Elon Musk buys Twitter for $44 billion

[TheTexan]

That's some good trolling right there. Elon would be proud

[acptulsa]

[Anti Federalist]

[acptulsa]

[Invisible Man]

What's Musk's real agenda here?

It's not just to transform Twitter into platform for more diverse views out of some kind of altruistic commitment to free speech.

That may be the effect this has, and a legitimate secondary reason. And more power to him for it. If nothing else, it illustrates how capitalism can redirect selfish motives into reasons to serve the interests of others.

But still, underneath all that, I think Musk has to have selfish motives. What are they?

Is it that he sees a legitimate opportunity to make a lot of money by paying more for Twitter than it's worth? Possibly. That probably is the simplest explanation.

I still wonder though. In decades past (and to some extent still today). Wealthy oligarchs would buy major newspapers and media outlets, not so much for their profitability as for the opportunity to leverage their influence in ways that they saw as advantageous for their other business and political endeavors. I think Musk may see potential for something like that in Twitter. There may be a superficial ideal of it being an uncontrolled venue. But I'm sure that an intelligent and creative leader like Musk can see ways to steer the messaging that Twitter broadcasts in ways that look more hands off than they really are.

[ClaytonB]

Twitter already does that:

https://twitter.com/shaunking


https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump

OK cool

[Snowball]

No doubt and there is some indication of that already in his tweet.

"and authenticating all humans".

In other words, no handles and proving who you are. At the bare minimum requiring a link to a valid cell phone number (not simply any DID) or worse drivers license or passport verification or full KYC.

Absolutely. My thoughts preceded the time I saw that. After I read it, it sent chills down my spine. (so to speak)
They are data mining. Musk is on their team.

[Occam's Banana]

They are data mining. Musk is on their team.

Bull$#@!.

There is no policy Musk can implement with respect to "authenticating all humans" for purposes of "data mining" that they couldn't already implement without him. So even granting the implementation of such a policy, the alternatives would be (1) more "data mining" and less censorship (with Musk), or (2) more "data mining" and more censorship (without Musk) - and it's silly to suggest that "they" would prefer (1) over (2).

But I guess some people just always have to find something to piss and moan about.

[ClaytonB]

Absolutely. My thoughts preceded the time I saw that. After I read it, it sent chills down my spine. (so to speak)
They are data mining. Musk is on their team.

Don't be so naive. Nobody is under illusions that Twitter et. al. are data-mining. The entire value-proposition of Twitter is data-mining. That makes Twitter one of a dozen Big Tech companies all playing exactly the same game. So, no, Elon Musk is not single-handedly going to strip you of your privacy and "authenticate" you against your will. In context, his statement clearly means that all human users of Twitter will be authenticated so that you can't have bot/spam comments taking over every Twitter thread, posing as humans. Which is what is happening right now. It's a three-letter agency operation to use Twitter and other Big Tech platforms as the world's biggest single-voice megaphone. You thought British war propaganda ads were bad, wait until you find out what is really going on with propaganda bot farms brigading these Big Tech platforms. The problem that Musk is tackling is stopping the three-letter agencies from using Twitter for that purpose... a purpose that serves no social function except tyranny. Musk cannot solve the privacy problems that are baked into these Big Tech platforms. But he can shut down the spam/bots and I think we haven't even begun to realize just how massive that really is. Maybe we'll start to get an idea this November...

[Occam's Banana]

https://twitter.com/shaunking

Apparently, he couldn't stand so many people mocking him, so he came back and is trying to play it off as some kind of ownage:

https://twitter.com/shaunking

[RJB]

Apparently, he couldn't stand so many people mocking him, so he came back and is trying to play it off as some kind of ownage:

https://twitter.com/shaunking

So is that really him or did a troll take over his account when the dumbass fled. Either way it's hilarious.

[Occam's Banana]

So is that really him or did a troll take over his account when the dumbass fled. Either way it's hilarious.

I'm willing to bet it's really him. Narcissists like that don't just walk away and then stay away.

[Occam's Banana]

Elon Musk Trolls Twitter (Spectacularly!) - A Rant
Boy. These bluechecks seem to think this Musk fella is untrustworthy. Good thing he isn't making the cars they drive or anything.
https://odysee.com/@RazorFist:1/elon...olls-twitter:e

Twitter's Thermonuclear Musk MELTDOWN - A Rant
https://odysee.com/@RazorFist:1/twit...k-meltdown-a:0

[Occam's Banana]

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/26/tech/...usk/index.html

[Occam's Banana]

So is that really him or did a troll take over his account when the dumbass fled. Either way it's hilarious.

I'm willing to bet it's really him. Narcissists like that don't just walk away and then stay away.

https://twitter.com/realchrisrufo/st...64746342469635

[Anti Globalist]

Talcum X needs to calm down. He's not scaring anybody with his insults.

[Brian4Liberty]

No doubt and there is some indication of that already in his tweet.
...
"and authenticating all humans".

In other words, no handles and proving who you are. At the bare minimum requiring a link to a valid cell phone number (not simply any DID) or worse drivers license or passport verification or full KYC.

On the local news, there was someone saying that the upside of Musk taking over is that he will force everyone to use their real names. Probably wishful thinking on the left's part.

Don't be so naive. Nobody is under illusions that Twitter et. al. are data-mining. The entire value-proposition of Twitter is data-mining. That makes Twitter one of a dozen Big Tech companies all playing exactly the same game. So, no, Elon Musk is not single-handedly going to strip you of your privacy and "authenticate" you against your will. In context, his statement clearly means that all human users of Twitter will be authenticated so that you can't have bot/spam comments taking over every Twitter thread, posing as humans. Which is what is happening right now. It's a three-letter agency operation to use Twitter and other Big Tech platforms as the world's biggest single-voice megaphone. You thought British war propaganda ads were bad, wait until you find out what is really going on with propaganda bot farms brigading these Big Tech platforms. The problem that Musk is tackling is stopping the three-letter agencies from using Twitter for that purpose... a purpose that serves no social function except tyranny. Musk cannot solve the privacy problems that are baked into these Big Tech platforms. But he can shut down the spam/bots and I think we haven't even begun to realize just how massive that really is. Maybe we'll start to get an idea this November...

Yeah, I think Musk was referring to bots. Twitter has already tried just about everything to force people to verify themselves, and it still hasn't been fully enforced. They would lose too many "users". As a matter of fact, eliminating bots would also lose Twitter a lot of "users".

We'll see what Musk comes up with. As a private company, there is no longer pressure from shareholders (outside the primary owners).

[Brian4Liberty]

Expect sabotage at Twitter...

https://twitter.com/KurtSchlichter/s...76367828062208

[ClaytonB]

Expect sabotage at Twitter...

https://twitter.com/KurtSchlichter/s...76367828062208

[Anti Globalist]

[Anti Federalist]

Talcum X needs to calm down. He's not scaring anybody with his insults.

I can't be a white supremacist.

Talcum X is in no way superior to anything or anybody.

[Occam's Banana]

What I mean [when I say the corporate press is "un-self-aware"] is that they are oblivious to the fact that they are no longer the potent and powerful curators of public discourse that they once were but still imagine themselves to be. [...] Every time they peddle some asinine bit of nonsense (such as that New York Times Washington Post item painting Elon Musk as some kind of wannabe Citizen-Kane-style "press baron" doxxing anonymous Twitter users like the person behind the Libs of Tik Tok account), they think they are advancing their cause, but they are actually just exposing their increasingly desperate impotence for all to see.

And see it they will. We have the Internet, social media, and "Big Tech" (despite themselves) to thank for that fact. They are being hoisted on their own petard, and they simply don't know what to do about it [...]

It's a glorious thing to behold.

https://twitter.com/TaylorLorenz/sta...99767107350528



https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/sta...53921167167488

//

[Brian4Liberty]

//

I hope the person behind libsoftiktok can monetize it.

The left is hoping that Musk will dox everyone on Twitter, then they can use their cancel tactics on everyone they disagree with. We’ll see how effective cancel culture is in the future.

[Brian4Liberty]

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1519073003933515776


Elon should have her walked out the door tomorrow.

[CaptUSA]

[CaptUSA]

[devil21]

Sorta wondering when Elon Musk, DARPA deepstate front-man, lover of massive government subsidies and Agenda 2030 carbon credits, became a hero to right-wing conservatives? Just because he may be involved in taking Twitter private and tweets a few words about free speech?

Seems scripted by the usual "If we tell the right that the left hates this person, the right will reflexively embrace this person" propaganda operations. It's a bit too obvious of a tactic used these days to get the right to embrace people as standard-bearers that they should not embrace. I guess it still works though since few actually look into the backgrounds of people like Musk.

[Occam's Banana]

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1519073003933515776


Elon should have her walked out the door tomorrow.

Racist!

In an article oozing with impotent butt-hurt, The Washington Post is trying to make hay out of this.

It characterizes Musk's statement in that tweet as being a "personal attack" that was "targeted" at Gadde, resulting in "racist" harassment of her. (As proof of this, they cite a single unidentified Twitter user who said Gadde would “go down in history as an appalling person". That's it. That's the sum total of the evidence they could muster to support their claim of "racist" harassment.)

Elon Musk boosts criticism of Twitter executives, prompting online attacks
The targeting of employees by Musk’s massive Twitter megaphone is a major concern for workers
https://www.washingtonpost.com/techn...itter-attacks/
Elizabeth Dworkin (27 April 2022)

Elon Musk on Tuesday used his powerful Twitter account to bolster right-wing users who sharply criticized two company executives, exposing them to the online masses who joined in the attacks.

It started with a tweet from political podcast host Saagar Enjeti, who was responding to a report by Politico that Twitter’s legal, policy and trust leader broke down in tears at a meeting with her staff this week.

“Vijaya Gadde, the top censorship advocate at Twitter who famously gaslit the world on Joe Rogan’s podcast and censored the Hunter Biden laptop story, is very upset about the @elonmusk takeover,” Enjeti tweeted.

Tesla CEO Musk,who acquired Twitter for $44 billion this week, replied, criticizing Gadde’s past actions. “Suspending the Twitter account of a major news organization for publishing a truthful story was obviously incredibly inappropriate,” he wrote.

During the 2020 presidential election, Twitter temporarily blocked a New York Post story on Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s son Hunter that it said violated a policy against posting hacked materials. The company did not suspend the entire news organization but did prevent it from tweeting for a period of time.

Musk’s response Tuesday was the first time he targeted specific Twitter executives by using his nearly singular ability to call attention to topics that interest him. Supporters of Musk, a prolific and freewheeling tweeter with 86 million followers, tend to pile on with his viewpoints.

He has used the platform to criticize Twitter’s decisions in the past, particularly on topics related to free speech and the banning of accounts from individuals who violate Twitter rules. Gadde is the most senior executive responsible for those decisions.

He also used his megaphone to take a swipe at Twitter’s popularity, pointing out that Donald Trump’s Truth Social was “beating Twitter & TikTok" among Apple Store downloads early Wednesday.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1519179787163652099

But until now, Musk’s criticisms do not appear to have been personal or targeted at individual Twitter employees. His responses to the tweets from Enjeti and online influencer Mike Cernovich also reveal the chaos — and potential harm — that can ensue when the incoming owner of a company amplifies criticism of workers there.

Twitter, Musk, Enjeti and the two targeted Twitter executives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

[See below for Enjeti's remarks regarding the Post's request for comment. - OB]

Personal attacks from Musk are a nightmare scenario for Twitter employees, who in recent weeks have repeatedly expressed concerns in interviews and at a companywide town hall that they could be targeted by the world’s richest man.

Twitter users quickly piled onto the criticism of Gadde, including calling on Musk to fire her and using racist language to describe her. Gadde was born in India and immigrated to the United States as a child. One user said she would “go down in history as an appalling person.”

Cernovich also tweeted about Twitter Deputy General Counsel Jim Baker, drawing a response from Musk.

[See below for the Cernovich tweet and Musk's response to it, as the Post could not be bothered to provide it or include a link to it. - OB]

Cernovich told The Washington Post that he was “surprised by the reaction to my tweet, which was a discussion of a news report.”

In internal messages and at a company town hall Monday, Twitter employees asked executives for assurance that they would be able to safely do their jobs if Musk targeted them.

Musk launched a hostile takeover bid for Twitter two weeks ago, citing a desire to restore “free speech” to the platform. Over the weekend, he engaged in closed-door negotiations with the board. On Monday, the two parties announced they’d reached an agreement for an acquisition that is expected to close in three to six months, according to executives.

Employees who spoke to The Post on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution have said that they are concerned Musk may undo some of the steps they’ve taken to better moderate hate speech and disinformation.

---

Here is the Cernovich tweet and Musk's response to it, as the Post could not be bothered to provide it or include a link to it:

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1519151823831060481


Here is Enjeti's remarks regarding the Post's request for comment:

https://twitter.com/esaagar/status/1519327827707023360

[TheTexan]

Lol. World dramas in 140 characters or less

[devil21]

Lol. World dramas in 140 characters or less

For real. I was just looking for an "Oh the drama!" meme to post but meh why bother. Rich people drama seems to entertain the sheep while they're being looted and they seem to enjoy it.

Actually, most of the deal is backed by loans, with Musk's Tesla stock as collateral. Musk isn't paying much out-of-pocket according to the reported deal terms. Plus, Twitter is 82% institutionally owned by Vanguard, Blackrock, etc (94% of float) so the money goes to the usual suspects, which they will use to buy up more houses in your neighborhood.