Rocio Muñoz-Ledo
(CNN) This Sunday formally marked the primary month for the reason that world’s richest man took over Twitter.
In that interval, Elon Musk launched mass layoffs and issued cryptic ultimatums to the remainder of the employees, reinstated the accounts of controversial figures together with former President Donald Trump, and launched — after which scrapped — a scheme to receives a commission for iconic clothes manufacturers. twitter blue verify
After spending months embroiled in an unsuccessful authorized battle to get out of his preliminary proposal to purchase Twitter, Musk made his first grand entrance on the firm’s workplaces on October 26, carrying a rest room. (In a video of the incident shared on Twitter, he wrote: “Strolling into Twitter HQ, so that you guys get the thought!)
Since then, the billionaire has seemingly left no stone unturned throughout his fast-paced first month as “Chief Tuit.” Here is a have a look at the number of methods Musk (who stays, concurrently, the CEO of his different firms Tesla and SpaceX) has already made his mark on one of many world’s most outstanding social media platforms.
Musk kills C-suite, then cuts roughly half of Twitter employees
Virtually instantly after Musk accomplished his drama-plagued $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter, he fired former CEO Parag Agrawal and different executives. He later grew to become the platform’s CEO and sole director, in keeping with a securities submitting.
Nevertheless, the drastic management shakeup was solely the primary style of the nice turnover to return. Musk started with wide-ranging layoffs throughout the corporate, slicing his total headcount by roughly 50% within the span of a few days.
On the eve of November 3 and thru November 4, quite a few former Twitter workers started posting on the platform that that they had been banned from their firm e-mail accounts as job cuts started to unfold at a speedy tempo. very dramatic public manner.
The layoffs affected departments together with ethics synthetic intelligence, advertising and marketing and communications, search, public coverage and extra. As employees mentioned goodbye to their colleagues on-line (many shared blue hearts and greeting emojis to point that they had misplaced their jobs on Twitter), Musk remained principally silent, not less than concerning the job cuts.
In one other dramatic transfer by the brand new boss, Musk publicly fired a software program engineer who had survived the preliminary spherical of cuts however later questioned Musk on Twitter.
Musk provides remaining workers an ultimatum: Work ‘extraordinarily laborious’ or go away
In a late-night inner e-mail after huge employees cuts, Musk known as on Twitter’s remaining workers to decide to “extraordinarily laborious” work or go away the corporate with severance pay.
“Shifting ahead, to construct ahead Twitter 2.0 and reach an more and more aggressive world, we’ll should be extraordinarily robust,” Musk wrote within the memo despatched Nov. 16. “This can imply working many hours at excessive depth. Solely distinctive efficiency will represent a passing grade.”
Twitter workers say goodbye after Elon Musk’s ultimatum to work ‘extraordinarily laborious’
Within the memo, Musk went on to explain how Twitter will probably be “rather more engineering-driven” after which provides the employees an ultimatum. “Should you’re certain you wish to be part of the brand new Twitter, click on Sure on the hyperlink under,” directing employees to what seems to be a web-based type.
Musk mentioned that any worker who didn’t achieve this by 5 p.m. ET the subsequent day, Thursday, would obtain three months’ severance.
Advertisers flee and Musk a “massive drop in income”
Within the shadow of the exodus of employees, a departure of advertisers was additionally brewing.
For the reason that Musk takeover, a handful of manufacturers — starting from Common Mills to North Face to Volkswagen Group — have confirmed a pause in promoting on the social community as civil society organizations have raised new issues concerning the course of selling. the corporate underneath Musk.
A few week after taking on the corporate, Musk mentioned he had seen a “massive drop in income.”
“Twitter has suffered a big drop in income as activist teams pressured advertisers, although nothing has modified with reference to content material moderation and we did all the pieces doable to appease activists,” he mentioned in a tweet. “Very fallacious! They attempt to destroy free speech in America.”
An ongoing saga concerning the blue verify marks begins
One other side of Twitter that Musk shortly modified is likely one of the platform’s most acquainted options to its customers: the blue checkmarks which have lengthy been used to verify the authenticity of officers, journalists and different public figures.
“Twitter’s present lords and vassals system for who does or would not have a blue verify mark is bullshit,” Musk tweeted on Nov. 1. “Energy to the individuals! Blue for $8/mo.”
Certain sufficient, on November 5, Twitter launched an up to date model of its iOS app that allowed customers to pay a month-to-month subscription charge to obtain a blue checkmark on their profiles. The replace, as described on Apple’s App Retailer on the time, said that customers would now should pay $7.99 per 30 days for the corporate’s Twitter Blue subscription to obtain a checkmark on the platform, “by similar to the celebrities, firms and politicians you already comply with.”
Inside days of the subscription service’s launch, Twitter was inundated by a wave of celeb impersonators and firms who shortly gamed the brand new system to impersonate outstanding manufacturers and figures.
Chaos ensued. In a single viral instance, a faux account, that includes a newly bought blue verify mark, purporting to be pharmaceutical big Eli Lilly, tweeted {that a} important diabetes drug would now be free.
Within the aftermath of the chaos, Musk lastly introduced that he would delay the launch of the subscription service till the top of the month.
“Blue Verified relaunch for November 29 to verify it is rock stable,” Musk tweeted on November 15.
On November 24, Musk gave a barely totally different goal date for the relaunch, December 2, and supplied extra particulars concerning the future service, together with a spread of checkmark colours to point the kind of verified account.
Twitter restores some beforehand suspended accounts, together with Donald Trump’s
On November 19, Musk restored former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account, almost two years after it was completely suspended following the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol.
The transfer got here shortly after Twitter restored the accounts of a number of different controversial customers, beforehand banned or suspended, together with Canadian conservative podcaster Jordan Peterson, right-wing satire web site Babylon Bee, comic Kathy Griffin and Rep. Marjorie Taylor. Greene.
Earlier than restoring Trump’s Twitter account, Musk posted a ballot asking Twitter customers whether or not Trump must be reinstated, the place a slim majority (51.8%) voted in favor.
“The individuals have spoken. Trump will probably be reinstated,” Musk tweeted. “Vox Populi, Vox Dei”. (Latin for “the voice of the individuals is the voice of God”).
Elon Musk Says He Began Restoring Beforehand Suspended Twitter Accounts Subsequent Week
Trump beforehand mentioned he would stay on his personal platform, Fact Social, slightly than rejoin Twitter, and has but to tweet since his account got here again on-line.
However a change in his method may have main political implications, as Trump has mentioned he’ll search the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
Musk grants “amnesty” to most beforehand suspended accounts
After conducting one other ballot on Twitter, Musk mentioned on November 24 that he started restoring most beforehand suspended accounts on Twitter beginning subsequent week. This may mark essentially the most far-reaching transfer by him but to undo the social media platform’s coverage of completely banning customers who repeatedly violated its guidelines.
The Thanksgiving announcement got here after a majority voted in favor of his ballot on whether or not to supply “normal amnesty to suspended accounts, so long as they have not damaged the legislation or engaged in egregious spam.” .
As soon as once more, Musk tweeted that “the individuals have spoken.”
His latest choices to revive beforehand suspended accounts, based mostly on the outcomes of his polls on the platform, stand in stark distinction to how Musk beforehand mentioned he would deal with such elections.
Only a day after taking management of Twitter, Musk mentioned the social media firm “will type a content material moderation council with extensively numerous viewpoints.”
“No main content material choices or account resets will probably be made earlier than the council meets,” Musk added.
It’s unknown right now if that council was ever created, convened or concerned within the decision-making behind bringing again Trump and the beforehand suspended accounts.
CNN’s Clare Duffy contributed to this report.
The CNN Wire
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