From reinstating Trump’s account to banning several renowned journalists, Elon Musk took many controversial steps since buying the social media giant Twitter. Let’s go through some of those steps.
Immediately Fired Twitter’s Top Authorities
After taking over Twitter, Elon Musk immediately took the first controversial step by firing top authorities of Twitter, including CEO Parag Agarwal, CFO Ned Segal and General Counsel Vijaya Gadde.
Initially, Musk posted a video of entering the Twitter Headquarters on his handle. In the post, he said let that sink in! He meant to say that he was looking to sink some old guards of Twitter, such as the CEO, CFO etc.
It doesn’t stop there. Musk laid off nearly 70-80% of Twitter’s 75,000 employees.
Launched $8 Blue Tick Monthly Subscription
The launch of the $8 blue tick monthly subscription was the second most significant announcement made by Elon Musk. The subscription allows users to have the verified blue tick and access to other facilities like the edit post button and higher ranking in replier.
Firstly, the program was rolled out in November, but it was taken back due to some disastrous things, as fake accounts began impersonating other users.
Later in December, the program was relaunched with guardrails attached.
Reinstated Several Twitter Accounts, including Former President Trump
Under Musk’s ownership, several previously banned Twitter accounts were reinstated including Former President Donald Trump, the Babylon Bee, James O’Keefe, Dr Jordan Peterson, Mike Lindell, and Taylor Greene.
However, Musk conducted a poll on his Twitter handle asking reinstate former president Trump. 51.8% people voted yes.
Not only did he reinstate the accounts, but he also banned some high-profile users, including Kanye West, for his anti-semitic posts.
Took Action against Accounts Doxxing Real-Time Location
Elon Musk suspended @ElonJet Twitter account due to a physical safety violation since it was doxxing the real-time location of his private jet. Musk says publicising his personal information can be dangerous to him and his family.
Musk even threatened account users to take legal action against them. Since then, it was announced that anyone who is doxxing real-time locations or posting links to sites with real-time locations would be suspended from Twitter.
Suspended various Journalists Twitter Accounts
Several Journalists from top organisations, such as Drew Harwell from Washington Post, Donie O’Sullivan from CNN and Ryan Mac from New York Times, were permanently banned from Twitter without any explanation.
Many other reporters started questioning Musk about why he took this action without explaining. In response to these questions, Musk said that the same doxxing rules apply to these banned accounts.
However, many users slammed the premise of Musk’s doxxing reason since his private jet location is already public. On the other hand, most of them also called him a hypocrite as, on one side, he called himself a free speech absolutist, but on the other side, he is banning some of the renowned journalists.
The Washington Post, CNN and New York Times called Musk’s decision unjustified and asked him to reinstate their reporter’s accounts.
On Twitter, Musk announced two polls asking his followers to vote when should the accounts who doxxed his location in real time be reinstated.
Most of the followers voted that they should be reinstated now. Later, Musk chose to restore their accounts.
Release of Twitter Files
One of Musk’s most significant impacts was the release of Twitter Files. These files highlighted controversial actions the platform made before he took over. However, the files were shared by the journalists in different batches.
Without Musk’s knowledge, the first batch of Twitter FIles was vetted by deputy general counsel Jim Baker, as she was overwhelmed by Taibbi’s reporting regarding the suppression of the Hunter Biden story.
However, it is still unclear whether Baker is involved in vetting the Twitter Files. The second batch of these files was published by Weiss, focussing on Twitter blocklisting some prominent conservatives, including Fox News host Dan Bongina, Stanford University’s Dr Jay Bhattacharya and Charlie Kirk.
The third and fourth batches of Twitter Files revealed the suspension of former president Donal Trump due to the Jan 6 Capitol Riot. In the fifth instalment, it was revealed that the tweets written by Trump around the Jan 6 incident had not violated Twitter’s policies.
Let’s reveal out other instalments of these files also;
- The sixth instalment shed light on Twitter’s close ties with the FBI.
- In the topic of the Hunter Biden laptop story, the seventh part also showed Twitter’s cosiness with the FBI.
- The eighth instalment was revealed by investigative reporter Lee Fang exposing Twitter due to their involvement in the Pentagon’s foreign influencing campaigns.
- The tenth instalment was revealed by writer David Zweig, focussing on COVID and the platform’s efforts to enforce misinformation policy.
Step Down as CEO of Twitter
Recently, Musk announced that he will step down as CEO of Twitter as he found someone to take the job. He conducted a poll asking his followers whether he should resign as Twitter’s Chief Executive Officer.
Around 57.5% voted yes and agreed with his decision.
What’s Next?
Whether there will be a new Twitter CEO, one thing will be very specific: the platform will never be the same in 2023. Stay tuned with Briefing Headlines to know what’s going to be happen next!
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