Immediately after Musk bought Twitter on Oct. 27, the billionaire went to work making changes to the platform. From firing executives to proposing a new content oversight board, a lot has unfolded with Musk at the helm. But Musk’s Twitter saga was chaotic even before he took control. The two sides secured a deal for him to buy the company in April, but Musk later tried to back out of the deal, prompting Twitter to sue him. After months of messy pretrial skirmishes, the leader of SpaceX and Tesla finally closed on the company’s acquisition just ahead of a deadline that would have forced him to face Twitter in court. Here’s the latest news on Musk’s acquisition of Twitter:
November 5: Paying for checks, hearing from Dorsey
The payment plan for verification appears in the iOS update
On Saturday, the release notes for the latest iteration of the Twitter app for Apple’s iPhone appeared in the App Store, with a What’s New section showing the ability to verify. The notes tell users that “starting today” if you “sign up now” for an $8-a-month Twitter Blue subscription, “your account will have a blue checkmark, just like the celebrities, companies and politicians you already follow.” . It seems, however, that the program hasn’t actually started yet. Read more here.
Dorsey weighs in
With news that Twitter had laid off about half its workforce, co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey took to the service on Saturday to offer words of encouragement and blame himself. “I take responsibility for why everyone is in this situation: I grew the size of the company too quickly. I apologize for that,” Dorsey tweeted. He also called Twitter employees past and present “resilient” and said, “I’m grateful and I love everyone who’s ever worked at Twitter. I don’t expect it to be mutual right now.” In April, Dorsey expressed his support for Elon Musk’s takeover of the company, but also said that in principle, he believed that no one should own or run Twitter and that it should instead be “a public good”.
November 4: Musk says Twitter had a “massive drop” in revenue
Since Musk’s buyout, several major advertisers, including Tesla rival General Motors, food company General Mills and pharmaceutical company Pfizer, have temporarily suspended their ad campaigns on Twitter. Musk tweeted that Twitter had a “massive drop” in revenue, which he blamed on activist groups pressuring advertisers. Musk did not say in his tweet how much Twitter’s revenue has fallen, nor did he identify the activists. In the tweet, Musk also said that Twitter has not changed its content moderation policies. Musk also made an appearance at the Baron Investment Conference, where he noted that Twitter faced revenue challenges before the acquisition and that it tried to get out of the deal. His comments came after Twitter began laying off employees. Late Friday, Musk tweeted that “there is no choice when the company is losing over $4 million/day.” Without specifying how many people were laid off or what percentage of the workforce, Musk added that they were “offered 3 months of severance.” About half of Twitter’s 7,500-person workforce has reportedly been laid off. Civil rights groups who met with Musk earlier this week spoke about the layoffs. “For starters, there is no way to maintain electoral integrity if you cut the ability to follow #TwitterLayoffs,” tweeted Rashad Robinson, president of the racial justice group Color of Change. The group is part of #StopToxicTwitter, a coalition of more than 60 organizations urging major advertisers to stop spending and invest in curbing content. Partners listed on the coalition’s website include the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Public Citizen and the Union of Concerned Scientists. Volkswagen Group and others reportedly halted ad spending over concerns that ads could appear alongside problematic content on the platform.
November 3: Musk seeks ways to cut costs, lawsuit filed
Musk wants to cut costs and make Twitter less dependent on advertising. Reuters, citing two sources familiar with the matter and an internal Slack message, said Musk asked the Twitter team to find more than $1 billion in infrastructure cost savings. The company is looking at other ways to make money outside of advertising, including “paywalled” videos and paid direct messages, the New York Times said, citing two people with knowledge of the matter and internal documents. Musk is already making changes to Twitter’s work culture. Bloomberg reported that Musk has removed “rest days” from Twitter’s employee calendars and plans to rescind the company’s telecommuting policy. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Twitter reportedly told employees in an email that there would be layoffs. A lawsuit seeking class-action status, filed Thursday, accused Twitter of violating the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (WARN), which requires large companies to give at least 60 days notice before mass layoffs, as previously reported by Bloomberg.
November 2: Musk reportedly plans to cut half of Twitter’s workforce
Musk plans to cut about 3,700 jobs at Twitter, or half of the social media company’s workforce, Bloomberg reported. The affected employees will be informed of their fate by Friday, sources told the news agency. Musk also plans to reverse the company’s existing work-from-anywhere policy by requiring other employees to report to an office, the unnamed sources said. In a Twitter downsizing scenario being considered, laid-off workers would receive 60 days of severance pay. Twitter users have been bracing for layoffs since Musk announced his bid for Twitter in April. A report said that Musk planned to cut 75% of jobs at Twitter.
November 1: Musk proposes a verification fee
In a series of tweets, Musk floated the idea that Twitter charges $8 a month for a verified blue checkmark as part of its subscription plan. The company’s subscription service, known as Twitter Blue, currently costs $5 a month, but doesn’t include verification as a perk. Currently, Twitter doesn’t charge for verifying accounts with a blue checkmark, and the badge is supposed to be awarded to accounts that the company deems to be “important, authentic and active.” The blue check mark is intended to help users determine whether or not an account of a celebrity, journalist or other public figure is fake. Musk tweeted that the price will be adjusted by country and that the subscription will include “priority on replies, reports and search, which is necessary to eliminate spam/fraud”, as well as “the ability to post large video and audio”. He also said that users will see “half the ads”. Earlier in the day, the Wall Street Journal reported that Twitter Blue subscribers will lose access to ad-free articles from publishers like Vox, the Los Angeles Times and Insider. There have been various reports of different prices for a Twitter Blue subscription, with the company also considering raising the subscription price to $20 per month. It’s unclear from Musk’s tweets whether verified users would have to pay for a subscription or lose their blue checkmark. Musk tweeted that there would be “a secondary label” for public figures, like the one now used for politicians. The company’s Chief Customer Officer, Sarah Personette, also revealed in a tweet that she was stepping down on Friday. Hey guys, I wanted to share that I resigned from Twitter on Friday and my work access was officially cut off last night. — Sarah Personette (@SEP) November 1, 2022 Meanwhile, Twitter announced it had removed 1,500 accounts since Saturday for posting hateful content.
Oct. 31: CEO official, board disbanded, layoffs planned, no Trump decision yet, limited content oversight
Days after calling himself “Chief Twit” on his Twitter profile, Musk confirmed he is the company’s CEO through a securities filing. Other changes in Twitter’s leadership are also underway. A related securities filing shows Twitter’s board dissolved the day Musk took over and recognized Musk as the company’s “sole director.” It also reportedly plans to lay off 25 percent of Twitter’s workforce, the Washington Post reported, citing unnamed sources. Musk, who has previously said he would overturn former US President Donald Trump’s permanent ban from Twitter, still faces questions about whether he will follow through. Twitter kicked Trump off its platform in 2021 after the deadly US Capitol riot over concerns that his comments could incite more violence. “If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me if Trump is coming back to this platform, Twitter would be making money!” Musk wrote on Twitter. Twitter also restricted some Trust and Safety employees’ access to internal tools, Bloomberg reported, limiting their ability to moderate content and counter disinformation ahead of next week’s US election. They can obviously still edit or remove posts that could cause harm in the real world. “This is exactly what we (or any company) should be doing in the midst of a corporate transition to reduce opportunities for insider risks. We’re still enforcing our rules at scale,” tweeted Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of security and integrity. . in…
title: “Twitter Elon Musk Timeline Pay For Verification Appears In App Dorsey Speaks " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-22” author: “Willie West”
Immediately after Musk bought Twitter on Oct. 27, the billionaire went to work making changes to the platform. From firing executives to proposing a new content oversight board, a lot has unfolded with Musk at the helm. But Musk’s Twitter saga was chaotic even before he took control. The two sides secured a deal for him to buy the company in April, but Musk later tried to back out of the deal, prompting Twitter to sue him. After months of messy pretrial skirmishes, the leader of SpaceX and Tesla finally closed on the company’s acquisition just ahead of a deadline that would have forced him to face Twitter in court. Here’s the latest news on Musk’s acquisition of Twitter:
November 5: Paying for checks, hearing from Dorsey
The payment plan for verification appears in the iOS update
On Saturday, the release notes for the latest iteration of the Twitter app for Apple’s iPhone appeared in the App Store, with a What’s New section showing the ability to verify. The notes tell users that “starting today” if you “sign up now” for an $8-a-month Twitter Blue subscription, “your account will have a blue checkmark, just like the celebrities, companies and politicians you already follow.” . It seems, however, that the program hasn’t actually started yet. Read more here.
Dorsey weighs in
With news that Twitter had laid off about half its workforce, co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey took to the service on Saturday to offer words of encouragement and blame himself. “I take responsibility for why everyone is in this situation: I grew the size of the company too quickly. I apologize for that,” Dorsey tweeted. He also called Twitter employees past and present “resilient” and said, “I’m grateful and I love everyone who’s ever worked at Twitter. I don’t expect it to be mutual right now.” In April, Dorsey expressed his support for Elon Musk’s takeover of the company, but also said that in principle, he believed that no one should own or run Twitter and that it should instead be “a public good”.
November 4: Musk says Twitter had a “massive drop” in revenue
Since Musk’s buyout, several major advertisers, including Tesla rival General Motors, food company General Mills and pharmaceutical company Pfizer, have temporarily suspended their ad campaigns on Twitter. Musk tweeted that Twitter had a “massive drop” in revenue, which he blamed on activist groups pressuring advertisers. Musk did not say in his tweet how much Twitter’s revenue has fallen, nor did he identify the activists. In the tweet, Musk also said that Twitter has not changed its content moderation policies. Musk also made an appearance at the Baron Investment Conference, where he noted that Twitter faced revenue challenges before the acquisition and that it tried to get out of the deal. His comments came after Twitter began laying off employees. Late Friday, Musk tweeted that “there is no choice when the company is losing over $4 million/day.” Without specifying how many people were laid off or what percentage of the workforce, Musk added that they were “offered 3 months of severance.” About half of Twitter’s 7,500-person workforce has reportedly been laid off. Civil rights groups who met with Musk earlier this week spoke about the layoffs. “For starters, there is no way to maintain electoral integrity if you cut the ability to follow #TwitterLayoffs,” tweeted Rashad Robinson, president of the racial justice group Color of Change. The group is part of #StopToxicTwitter, a coalition of more than 60 organizations urging major advertisers to stop spending and invest in curbing content. Partners listed on the coalition’s website include the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Public Citizen and the Union of Concerned Scientists. Volkswagen Group and others reportedly halted ad spending over concerns that ads could appear alongside problematic content on the platform.
November 3: Musk seeks ways to cut costs, lawsuit filed
Musk wants to cut costs and make Twitter less dependent on advertising. Reuters, citing two sources familiar with the matter and an internal Slack message, said Musk asked the Twitter team to find more than $1 billion in infrastructure cost savings. The company is looking at other ways to make money outside of advertising, including “paywalled” videos and paid direct messages, the New York Times said, citing two people with knowledge of the matter and internal documents. Musk is already making changes to Twitter’s work culture. Bloomberg reported that Musk has removed “rest days” from Twitter’s employee calendars and plans to rescind the company’s telecommuting policy. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Twitter reportedly told employees in an email that there would be layoffs. A lawsuit seeking class-action status, filed Thursday, accused Twitter of violating the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (WARN), which requires large companies to give at least 60 days notice before mass layoffs, as previously reported by Bloomberg.
November 2: Musk reportedly plans to cut half of Twitter’s workforce
Musk plans to cut about 3,700 jobs at Twitter, or half of the social media company’s workforce, Bloomberg reported. The affected employees will be informed of their fate by Friday, sources told the news agency. Musk also plans to reverse the company’s existing work-from-anywhere policy by requiring other employees to report to an office, the unnamed sources said. In a Twitter downsizing scenario being considered, laid-off workers would receive 60 days of severance pay. Twitter users have been bracing for layoffs since Musk announced his bid for Twitter in April. A report said that Musk planned to cut 75% of jobs at Twitter.
November 1: Musk proposes a verification fee
In a series of tweets, Musk floated the idea that Twitter charges $8 a month for a verified blue checkmark as part of its subscription plan. The company’s subscription service, known as Twitter Blue, currently costs $5 a month, but doesn’t include verification as a perk. Currently, Twitter doesn’t charge for verifying accounts with a blue checkmark, and the badge is supposed to be awarded to accounts that the company deems to be “important, authentic and active.” The blue check mark is intended to help users determine whether or not an account of a celebrity, journalist or other public figure is fake. Musk tweeted that the price will be adjusted by country and that the subscription will include “priority on replies, reports and search, which is necessary to eliminate spam/fraud”, as well as “the ability to post large video and audio”. He also said that users will see “half the ads”. Earlier in the day, the Wall Street Journal reported that Twitter Blue subscribers will lose access to ad-free articles from publishers like Vox, the Los Angeles Times and Insider. There have been various reports of different prices for a Twitter Blue subscription, with the company also considering raising the subscription price to $20 per month. It’s unclear from Musk’s tweets whether verified users would have to pay for a subscription or lose their blue checkmark. Musk tweeted that there would be “a secondary label” for public figures, like the one now used for politicians. The company’s Chief Customer Officer, Sarah Personette, also revealed in a tweet that she was stepping down on Friday. Hey guys, I wanted to share that I resigned from Twitter on Friday and my work access was officially cut off last night. — Sarah Personette (@SEP) November 1, 2022 Meanwhile, Twitter announced it had removed 1,500 accounts since Saturday for posting hateful content.
Oct. 31: CEO official, board disbanded, layoffs planned, no Trump decision yet, limited content oversight
Days after calling himself “Chief Twit” on his Twitter profile, Musk confirmed he is the company’s CEO through a securities filing. Other changes in Twitter’s leadership are also underway. A related securities filing shows Twitter’s board dissolved the day Musk took over and recognized Musk as the company’s “sole director.” It also reportedly plans to lay off 25 percent of Twitter’s workforce, the Washington Post reported, citing unnamed sources. Musk, who has previously said he would overturn former US President Donald Trump’s permanent ban from Twitter, still faces questions about whether he will follow through. Twitter kicked Trump off its platform in 2021 after the deadly US Capitol riot over concerns that his comments could incite more violence. “If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me if Trump is coming back to this platform, Twitter would be making money!” Musk wrote on Twitter. Twitter also restricted some Trust and Safety employees’ access to internal tools, Bloomberg reported, limiting their ability to moderate content and counter disinformation ahead of next week’s US election. They can obviously still edit or remove posts that could cause harm in the real world. “This is exactly what we (or any company) should be doing in the midst of a corporate transition to reduce opportunities for insider risks. We’re still enforcing our rules at scale,” tweeted Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of security and integrity. . in…
