Elon Musk - the world's "greatest" spiv?

[Citybreak1]

So do you think Musk will get away with not allowing blocking? Would other sites follow or would X drop off users?

 

[Pete_uk]

It will definitely drive users away.

 

[birchesgreen]

Violates Apple store app guidelines, we'll see if they enforce it though.

 

[Citybreak1]

Violates Apple store app guidelines, we'll see if they enforce it though.

I remember Parler getting remove from App Store I think if this happens the app is finished.

 

[Kite159]

(As another example of where bots are so active; look at the posts that come on many BBC or Sky stories. The former will be along the lines of 'fake news', '#defundtheBBC' and the like) and Sky seems to attract posts on dodgy gambling, trading and crypto links.

And those "Sex Bots" who seem to post "rate my naked photos" style posts providing a link to a dodgy website (which no doubt will carry some nasty viruses ready to attack anybody foolish enough to look, or be of the sort where you need to pay to view the photos and the payment details are stolen etc.

 

[GatwickDepress]

Everything continues to go right for Twitter...

Twitter Deletes All User Photos And Links From 2011-2014

Twitter appears to have deleted all images from the website that were posted between 2011 and 2014. Links that used Twitter’s native shortening service are also broken.

www.forbes.com

Twitter, the social media platform officially known as X, appears to have deleted all images from the website that were posted between 2011 and 2014. Links that used Twitter’s native shortening service are also broken. It’s not immediately clear if this was an intentional act or an error, but whatever’s happening is causing concern among users who’ve been on the site for over a decade.

 

[Busaholic]

I've just realised who Elon Musk looks like - Jamie Oliver, as per the photo in today's Times newspaper. The latter is getting publicity once again ahead of the opening of a new restaurant in Central London soon, with plenty of spleen from suppliers etc left totally out of pocket when his last empire went bust.

 

[brad465]

Musk's many gaffes/incidents may have reduced X/Twitter usage, but the platform remained active despite suggestions it was doomed. However if Musk does go through with charging everyone to use the platform, I think there is a much greater chance of a mass exodus, as many won't pay for a multitude of reasons:

Elon Musk: Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, could go behind paywall

The billionaire suggested the social media platform, now called X, could charge for use of "the system".

www.bbc.co.uk

Elon Musk has suggested that all users of X, formerly called Twitter, may have to pay for access to the platform.
In a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the billionaire said a payment system was the only way to counter bots.
"We're moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the system," the Tesla and SpaceX boss said.
The BBC approached X for further details but has not yet received a statement from the company.
It is unclear whether this was just an off-the-cuff comment, or a signal of firmer plans that have yet to be announced.
Mr Musk has long said that his solution for getting rid of bots and fake accounts on the social media platform is charging for verification.
Since taking over Twitter last year he has looked to incentivise users to pay for an enhanced service, which is now called X Premium.
This has been done by giving paid subscribers more features, like longer posts and increased visibility on the platform.
However, users can currently still use X for free.
Although there is a clear financial interest for the company to charge users, Mr Musk insisted that getting people to pay for the service is aimed at tackling bots.
"A bot costs a fraction of a penny" to make he said. "But if somebody even has to pay a few dollars or something, some minor amount, the effective cost to bots is very high".
X Premium currently costs $8 (£6.50) a month in the US. The price differs depending on which country a subscriber is in.
The world's richest person said that he was now looking at cheaper options for users.
"We're actually going to come up with a lower tier pricing. So we just want it to be just a small amount of money," he said.
"This is a longer discussion, but in my view, this is actually the only defence against vast armies of bots," Mr Musk added.
However, a risk is that by putting X behind a paywall it may lose a large chunk of its users. That in turn, could drive down advertising revenue, which currently accounts for the vast majority of the company's income.
Mr Musk's conversation with the Israeli prime minister also touched on antisemitism on X.
The platform has been accused by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) campaign group of not doing enough to stop antisemitic content.
In a statement, the organisation said that Mr Musk was "engaging with and elevating" antisemites.
Earlier this month, he said that the company would sue the ADL to "clear our platform's name".
In the conversation with Mr Netanyahu, Mr Musk reiterated that he was "against antisemitism".
Mr Netanyahu accepted the balance between free speech and content moderation was a challenge but urged Mr Musk to get the balance right.
"I hope you find within the confines of the First Amendment, the ability to stop not only antisemitism... but any collective hatred of people that antisemitism represents," he said.
"I know you're committed to that", Mr Netanyahu added.

 

[jon0844]

I'm trying my hardest to use Threads more. It's the one platform where most people don't need to start to from nowhere, as you can easily connect with existing Instagram contacts (and Meta may well introduce ways to add friends on Facebook and contacts on WhatsApp etc too).

Moving to Mastodon didn't really progress, although it is quite a nice community in its own right if not a viable X replacement. Bluesky is pretty dead and has to start from zero, with the Eric Cartman 'you can't come' drip-fed invite system likely stunting its growth even more.

Mark Z is hardly God, but I still have more faith in Threads developing with common-sense ideas, not the knee-jerk ideas from a crazed lunatic who by the time I've posted this will probably have changed his mind on charging, but come up with some other stupid idea instead. Then, just as people think he's given up on an idea, he'll think of it again and enact it without telling any of his staff...

 

[Citybreak1]

So he wanted to stop blocking that’s not happened yet but if he charges for the site yes that’s it. He definitely seems to want to close the site down. Said from day 1 it made no money. And they probably disliked free speech during covid so that’s maybe why the sites going down.

 

[birchesgreen]

I don't really like any Twitter alternatives, if it did go pay-wall (or die) i'd probably just stick to fora and flickr for my social media enjoyment.

 

[nw1]

Musk's many gaffes/incidents may have reduced X/Twitter usage, but the platform remained active despite suggestions it was doomed. However if Musk does go through with charging everyone to use the platform, I think there is a much greater chance of a mass exodus, as many won't pay for a multitude of reasons:

Elon Musk: Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, could go behind paywall

The billionaire suggested the social media platform, now called X, could charge for use of "the system".

www.bbc.co.uk

Fabulously rich Musk threatens to charge people to use Twitter, sorry, 'X'.

Nice. And he thinks people will be desperate enough to pay him for the privilege? He thinks no-one will set up an alternative which will attract all the people he's lost?

For a billionaire he isn't half an idiot.

 

[OuterDistant]

In a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu...

Everything around Musk seems to have a The Day Today-style surrealness to it!

"Reactions to the new measures has been strong. So far, we've spoken to Kim Wilde."

 

[nlogax]

After some years away I've made a tentative return to Twitter-like SM and created a Bluesky account. So far it's.. quiet. But it's not Musk-powered and there don't seem to be many idiots on it so that'll work for me.

 

[Purple Train]

Everything around Musk seems to have a The Day Today-style surrealness to it!

"Reactions to the new measures has been strong. So far, we've spoken to Kim Wilde."

"We will now move on to Harold Godwinson, joining us by video link from a graveyard in Bosham."

For a billionaire he isn't half an idiot.

Which is really rather impressive, considering the idiocy of many other billionaires...

 

[SargeNpton]

Fabulously rich Musk threatens to charge people to use Twitter, sorry, 'X'.

Nice. And he thinks people will be desperate enough to pay him for the privilege? He thinks no-one will set up an alternative which will attract all the people he's lost?

For a billionaire he isn't half an idiot.

Is he a billionaire though? What money/assets does he actually have, and how much does he owe to banks, equity funds, etc?

 

[takno]

Is he a billionaire though? What money/assets does he actually have, and how much does he owe to banks, equity funds, etc?

He's very comfortably a billionaire. The majority of the wealth is in Tesla stock, which is overpriced and difficult for him to liquidate, but it could drop in value by more than 90% and he'd still be a billionaire

 

[JamesT]

Is he a billionaire though? What money/assets does he actually have, and how much does he owe to banks, equity funds, etc?

It's mostly paper, like most billionaires. For example he has 23% of the shares of Tesla, the market capitalization of which is $840Bn.
I think the usual trick with things like the Twitter buyout is the debt is loaded onto the company, rather than him owing anything personally.

 

[bspahh]

It's mostly paper, like most billionaires. For example he has 23% of the shares of Tesla, the market capitalization of which is $840Bn.
I think the usual trick with things like the Twitter buyout is the debt is loaded onto the company, rather than him owing anything personally.

Google says Musk's net worth is $269.8Bn, which is £217.2Bn

https://1000000-euro.de/how-much-does-a-million-pounds-weigh/ says that if he converted it to £10 notes, it would weigh 18,000 tonnes, and if he stacked it into a pile it would be 1795 miles high.

 

[jon0844]

After some years away I've made a tentative return to Twitter-like SM and created a Bluesky account. So far it's.. quiet. But it's not Musk-powered and there don't seem to be many idiots on it so that'll work for me.

The problem now with Twitter/X is that if you don't pay, your posts aren't likely to be seen by others. Even those who follow you possibly won't see your posts as often, as their feed will be full of blue-tick posts pushed above you - and all the stuff Elon wants forced down your throat. Factor in the adverts that look like companies that make Wish and Temu look like luxury-brands, and it's a mess.

As such, even people with large following counts are looking elsewhere.. and even if they can't find another platform, they're still realising that this doesn't mean you bother to try and keep your X account going at any cost. You're basically fighting Elon and his ever-changing ideas on what to do with the platform.

He simply isn't going to make it able to compete with YouTube (for long-form videos) or PayPal as some sort of payments system. He might think otherwise, and have loyal fans that insist he can do it, but he won't.

 

[takno]

Google says Musk's net worth is $269.8Bn, which is £217.2Bn

https://1000000-euro.de/how-much-does-a-million-pounds-weigh/ says that if he converted it to £10 notes, it would weigh 18,000 tonnes, and if he stacked it into a pile it would be 1795 miles high.

Probably best if he keeps it in Tesla shares then. That sounds like it might be more than all of the £10 notes circulation, and I hate it when I have to have all of my change in pound coins

 

[jon0844]

With everything else going on, perhaps Elon isn't front and centre in people's minds - but the platform just goes from bad to worse.

Description: Elon Musk has claimed that hate speech isn’t a problem on X, formerly known as Twitter, because no one can provide him with a single example of it on his platform. Mehdi Hasan accepts that challenge, outlining how hateful content has increased since Musk took over and detailing countless examples of hate speech that remain on the site today.

 

[Kite159]

Ah but that isn't "Hate Speech" in his little head, as he has a very narrow interpretation of what he defines as hate and will carelessly discard anything which doesn't meet it.

Head very much in the sand when it comes to hateful content, especially from the blue tick payers.

 

[jon0844]

You won't consider it hate speech if you support the hate speech you're liking and re-Xing/re-Tweeting).

He's made some very horrible people extremely famous online, and now they think Elon likes them they'll do whatever they want.

Elon is now playing games and attracting loads of kids who are desperate to play him at Fortnight and other online games. He won't, obviously, but he is now a cult leader for what I'd assume are mostly men - and the type of men who are likely also big fans of the likes of Andrew Tate.

 

[Sorcerer]

The only thing Elon considers hate speech is telling him his whack ideas aren't practical and won't work, reminding him that he is not truly self-made and that his parents owned an emerald mine, pointing out that he used to be balding and that he spent money on a hair transplant, and finally supporting Ukraine in it's fight against Russia while he himself wouldn't even fight Zuckerberg in a cage match.

 

[skyhigh]

Twitter/X has really gone downhill in recent weeks. One customer service account I follow has at least 3 scam 'clone' accounts that try to appear to be the genuine account. They will reply to any public tweet with the official account tagged in it asking the person to DM personal info to get assistance. They are paid accounts so all show a blue verification tick.

I've reported them several times over the last couple of weeks and yet they're still going. It's a complete mess.

 

[brad465]

Twitter/X has really gone downhill in recent weeks. One customer service account I follow has at least 3 scam 'clone' accounts that try to appear to be the genuine account. They will reply to any public tweet with the official account tagged in it asking the person to DM personal info to get assistance. They are paid accounts so all show a blue verification tick.

I've reported them several times over the last couple of weeks and yet they're still going. It's a complete mess.

Something else that's happened if if you share an article the headline is not visible anymore, just the image associated with it, you have to click the image to see exactly what it says. This means someone could tweet the link and type something completely different above it to misinform (I know news outlets do clickbait anyway, but this would be even worse).

 

[brad465]

Musk's recent behaviour in spreading an "anti-Semitic lie" has now got him receiving criticism from the White House:

White House criticises Elon Musk over 'hideous' antisemitic lie

Controversies over antisemitism have engulfed the billionaire and his social network, X.

www.bbc.co.uk

The White House has accused Elon Musk of repeating a "hideous lie" about Jewish people, after the X owner appeared to respond approvingly to an antisemitic post on the platform.
On Wednesday, Mr Musk replied to a post sharing an antisemitic conspiracy theory, calling it "actual truth".
Mr Musk has denied that the post was antisemitic.
But a White House spokesman said his endorsement of the post, which drew anger online, was "unacceptable".
"We condemn this abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate in the strongest terms," said White House spokesperson Andrew Bates.
He noted that the post Mr Musk was responding to referred to a conspiracy theory that motivated the man who killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018.
"It is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of antisemitism in American history at any time, let alone one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust," Mr Bates said, referring to the 7 October Hamas assault against Israel.
X Chief Executive Linda Yaccarino wrote in an earlier tweet that the company has been "extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination. There's no place for it anywhere in the world - it's ugly and wrong".
On Wednesday, Mr Musk responded with his "truth" comment to a post that accused Jewish communities of pushing "hatred against whites" and which included anti-immigrant sentiments.
It appeared to be an endorsement of a racist and antisemitic conspiracy theory known as "white genocide," which argues that Jewish people systematically plot to encourage immigration of "non-white" people to Western countries in order to "eliminate" the white race.
The original post that Mr Musk responded to "is using specific language that has been used in the past to justify violent attacks on synagogues," Zahed Amanullah, senior fellow at the London-based Institute of Strategic Dialogue, told the BBC.
The conspiracy theory motivated a mass murderer who entered the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018 and shot dead 11 worshippers.

 

[jon0844]

Stupid this is Elon will probably love this and be even more emboldened when his fans support him.

 

[Lucan]

Musk believes he is untouchable, that he is the New Messiah, some kind of Chosen One. He will brush off this sort of criticism knowing that he has a reliable core of devout supporters at all levels, including at the top levels of government and finance. Maybe the bubble will burst one day.