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Comedian Kathy Griffin has been banned from Twitter for impersonating Elon Musk. Ms. Griffin, impersonating Mr. Musk, urged Americans to vote Democratic in the midterm elections. “I have decided that voting blue for their choice is only too right,” he wrote. She was suspended, but is back on the platform through an account owned by her deceased mother. Twitter may also have to rehire staff it laid off last week, according to new reports. Musk has decided to lay off nearly 50% of Twitter staff, with employees being notified of their job status by email after barring entry to offices and cutting off access to internal systems overnight. Twitter apparently loses $4 million a day. All those who lost their jobs received three months of severance pay, Musk claims, although the terms of the layoff were not immediately clear.
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Whoopi Goldberg Says “I’m Out”
Actress and TV host Whoopi Goldberg has said she will stay off Twitter following Elon Musk’s takeover. “So it’s been a little over a week since Elon Musk took over Twitter and the place, it’s a mess,” Ms Goldberg said on her TV show The View on Monday morning. “Climb down. I’m going down today because I just feel like, you know, it’s so messy… I’m going to go out, and if it calms down and I feel more comfortable, maybe I’ll come back. But as of tonight, I’m done with Twitter.” Ms. Goldberg has about 1.6 million Twitter followers, although she doesn’t tweet very often. Io Dodds7 November 2022 18:38 1667844027
Elon Musk is doubling down on his claim that “activists” are destroying Twitter’s advertising goals. “Twitter has had a huge drop in revenue due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we’ve done everything we can to appease activists. Extremely confusing! They are trying to destroy free speech in America,” Musk tweeted on Friday. Lou Paskalis, MMA’s global president, explained to Mr Musk the concerns of some advertisers – especially after his layoffs. Mr. Musk then blocked Mr. Pascal. unblocked shortly after. However, Elon Musk still says he has claims against the activists. Adam Smith 7 November 2022 18:00 1667842227
What is Mastodon?
Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter pushed users to alternative platforms, including a curious one called Mastodon. The social networking site has reportedly gained over 230,000 following Musk’s acquisition, with a total of 655,000 users. However, Mastodon is not as simple to use as Twitter – even though it looks similar on the surface – and users may need some guidance to get the most out of the site. Adam Smith November 7, 2022 5:30 p.m 1667840427
Elon Musk fired Twitter’s human rights team
Elon Musk’s job cuts have hit Twitter’s entire human rights team. The mass layoffs came as Musk admitted that “some major advertisers have stopped spending on Twitter” since its takeover, with companies including GM, Audi and General Mills stopping their ads following the takeover. Shannon Raj Singh, a former human rights adviser at the company, took to Twitter on Friday to confirm that she and her team had been kicked out. “Yesterday was my last day on Twitter: the entire Human Rights team has been cut from the company,” he wrote. Adam Smith November 7, 2022 5:00 p.m 1667838627
Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin criticized the way the staff were released on Twitter, saying it was “unacceptable” and “quite unprecedented”. “We are concerned and our concern is there for the employees of Twitter,” the Taoiseach told reporters in Co Tipperary. Twitter is letting go a significant number of staff – reported to be as much as half its workforce – as part of tech billionaire Elon Musk’s dramatic takeover of the social media giant. “There seems to be a fairly unprecedented approach being taken here in a global workforce and that is manifesting itself in Ireland. “What I would say is no matter who you are or what industry you’re in, you should always treat people with dignity and respect, and Twitter workers deserve to be treated with respect.” Adam Smith November 7, 2022 4:30 p.m 1667837423
Elon Musk mocks Mastodon
Elon Musk has seemingly mocked Mastodon, the alternative site that many have embraced as they look to move away from Twitter. Many high-profile users have already left the site or threatened to leave. Some of them have moved to Mastodon, an open source alternative to Twitter that has seen a huge number of signups in recent days. But Mr Musk appeared to mock those making the switch, referring to the site as ‘Masterbatedone’. He pointed to the posts of American economist Paul Krugman, who appeared to have experienced technical problems when he signed up for the service. Adam Smith November 7, 2022 4:10 p.m 1667836827
Twitter may need to delay verification changes
Twitter will delay rolling out its new verification checkmark system to subscribers of its $7.99-a-month subscription service until after the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday, according to a New York Times report. The Times cited an internal posting and two people familiar with the decision. The Independent contacted Twitter to confirm the report. The news comes just a day after the announcement of the new service in which users can pay to have a verification check mark on their profile. Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk announced the initiative this week through the platform — one of several sweeping changes he’s making to the social networking site. Adam Smith November 7, 2022 4:00 p.m 1667835017
Kathy Griffin has trolled Elon Musk by returning to Twitter via her dead mother’s account after being suspended. The comedienne has been banned from the social networking site for turning her user profile into a parody of its new owner. Griffin’s account was soon removed, with Musk writing: “Going forward, anyone who handles Twitter engaging in impersonation without clearly identifying the ‘spoof’ will be permanently suspended.” However, Musk soon received a tweet from the account used by Griffin’s mother Maggie before her death, which had been inactive since 2019. “Back from the grave to say… #FreeKathy,” she wrote, later clarifying in a separate tweet: “Oh by the way, this is KG. I’m tweeting from my dead mother’s account.” Adam Smith7 November 2022 15:30 1667833210
Twitter’s search tool could be improved
Mr Musk also said he wants to improve Twitter’s search tool. “Twitter search reminds me of Infoseek in ’98! This will also be much better,” he said. Other short-term Twitter changes include a paywall video player, the rollout of a Verified badge to anyone who signs up for Twitter Blue, and paid DMs on celebrity accounts. Adam Smith 7 November 2022 15:00 1667831410
Elon Musk takes down parody accounts
Elon Musk is now banning anyone who parodies him – unless they make it clear it’s a parody. “Comedy is now legal on Twitter,” the billionaire said two days ago. Now it seems he has changed his mind. “Going forward, anyone on Twitter who engages in impersonation without clearly identifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended,” the multi-billionaire tweeted on Monday. “The blue check just meant that your identity was verified. Fraudsters will have a harder time impersonating you. This is no longer the case. Good luck out there!” Ms. Bartinelli wrote. Adam Smith7 November 2022 14:30
