of global significance: free insulin. The company immediately published a message apologizing for the confusion and added that from now on all its accounts will have the “official” addition, to avoid confusion, however, that tweet cost the company 15 billion Well, his actions went into a tailspin.
It should be noted that together with Novo Nordisk and Sanofi, Eli Lilly controls 90 percent of the world’s insulin and that they have been strongly criticized, since in 1923 Frederick Banting, Charles Best and James Collip, creators of the formula for insulin, applied for a US patent and sold it to the University of Toronto for one dollar each, they did so because, as Best once said, “insulin belongs to the world.”
Elon Musk next to the Twitter logo
This moment was seized upon by US Senator Bernie Sanders to reinforce the message that he has been defending for years: “Let’s be clear. Eli Lilly should apologize for increasing the price of insulin by 1,200 percent since 1996 to $275, while it costs less than $10 to produce. The inventors of insulin sold their patents in 1923 for a dollar, to save lives, not to make the head of Eli Lilly obscenely rich,” he wrote on his Twitter account.
Musk’s response to this situation was a simple tweet that said “all accounts dedicated to parody, must include “parody” in their name.” The November 11thTwitter ends its subscription program.
Let’s be clear. Eli Lilly should apologize for increasing the price of insulin by over 1,200% since 1996 to $275 while it costs less than $10 to manufacture. The inventors of insulin sold their patents in 1923 for $1 to save lives, not to make Eli Lilly’s CEO obscenely rich. https://t.co/5ZpZkqY0f9
—Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) November 11, 2022
An ultimatum and the “Twitter exodus”
The November 10Twitter’s head of security, Leah Kissnerthe director of privacy, Damien Kieranand the director of compliance, Marianne Fogartythey resigned from their positions, due to the renewal in the platform’s policies.
Forecasts about the disappearance of the social network intensified on Nov. 16since it was made public an ultimatum sent by Elon Musk, via email, to people who were still working with Twitter.
“In the future, to build a Twitter 2.0 groundbreaking and succeed in an increasingly competitive world, we will have to be extremely tough. This means working long hours at high intensity. Only exceptional performance will constitute a pass. The letter that was made public on social networks begins.
“If you are sure you want to be part of the new Twitter, please click the link below”, a button that redirected to a form. If they do not do so before 5:00 p.m. Eastern time in the United States, they would be out of a job and receive three months’ compensation, ”she concludes.
Once the deadline for making this decision has expired, the November 17Twitter employees began posting photos and videos of their last moments as part of the platform, in what is known as the “exodus from Twitter”.
In the midst of the massive resignation, Musk announced the three-day closure of his offices in San Francisco, a place that was used to carry out a projection with adjectives that mock the businessman: “Elon Musk: worthless millionaire, supreme parasite, racist, Space Karen”, reads a video that ironically became relevant on Twitter.
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One last attempt to rescue Twitter?
After the resignation of his workforce, the also owner of Space X, decided to publish a thread of tweets in which he mocks the situation and hints that the end of Twitter is near, however, he also assured that “Twitter has achieved a new all-time high in traffic LOL (acronym for laughing a lot)”.
This Friday morning, it transpired that Elon Musk called a Extraordinary meeting with the Twitter software engineers (those who remain):
“Anyone who can actually write software, please report to the 10th floor today at 2 pm,” he wrote in an email seen by CNN.
“If you are working remotely, please email the request below and I will try to talk to you via video. Only those who cannot physically reach Twitter headquarters or have a family emergency are exempt, ”he wrote in another communication minutes later.
“These will be brief technical interviews that will allow me to better understand Twitter’s technological stack,” the message ends. There have been no further updates.
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