Investor and business CEO Elon Musk (credit- Mike Blake/Reuters)
As of now, the social media platform Twitter is in a prolonged state of distress. With hashtags such as “RIPTwitter” and “GoodByeTwitter” circulating, the mood is somewhat somber. Yet, it doesn’t seem as if this goodbye party has reached or will reach an end. Many are beginning to wonder if the platform’s disastrous acquisition earlier this year will actually have any consequence at all.
On April 14, 2022, businessman and investor Elon Musk offered to purchase Twitter for 44 billion dollars. Previously, Musk had purchased a number of shares in the company, and had become its largest shareholder. This purchase offer, although, was unprompted. Rather surprisingly, Twitter agreed to the buyout. Musk claimed he would improve the site, removing what he believed were restrictions on free speech. In July, however, Musk attempted to terminate the contract, claiming that he had been misled. A trial was set for October 17, but just weeks before it was set to commence Musk rescinded his claims and completed the purchase.
Immediately after his acquisition, Musk began extreme structural changes of both the Twitter app and its company. In late October he asserted that Twitter would no longer permanently ban any users. Moreover, he stated that any verified Twitter users would now have to pay for Twitter Blue- a monthly subscription- to maintain their checkmarks. Additionally, any users who paid for Twitter Blue could obtain a checkmark-previously subject to a vetting policy. This greatly angered many users, who argued that this decision would negatively affect the app’s credibility and safety. Among the notable objectors was famous horror author Stephen King, who noted that he liked Twitter better before Elon’s acquisition. Musk responded ambiguously and semi-positively, but the public disagreement did not lend much credence to Musk’s ability as a leader.
On November 9th, the changes went forth. The update was not without many bugs and confusion. Initially, an additional gray checkmark would signify ‘official’ accounts to prevent impersonators. However, this feature was later removed by Elon without explanation. Verified accounts were briefly unable to change their display names. Although a popup would display if a user was verified because of notoriety or subscription, sometimes this popup would display the incorrect information. Immediately, parody and impersonation accounts began to spring up. Several users would impersonate Elon himself, writing incorrect and often embarrassing statements in Elon’s voice. Musk denounced these impersonators, claiming that he would now require any parody account to state such outright. This request was then attacked by the impersonators- if Musk wanted to protect free speech he had no right to require that of his users. Twitter’s timeline soon became populated with these accounts. The biggest scandal, though, occurred when an impersonator of pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly claimed that the company would now be providing insulin for free. Eli Lilly was then obligated to publicly reject this idea, tanking their stocks. Only a few days after their institution, the checkmarks were halted. Although previous verifications will still be displayed, no new accounts are being processed.
During this time Twitter underwent massive layoffs of both engineers and executives. To compensate for this loss, Musk brought in contractors from Tesla and some of his other ventures. Two days after their termination, however, many employees were asked to return, as their loss had become too detrimental. Musk began firing employees that spoke out about him publicly. On the 16th, Musk sent a corporate email to all employees- either “commit to extremely hardcore work” or leave. Said work would entail longer and much more intense hours for already taxed employees. In response, employees organized a mass resignation. By the 18th Twitter had reportedly retained less than 2000 employees, leading to Twitter temporarily closing its offices.
Around this time Twitter users began to celebrate the app’s end. Although no plans for app’s deletion had been announced, its future at the time seemed rather bleak. However, the app continued on, though with some features unusable. Musk has become somewhat of an icon to a select group of people, as his desires to improve Twitter’s free speech have resonated with many far right conservative groups. Despite Twitter’s missteps, these followers have maintained much of Musk’s power.
By now, it seems unlikely that this scandal will actually cause the app’s downfall. Though some are migrating to adjacent platforms, such as Tumblr or Instagram, many continue to stay. Though the future of Twitter is doubtful, for now it continues, all the while celebrating its own demise.