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Updated November 1st, 2022 at 09:58 IST

Elon Musk News: Musk will turn Twitter into 'potent engine of hatred,' says analyst

Elon Musk has taken over control of the microblogging site Twitter and has ousted the top executives including the CEO, chief financial officer, and the company’s top lawyer. Musk ousted top execs just hours before the deadline that was set by a Delaware judge to finalize the deal by Friday.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
Elon Musk
IMAGE: AP/Unsplash | Image: self
9: 04 IST, October 29th 2022

Senior Ukrainian official Mykhailo Podolyak expressed his skepticism over free speech on Twitter and wondered if the platform has merely "moved to a new cage."

 

8: 55 IST, October 29th 2022

After getting sacked, former Twitter CFO Ned Segal changed his bio and called himself a "current fan of Twitter." He also shared his hopes for the microblogging platform. 

 

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7: 14 IST, October 29th 2022

Paul Barrett, deputy director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, has told The Independent that Musk, "in the name of ‘free speech,'" might turn back the clock and make Twitter into a more potent engine of hatred, divisiveness, and misinformation about elections, public health policy, and international affairs. Twitter, he noted, has spent years to building up its content moderation system. 

6: 05 IST, October 29th 2022

Eddie Perez, a former Twitter civic integrity team leader, has warned Elon Musk "the free speech absolutist" that while he seems to consider Twitter a digital public square where everyone has equal voice it is a “quaint idea of the modern-day version of the town square," according to AP.  Perez insisted, that’s not how the major social media platforms work.

Platforms, like twitter, have instead become powerful tools of asymmetric warfare, and many of their users don’t realize they are being manipulated with disinformation by nation states and bad domestic actors — many with significant resources, he said. 

“The danger here is that in the name of ‘free speech,’ Musk will turn back the clock and make Twitter into a more potent engine of hatred, divisiveness, and misinformation about elections, public health policy, and international affairs,” meanwhile Paul Barrett, deputy director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.

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4: 33 IST, October 29th 2022

After the takeover of the platform by the tech entrepreneur and world billionaire Elon Musk, General Motors (GM) announced it would be pausing the advertising on Twitter. The company cited that it is trying to "figure out" the direction and future of the platform under the new owner Musk. Lou Paskalis, former head of media for Bank of America, however reportedly claimed that many of Twitter’s most loyal advertisers which are majorly Fortune 100 companies will not exit the site unless “some really untoward things” happen. 

3: 15 IST, October 29th 2022

Elon Musk has taken control of Twitter after a protracted legal battle and months of uncertainty. The question now is what the billionaire Tesla CEO will actually do with the social media platform.

Musk gave one indication of where he’s headed in a tweet Friday, saying no decisions on content or reinstating of accounts will be made until a “content moderation council” is put in place. The council, he wrote, would have diverse viewpoints.

Major personnel shakeups are widely expected, with Musk ousting several top Twitter executives on Thursday. A fourth confirmed his departure, in a tweet. But Musk, the tech guru and self-proclaimed “Chief Twit,” has otherwise made contradictory statements about his vision for the company — and shared few concrete plans for how he will run it after buying it for $44 billion.

“I will be digging in more today,” he tweeted early Friday, in response to a conservative political podcaster who has complained that the platform favors liberals and secretively downgrades conservative voices.

Former President Donald Trump, an avid tweeter before he was banned, said Friday he was “very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands” but promoted his own social media site, Truth Social, that he launched after being blocked from the more widely used platform.

Meanwhile, conservative personalities on the site began recirculating long-debunked conspiracy theories, including about COVID-19 and the 2020 election, in a tongue-in-cheek attempt to “test” whether Twitter’s policies on misinformation were still being enforced. The mercurial Musk has not made it easy to anticipate what he’ll do.

Associated Press report

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2: 04 IST, October 29th 2022

Bluesky, Jack Dorsey's new social media application intends to be "a competitor to any company trying to own the underlying fundamentals for social media or the data of the people using it," according to Twitter co-founder. Bluesky was initially founded by Twitter in 2019, and the idea was to help develop a similar decentralized concept for the social media giant.

"The biggest and long-term goal is to build a durable and open protocol for public conversation," Dorsey wrote in a Q&A. "That it not be owned by any one organization but contributed by as many as possible," he added. "And that it is born and evolved on the internet with the same principles."

'Bluesky' evokes a wide-open space of possibility, the company explains in a release, as it announced the launch of a new social media application. "It was the original name for this project before it took shape, and continues to be the name of our company," the release stated. "We're calling the application we're building Bluesky because it will be a portal to the world of possibility on top of the AT Protocol."

Dorsey who co-founded Twitter in 2006, stepped down as the company's CEO in November. On Friday, Musk, 51, took over the company. 

1: 48 IST, October 29th 2022

Reports have emerged that Twitter's co-founder Jack Dorsey is beta testing a new social media application. As Elon Musk took over the microblogging site Twitter, Dorsey announced that his decentralized social app Bluesky is in the Beta testing stage. "The word 'Bluesky' evokes a wide-open space of possibility," the company, on which Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey serves as a board member, announced. "The next step is to start testing the protocol. Distributed protocol development is a tricky process," it added. Furthermore, the firm stated in a release that it will iterate on the protocol specs and share details about how it works. When it's ready, we'll move to the open beta." 

 

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1: 00 IST, October 29th 2022

 

12: 36 IST, October 29th 2022

Twitter’s stock will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange on November 8, according to a new filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The delisting will happen on the same day as the US midterm elections. This comes as Elon Musk took over the company late Thursday. 

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11: 56 IST, October 29th 2022

Elon Musk, Twitter's new owner, said that the banned users from the platform will not be reinstated until after a review by a “content moderation council”. Employees have been waiting to hear Musk's plans about the site over speculations that he will loosen thecontent moderation and reverse permanent bans on controversial accounts, according to reports. 

11: 29 IST, October 29th 2022

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has recently stated that there won't be any immediate modifications to Twitter's content moderation policies. This came after billionaire Musk has successfully taken over Twitter after concluding a $44 billion acquisition deal. Taking to Twitter, he clarified, “To be super clear, we have not yet made any changes to Twitter's content moderation policies". Musk also noted that a council would be established to make crucial moderation decisions for the microblogging platform. 

 

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11: 25 IST, October 29th 2022

American rapper Kanye West, who was suspended for posting anti-Semitic remarks on Twitter, is back on the platform a day after billionaire Elon Musk took ownership of the micro-blogging site following his $44 billion deal. Kanye's Twitter account was restricted earlier this month after he posted anti-semitic comments on the platform, thereby violating its policy. 

Read more here

 

6: 23 IST, October 29th 2022

Elon Musk has again reiterated that no banned Twitter accounts will be restored before a review by the new "content moderation council". 

 

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6: 21 IST, October 29th 2022

Confusion, concern, conspiracies, celebration. In the hours after Elon Musk took control of Twitter, reaction on the platform ranged from triumph to despair. While no immediate policy changes had been announced by Friday afternoon, that didn't stop users from cheering — or criticizing — what they expected to be a quick embrace of Musk's pledges to cut back on moderation in what he has said is an effort to promote free speech.

Read more here

4: 16 IST, October 29th 2022

Twitter's new owner, Elon Musk commented on the Ligma hoax soon after it broke. "Ligma Johnson had it coming," he joked.

 

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12: 06 IST, October 29th 2022

Elon Musk says no banned Twitter accounts will be restored before a review by the new "content moderation council".  "Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints," he tweeted.

 

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10: 55 IST, October 28th 2022

Union MoS Electronics & IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar, while speaking about the new IT laws, said it was crucial to amend the legislation in order to realise India's goal of an open, safe, trusted, and accountable Internet. Also, it marks a new partnership between the government and Internet Intermediaries in making as well as keeping the country's interest safe and trusted for all Indians: Union MoS Electronics & IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

 

8: 34 IST, October 28th 2022

 

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8: 30 IST, October 28th 2022

Former Prime Minister of Belgium Guy Verhofstadt is calling for more social media regulation. “So one man @elonmusk now owns the biggest debate in the world”, he tweeted. “The need for rules and accountability is bigger than ever ! Self-regulation in social media has never worked… even with lesser characters than his."

 

8: 26 IST, October 28th 2022

EU on Friday expressed concern over the platform "free speech" and content moderation after Elon Musk's takeover. Twitter will “fly by our rules,"  EU’s internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton, wrote on the platform. The politician was responding to  Musk’s earlier tweet saying “the bird is freed."

 

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7: 57 IST, October 28th 2022

Ex-US president Donald Trump on Friday reacted to the takeover of the microblogging site Twitter, saying that it is in “sane hands” after the tech entrepreneur Elon Musk closed the $44bn deal. He, although, made no mention of whether his own account would be reinstated. The ex-US commander-in-chief was banned from the site for allegedly inciting violence during the Jan. 6, 2021, US Capitol riots. Trump stated that the platform now “looks and works better," in a post he shared on Truth Social. 

“I LOVE TRUTH,” Trump wrote. 

7: 47 IST, October 28th 2022

An SEC filing on Friday confirmed billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's takeover of the social media company Twitter. The shares were also removed from the New York stock exchange. Merger of Twitter, Inc. and X Holdings II, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of X Holdings I, Inc., wholly owned by Elon R. Musk became effective on October 27, 2022, the filing stated, as viewed by Guardian. The paper reports that each share of Twitter, Inc. Common Stock was exchanged for USD 54.20 without interest and less any applicable withholding taxes in full cash. 

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6: 58 IST, October 28th 2022

Elon Musk has scheduled a meeting for Friday with a simple directive to the employees to "bring code.’”“The very evening the deal was signed, engineering team managers hastily messaged their staffers. Meetings with Musk had been scheduled for Friday morning with a simple directive: ‘bring code,'" a source told The Independent paper. 

6: 40 IST, October 28th 2022

India's expectation of Twitter complying with the country's rules for social media platforms will not change with its takeover by Elon Musk, according to a senior minister. The world's richest man and CEO of electric car maker Tesla Inc has become Twitter Inc's new owner and the self-described free speech absolutist fired top executives, including chief executive Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde.

"How does it matter to government who owns what. Our laws and rules are applicable to platforms regardless of who owns it or who doesn't own it," Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar told PTI in reply to a specific question on the ownership change at Twitter.

Musk's claim of allowing free speech on the platform has enthused many, particularly those who were banned by Twitter for violation of rules. Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut, who was banned from Twitter last year for violating its rules on hateful conduct and abusive behaviour, took to Instagram on Friday to hail articles about Musk's takeover. She re-shared a fan's post in which he asked Elon Musk to restore the actor's account. Musk, who is the world's richest man, had in April made an unsolicited take-it-or-leave-it USD 44 billion takeover offer.

India is one of the largest markets for social media companies, and Twitter is no exception. Twitter has millions of users in India - a country that offers a huge potential market for all internet giants not just in terms of users but also advertising. But the microblogging platform has had confrontations with the government, the most recent being compliance with the new IT rules.

Musk himself had a track record of standoffs with the government over import duties. Telsa wants higher import duties slashed, a move opposed by local companies.Starlink, a part of Musk's SpaceX, was barred in November 2021 from accepting pre-orders for its satellite broadband services in India without a licence.

Government sources said Elon Musk's SpaceX Starlink has applied for a licence now. Twitter is extensively used by several government handles, politicians and businesses as a medium of disseminating views and information. Notably, Musk's takeover comes at a time when India is all set to tweak IT rules to make way for the setting up of grievance appellate panels that will be able to review content moderation decisions by social media companies like Twitter and Meta.

There have been reports that digital platforms are acting arbitrarily in pulling down content and 'de-platforming'. The formation of government-appointed grievance appellate panels in the coming weeks and months will arm users with a robust grievance appeal mechanism in form of appellate committees. The panels will look into appeals filed by individuals against decisions of grievance officers of social media platforms.

As it is, big social media firms have drawn flak in the past over hate speech, misinformation and fake news circulating on their platforms. Concerns have been flagged by some quarters, time and again, over digital platforms acting arbitrarily in pulling down content and 'de-platforming' users.

The government notified IT rules last year to make digital intermediaries more accountable and responsible for content hosted on their platforms. The IT rules mandate large digital platforms (with over 50 lakh users) to publish compliance reports every month, mentioning the details of complaints received and actions taken. The rules required social media companies to take down contentious content quicker, appoint grievance redressal officers and assist in investigations.

But even after providing for the redressal mechanism through the IT Rules 2021, user grievances remained unresolved, prompting the government to step in and propose an appellate jurisdiction framework. The government has, all along, emphasised that safety and trust are public policy objectives and mission, and it will do all it takes to ensure suitable safeguards are in place for digital citizens navigating online and social media space.

After reports that digital platforms were acting arbitrarily in pulling down content and 'de-platforming', the government made it amply clear that social media companies cannot undermine the constitutional rights of citizens, and that internet must be a safe and trusted place with all platforms accountable to their users. There is growing discontent among a section of users who allege that digital platforms have been indulging in arbitrary acts in taking down content or not responding fast enough to grievances, despite users red-flagging them.

(PTI Report)

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6: 23 IST, October 28th 2022

As Musk has taken over Twitter after closing the purchase bid on Friday, reports have emerged that the outgoing top executives have received a large payout as they left. Parag Agrawal, the former head of Twitter, is expected to receive the largest payout of $38.7 million. Ned Segal, Twitter’s chief financial officer would get $25.4 million payout. Vijaya Gadde, the chief legal officer, is reportedly going to get $12.5 million amount while Sarah Personette, the chief customer officer, would get $11.2 million.

6: 19 IST, October 28th 2022

Biden administration is reportedly considering conducting a national security review on at least two of Elon Musk’s business ventures including the Twitter purchase bid. Sources familiar with the matter were reported saying that Musk's acquisition of Twitter and his management of the SpaceX Starlink satellite network will both be under review. The review is launched in response to the financial support of non-US investors in Musk's Twitter bid, the report claimed, adding that it included the Saudi Arabian investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud; Qatar Holding, which is part of the Qatar Investment Authority; and Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. 

White House, although, did not admit to the development at a briefing. The national security spokesperson, Adrienne Watson, said: “We don’t know of any such discussions.”

 

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5: 56 IST, October 28th 2022

Tesla CEO Elon Musk plans to become the chief executive officer (CEO) at Twitter Inc., according to new reports. According to the sources familiar with the matter, Musk, who sealed the  $44 billion deal of purchasing Twitter might lead the social media giant along with his EV car company Tesla Inc. and SpaceX. Musk earlier today fired Twitter's CEO Parag Agrawal, and other executives after the takeover. For now, he is expected to remain as interim CEO. 

5: 41 IST, October 28th 2022

In a tweet on Friday, Sophie Zhang, the Facebook whistleblower, said that Musk’s actions while in control of Twitter are unforeseeable. She stressed that one has no idea what Tesla boss "will do now in-office.”

“Elon Musk is the equivalent of a politician promising to cut taxes, increase military/social spending, and eliminate the national debt”, the Facebook whistleblower wrote on Twitter.  “All of these ideas sound excellent to the aam admi, but are collectively impossible. You hence have no idea what he will do now in-office.”

 

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5: 24 IST, October 28th 2022

EU's commissioner for internal market, Thierry Breton, on Friday said that the Tesla CEO Elon Musk will comply with international laws around social media. “In Europe, the bird will fly by our rules”, he tweeted.

 

4: 41 IST, October 28th 2022

Elon Musk believes that Twitter is "unfairly infringing" free speech rights by blocking misinformation or graphic content, Pinar Yildirim, associate professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, told Associated Press. According to the tech analyst, there may also be a realization that no content moderation, in the long run, would be bad for business, and would put Twitter at risk of losing advertisers and subscribers. 

“You do not want a place where consumers just simply are bombarded with things they do not want to hear about, and the platform takes no responsibility,” Yildirim reportedly stated, speaking in content to the takeover of the platform by the billionaire enterpreneur. 

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3: 43 IST, October 28th 2022

As Elon Musk and Twitter have finally closed a deal on the purchase to avoid a trial in November, here’s a timeline to the major events in the deal saga.

January 31

Musk starts buying shares of Twitter in near-daily installments, amassing a 5% stake in the company by mid-March.

March 26

Musk, who has tens of millions of Twitter followers and is active on the site, says he is giving “serious thought” to building an alternative to Twitter, questioning the platform’s commitment to “free speech” and the issue of "democracy." he reaches out to Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.

March 27

After privately informing Twitter of his growing stake in the company, Musk starts conversations with its CEO and board members about potentially joining the board.

April 4

A regulatory filing reveals that Musk has rapidly become the largest shareholder of Twitter after acquiring a 9% stake, or 73.5 million shares, worth about $3 billion.

April 5

Musk is offered a seat on Twitter’s board on the condition he amass no more than 14.9% of the company’s stock. CEO Parag Agrawal said in a tweet that “it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board.”

April 9

Elon musk and Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal feud online after former questions: “Is Twitter dying?” and gets a message from Agrawal calling the criticism unhelpful. Musk tersely responds: “This is a waste of time. Will make an offer to take Twitter private.”

April 11

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announces Musk will not be joining the board after all. 

April 14

Twitter reveals in a securities filing that Musk has offered to buy the company outright for about $44 billion.

April 21

 Musk lines up $46.5 billion in financing to buy Twitter. Twitter board is under pressure to negotiate.

April 25

Musk reaches a deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion. 

April 29

 Musk sells roughly $8.5 billion worth of shares in Tesla to help fund the purchase of Twitter, according to regulatory filings.

May 10

In a hint at how he would change Twitter, Musk says he’d reverse Twitter’s ban on former President Donald Trump and calls Twitter's decision to ban Trump as “morally bad decision” and “foolish in the extreme.”

May 13

Musk declares his plan to buy Twitter “temporarily on hold," pinpoint the number of fake accounts. 

June 6

Musk threatens to end his $44 billion agreement to buy Twitter over information that he requested from the company. 

July 12

Twitter sues Musk to force him to complete the deal, Musk countersues. 

July 19

 A Delaware judge says the Musk-Twitter legal dispute will go to trial in October.

October 5

 Musk offers to go through with his original proposal to buy Twitter for $44 billion.

October 6

Delaware judge delays Oct. 17 trial until November and gives both sides until Oct. 28 to reach an agreement to close the deal.

October 20

Reports emerged that Elon Musk told prospective Twitter investors that he plans to lay off 75% of the company’s 7,500 employees.

October 26

Musk visits Twitter HQ in san Francisco with a kitchen sink, posts on Twitter "let that sink in!"

October 27

Musk takes control of Twitter and fires the company’s CEO, chief financial officer, and general counsel. 

 

3: 25 IST, October 28th 2022

As the Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took over the social media giant Twitter, rights groups have expressed concerns about the platform's operations coming under the single billionaire. Many are concerned about how far Musk is willing to go with the "free speech" and the access to the amount of data Twitter's buyout will allow him. 

"Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," Musk had said in a statement when he had announced the deal on April 25, 2022.

Musk, nevertheless, addressed this concern in a lengthy statement posted on his official Twitter handle, saying that he is buying the platform to “help humanity” and doesn’t want it to become a “free-for-all hellscape” where anything can be said with no consequences.

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2: 24 IST, October 28th 2022

Meme token Dogecoin's worth on Friday skyrocketed, recovering an estimated 16 percent in value overnight and 25 percent week on week as Elon Musk took control of the microblogging platform Twitter. The Shiba Inu-themed cryptocurrency reached a market cap of around $9 billion (€8.9 billion). Elon Mush has been one of the most vocal supporters of cryptocurrency. He also shared one of the memes showing the inevitable rise of the toke. 

 

2: 22 IST, October 28th 2022

Elon Musk, the world's richest man, has completed the $44bn (£38.1bn) takeover bid of Twitter on Friday, according to the reports. Since the takeover, Musk fired the top executives including the CEO Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal, and legal chief Vijaya Gadde, the company’s top lawyer. At this point, it remains unclear if Musk and Twitter have finalized the paperwork for the deal. After ousting the top executives, Musk tweeted: “The bird has been freed,” a reference to Twitter's logo.

 

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2: 04 IST, October 28th 2022

Elon Musk has expressed distaste for advertising, as well as Twitter’s dependence on it. Tesla's CEO recently sealed his purchase bid for the social media platform, taking over the firm and firing the top executives. As Musk plans to head the microblogging site, he had appeared unhappy with Twitter's work model as he laid emphasis on other business models such as "paid subscriptions" that he stated would not allow big corporations to dictate policy linked to the operations. On Thursday, however, Musk in a change of tone assured the advertisers saying that he wants Twitter to be “the most respected advertising platform in the world.” 

1: 52 IST, October 28th 2022

Musk’s changes will be aimed at increasing Twitter’s subscriber base and revenue. In his first big move earlier on Thursday, Musk tried to soothe leery Twitter advertisers saying that he is buying the platform to help humanity and doesn’t want it to become a “free-for-all hellscape.”

The message appeared to be aimed at addressing concerns among advertisers — Twitter’s chief source of revenue — that Musk’s plans to promote free speech by cutting back on moderating content will open the floodgates to more online toxicity and drive away users.

“The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence,” Musk wrote in an uncharacteristically long message for the Tesla CEO, who typically projects his thoughts in one-line tweets.

Associated Press report

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1: 10 IST, October 28th 2022

Since his takeover of the microblogging site Twitter, Elon Musk is being reported intending to limit "hate speech" and violent narratives on the platform. Among other speculations, Musk could also likely reinstate former US President Donald Trump’s access to the site. The ex-US president Donald Trump's Twitter account was permanently suspended by Twitter "due to the risk of incitement of violence", as the former commander-in-chief propelled unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud and stealing. 

Musk is also being linked to recent rapper Ye [formerly known as Kanye] West’s antisemitism scandal that was triggered during Paris Fashion Week when he wore a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt. The US-based rapper riled controversy further after claiming that rapper Diddy was being controlled by Jewish people. Ye tweeted that he was going to go “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE” leading to the suspension of his Twitter account. Several brands have since cancelled their partnership with the hip-hop rapper over his antisemitic tweets. 

Musk shared a tweet with an image showing characters playing in the Dragon Ball anime series, only he replaced the one with the Twitter logo, and on the other character, he superimposed Ye's face as two characters touched fingers. “Fun times ahead!” wrote Tesla CEO in the tweet that he deleted hours later. 

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12: 56 IST, October 28th 2022

As SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk fired the top executives at Twitter, shortly after reports emerged of his potential takeover, analysts say that the major "personnel move" on part of Musk was widely expected. SpaceX CEO's departure of Twitter's top executives came just hours before Delaware judge's deadline given to Tesla CEO  to finalize the deal on Friday. In an act that surprised many, Musk, a "free speech absolutist," fired Twitter's CEO.

In April, he had privately clashed with Agrawal immediately before deciding to make a bid for the company, Associated Press reports, citing the personal text messages revealed in court filings.

12: 48 IST, October 28th 2022

Amid reports of Elon Musk's takeover of the microblogging site Twitter, the social media platform's shares have reportedly been suspended from trading on Friday, according to the New York Stock Exchange's website. Tesla boss Elon has taken the control of Twitter and has ousted its CEO, chief financial officer, and the company’s top lawyer. It remains unclear if the paperwork for the deal, originally valued at $44 billion, has been done yet. 

Rumours were rife earlier that Elon Musk plans to lay off nearly 75% of Twitter’s workforce. According to several reports, Musk had informed investors that as a part of his Twitter purchase he plans to cut nearly 75% of Twitter’s employee base to 7,500 workers. But there were no reports of Musk's intentions of firing the CEO Parag Agrawal. While the reports were unconfirmed, the job cuts that Musk was planning had then far exceeded what Twitter may have planned.

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12: 41 IST, October 28th 2022

Employees of Twitter have reportedly claimed that Elon Musk’s so-called "intentions with Twitter" are strange. The Tesla CEO tweeted earlier that buying Twitter was “an accelerant” to creating an app called X. Musk has had the access to X.com since he controlled PayPal in 2000. The SpaceX boss has said earlier in tweets that he was purchasing Twitter to support the idea of an “everything app." 

In a statement to The Independent, Twitter employees have said that Musk will “buy the Twitter name, then completely gut and change it."  “Speaking to people there, nobody feels safe in their job. I just don’t understand how it’s going to work as a company. There’s a mad attempt to restructure in some places to save face. It feels like the perfect time to try and get out — or prepare yourself for what’s going to happen," they stated, according to the paper. 

Published October 28th, 2022 at 12:21 IST

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