‘Twitter is ALIVE’: CEO Elon Musk claps back at detractors after #RIPTwitter trend

While many speculated that Twitter could be heading towards its downfall due to the massive changes it has undergone since Elon Musk’s takeover, the Twitter chief believes in the exact opposite. After the platform witnessed a surge in hashtags like ‘RIP Twitter’ and ‘Goodbye Twitter’, Musk proclaimed on Sunday that Twitter, is in fact, very much “alive.”

The tweet has garnered more than 370,000 likes and over 7,500 comments so far. Responding to it, one Twitter user wrote, “bro.. I watched people deactivating bc they believed it was dying.” Another user added, “Just wait til @realDonaldTrump first tweet, @elonmusk. It'll be a meltdown.”

Musk’s tweet comes after he announced earlier on Sunday that he has reinstated former US President Donald Trump’s account on Twitter after he had asked users to vote “yes” or “no” in a poll. “The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated,” he wrote, adding the Latin phrase “Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” which loosely translates to “Voice of the people, voice of God.” Previously, he claimed that the poll has been viewed by 134 million users, and it was “fascinating to watch” it. “Trump poll getting ~1M votes/hour!” he added.

Why was ‘RIP Twitter’ trending? 

Earlier on Friday, Twitter experienced a rise in hashtags like ‘Goodbye’ and ‘RIP Twitter’ after news broke out that a large chunk of the company’s workforce had resigned due to an ultimatum put forth by Musk, where he asked them to put in extra hours at work or quit. Twitter, since being taken over by the billionaire, has experienced big changes in its structure and policies in a surprisingly short period of time.

The changes, such as mass layoffs, long working hours, remote work restrictions, and paid services have ensued chaos and uncertainty at Twitter, and have left many people doubtful about the company's future. Amid the disarray, several Twitter users recently predicted that the platform could soon fall apart, and flocked to other alternatives like Mastodon, while also demanding the revival of dissolved social networks like Orkut.