Elon Musk’s Twitter Buy Is The First Real Accountability Big Tech Censors Face For Their 2020 Election Meddling
Musk’s Twitter firings are the first time any Big Tech censors have faced true accountability for their efforts to stop Trump's re-election.Shake-up at Twitter: Two top managers fired ahead of Musk acquisition
Two of Twitter's top managers were fired on Thursday in the latest sign that the company is shaking up ahead of Elon Musk's planned buyout.
Kayvon Beykpour, a Twitter general manager, tweeted that he is leaving after 7 years with the company. In a lengthy thread, he said that CEO Parag Agrawal "asked me to leave after letting me know that he wants to take the team in a different direction.”
“I hope and expect that Twitter’s best days are still ahead of it. Twitter is one of the most important, unique and impactful products in the world. With the right nurturing and stewardship, that impact will only grow,” Bekpour said.
Twitter's revenue and product lead, Bruce Falck, was also fired, ABC News reports. His Twitter bio has been updated to say "unemployed."
“I dedicate this Tweet to those engineers and thank you ALL for the opportunity to serve alongside you. It’s been awesome. There is a lot more to do so get back to work, I can’t wait to see what you build,” Falck tweeted.
Agrawal sent a memo to Twitter staff Thursday announcing the firings and other cost-reduction measures, including a pause on new hires. The Verge reported a copy of the email Agrawal sent, which does not indicate there will be any layoffs yet.
"Effective this week, we are pausing most hiring and backfills, except for business critical roles as determined by Staff members in partnership with their HRBPs. We will also be reviewing all extended offers to determine criticality and those that should be pulled back. We are not planning company-wide layoffs, but leaders will continue making changes to their organizations to improve efficiencies as needed," Agrawal said.
"We also need to pull back on non-labor costs to ensure we are being responsible and efficient," he added.
Elon Musk entered into an agreement to buy Twitter in April for a purchase price of $54.20 per share, totaling roughly $44 billion. Since news of the acquisition, Twitter's stock has fallen about 12% after reaching its 2022 high in April, CNBC reports. The company is now trading at about $46 per share, well below what Musk has agreed to pay to buy Twitter.
The deal will take months to complete. In the meantime, Musk is facing scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission, which is looking into his failure to disclose a more than 9% stake in Twitter within the Securities and Exchange Commission's 10-day window. Bloomberg reported that the FTC is separately investigating Musk's deal to buy Twitter, though experts say the acquisition is unlikely to raise antitrust concerns.
Report: Elon Musk to temporarily take over as Twitter CEO after deal is finished
Elon Musk will temporarily take over as Twitter's CEO for a few months once his deal to buy the social media company for $44 billion is completed, according to CNBC.
Previous reports have indicated that Musk plans to replace current Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, who has only managed the company for a few months, but it remains unclear whom Musk has in mind to replace him. Agrawal, the company's former chief technology officer, took over Twitter after Jack Dorsey stepped down as CEO in November. He has been criticized by conservatives and free speech advocates for comments he made in 2020 suggesting that Twitter should not be "bound by the First Amendment."
Musk is one of Twitter's most vocal critics. He has accused the company of failing to adhere to free speech principles, pledging that under his ownership the social media platform will make several improvements in terms of both user features and dedication to free speech as "the bedrock of a functioning democracy."
After the deal to take Twitter private was announced last month, Agrawal held a meeting with employees where he said the future of the company was uncertain, Reuters reported.
"Once the deal closes, we don't know which direction the platform will go," Agrawal reportedly said after someone asked if former U.S. President Donald Trump would be permitted to return to Twitter under Musk's leadership. Trump was permanently banned from Twitter for violating the platform's rules by asserting that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, which Twitter said incited violence at the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
TechCrunch reported in April that if Agrawal is let go, he is set to receive a "significant compensation package" valued at $38.7 million.
Musk has floated several changes he intends to make once the deal to buy Twitter is completed. Reuters reported that when Musk approached banks to help fund his acquisition of Twitter, he reportedly said he would slash the salaries of executives and board members to make the company more profitable. He also tweeted that "Board salary will be $0 if my bid succeeds," which he said would save the company $3 million annually. It was unclear whether he was being serious, as Musk's tweets are often ironic or joking.
According to CNBC, in presentations to investors, Musk has said Twitter's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amoritization margin were too low and that the company has "too many engineers not doing enough." Musk also reportedly said he intends to make the company a "magnet for talent."
'Angry' Twitter employees 'hammered' executives about 'open homophobe and transphobe' Elon Musk during all-hands meeting
Upon hearing the news that Elon Musk would be buying Twitter last week, numerous employees of the social media platform suffered meltdowns. Twitter employees are purportedly still having difficulty coming to terms with the prospect of the Tesla CEO becoming their boss.
In an "impromptu" all-hands meeting on Friday, Twitter employees voiced their "anger and frustration" to executives regarding Musk purchasing the popular social media network, according to a report.
Twitter employees "hammered executives" regarding potential transformations to the company when Musk takes over the company, according to an audio recording reviewed by Insider.
The report stated, "Described as looking tired and at times annoyed by a person who attended the meeting, CEO Parag Agrawal was mostly terse."
Agrawal – who became the CEO of Twitter in November 2021 when Jack Dorsey resigned – admitted that he has regrets, according to the report.
"I wish we had done better with lots of things," Agrawal purportedly said. "There are things I disagree with fundamentally. I wanted us together to change those things in the interest of improving, introspecting and making Twitter better for everyone around the world and to have everyone around the world use Twitter and have it be even more impactful."
An "angry and disappointed" employee allegedly asked Agrawal about the possibility of layoffs when Musk acquires the company.
Agrawal reportedly conceded that firings are possible, and allegedly said, "Different organizations have different cultures, but they've excelled. It will be different here than what it is today, but for the people who are here, it will be worth it to be here."
A Reuters report from last week said Musk attempted to persuade lending institutions to back his Twitter acquisition by promising to slash the salaries of executives.
An employee asked about the $1 billion termination fee that Musk will have to pay if his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter falls through.
Vijaya Gadde – Twitter's head of legal, policy, and trust – allegedly explained that the provision should be seen as "an incentive in some ways to perform the contract."
"But the contract itself has very strong requirements to perform," Gadde said, according to Insider. "What I mean by that is there's a provision in the contract that says Twitter can sue to have the contract enforced. So, as we say, it's not just about the termination fee. It's all the provisions and how they play together to create deal certainty."
An employee reportedly asked, "What should we tell the LGTBQ community at recruiting conferences we're lined up to attend when they ask us why they should come work at Twitter when we just sold ourselves to an open homophobe and transphobe?"
Dalana Brand – Twitter's chief people and diversity officer – allegedly replied, "I cannot speak to Elon's personal feelings on these things. I can't speak to what he's done in his other companies, in terms of people's experiences. Perhaps in the future we'll be able to have a conversation. That may be telling."
"What I can tell you is that, while I am here, Twitter will continue to prioritize DEI," Brand reportedly added. "We'll continue to prioritize our people, we'll continue to fight for inclusion and diversity for all of our teams. Full stop. I can't speak to Elon and what Elon will do in the future."
According to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Musk "has a record of posting content targeting LGBTQ people." The LGBTQ activist group cites a 2020 tweet by Musk that reads: "I absolutely support trans, but all these pronouns are an esthetic nightmare."
In 2022, Tesla notched a 100 score from the Human Rights Campaign, including a perfect score in the "Supporting an Inclusive Culture & Corporate Social Responsibility" category.
"The company did in fact score 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s yearly report, which noted workforce protections for sexual orientation and gender identity or expression — which would include the proper use of pronouns — as well as inclusive benefits and culture of corporate social responsibility," The Hill reported in 2020.
I absolutely support trans, but all these pronouns are an esthetic nightmare— Elon Musk (@Elon Musk) 1608137988
At the end of the meeting, Agrawal urged employees to be optimistic.
"It's important in these moments to think of what we have built as being resilient," Agrawal told employees, according to the report. "That's what we should take pride in and that should help us feel comforted with what lies ahead. If we see this as an opportunity, it will manifest as an opportunity. If we see this as doom and gloom, it will manifest as doom and gloom."
The Best Thing Elon Musk Could Do With Twitter Is Annihilate It
An anti-free speech culture still drives the corporate reporters, media outlets, Democrat politicians, and many trolls who use Twitter.Did Elon Musk Just Bend A Knee To Twitter Or Is He Planning Something Bigger?
Elon Musk is no longer joining Twitter's board of directors but that doesn't mean he's giving up on reforming the tyrannical tech giant.Twitter bans popular accounts that tracked Ghislaine Maxwell trial and Nancy Pelosi's stock trades
Twitter has suspended @NancytTracker, a popular account that tracked Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's stock trades and reported on the wealth Pelosi and her husband have accrued through trading. The social media platform also suspended @TrackerTrial, an account that posted updates on the Ghislaine Maxwell trial and was, according to the account's owner, the largest account on Twitter that specifically tracked the trial at the time.
Both accounts were operated by the Free Press Report, a newsletter on Substack. In a post Wednesday, the Free Press Report said that Twitter suspended the @TrackerTrial account and "all the other accounts that I have made in the past" as well. A screenshot of an email the Free Press Report received from Twitter indicates the accounts were banned for allegedly violating the platform's rules against platform manipulation and spam.
"You may not use Twitter's services in a manner intended to artificially amplify or suppress information or engage in behavior that manipulates or disrupts people's experience on Twitter," the company told the Free Press Report.
The account operator denied that the @TrackerTrial account had violated Twitter's rules by artificially inflating its followers or engagement.
"The account got insane engagement, which by the way, was all organic. There was not outside amplification. The people wanted to hear the truth about the Ghislaine Maxwell, and Jeffrey Epstein trial and the engagement numbers showed that," the Free Press Report wrote. "There were hundreds of millions in impressions and an account that went from zero to over 525,000 followers in a couple of weeks. All we did was report information from the trial that the mainstream media was failing to do."
The Free Press Report has appealed to Twitter to lift the suspension, but as of Thursday that appeal has gone unanswered. The Nancy Tracker and Maxwell Trial accounts have been restarted on Gab, an alternative social media site that says it "champions free speech, individual liberty, and the free flow of information online."
At the time of its suspension, the @NancyTracker account had more than 200,000 followers on Twitter. Some of its most popular posts highlighted how Pelosi had better annualized stock returns than famous professional investors like Warren Buffett and George Soros and how the House speaker generates "$10-15 million in investment income per year while paying a lower effective tax rate than a working class individual," according to screenshots taken by Reclaim the Net.
In October, @NancyTracker posted that it received "a cease and desist order from a lawyer representing someone high up in the political office."
"I will not name names. And I will also not cease or desist," @NancyTracker said.
The account was banned less than two months later for violating Twitter's rules on platform manipulation and spam.
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment.
Last week, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey stepped down and was succeeded by Parag Agrawal, formerly the company's chief technology officer. Since becoming Twitter's new CEO, Agrawal has faced scrutiny over comments he made in 2020, in which he said Twitter should not be "bound by the First Amendment."
"Our role is not to be bound by the First Amendment, but our role is to serve a healthy public conversation and our moves are reflective of things that we believe lead to a healthier public conversation," Agrawal said. "The kinds of things that we do about this is, focus less on thinking about free speech, but thinking about how the times have changed."
Whitlock: Why you should be happy Jack Dorsey left Twitter
Twitter’s new CEO, Parag Agrawal, won't make Jack Dorsey’s invention worse. Agrawal will make Twitter more transparent.
On Monday, Dorsey announced he’s stepping down as CEO of the social media app he co-founded just 15 years ago. Attention quickly turned to the man Dorsey identified as his successor, Agrawal, the company’s chief technology officer for the last four years.
Conservative doom-and-gloomers moaned that Agrawal would make the left-leaning, racially divisive app even more hostile to political conservatives and white men. They pointed to a 2010 tweet from Agrawal that suggested Agrawal was quite comfortable labeling all white people as bigots. The then-26-year-old Stanford student tweeted:
“If they are not gonna make a distinction between Muslims and extremists, then why should I distinguish between white people and racists.”
Like all good Twitter employees and Stanford-educated technocrats, Agrawal is certainly woke. And unlike Dorsey, Agrawal is non-white, which combined with his old tweet justifiably spooks conservative white men. Agrawal is Indian. He was born in Ajmer, India, and raised in Mumbai. Dorsey grew up in St. Louis, attended a Catholic high school, and formulated the idea for Twitter while studying at New York University.
Some people foolishly believe Dorsey’s American heritage makes him slightly more reasonable about, approachable regarding, and respectful of a traditional American worldview. I’m not one of those people.
Dorsey is a traitor. He doesn’t believe in American exceptionalism. He’s a global citizen with a globalist agenda. In his mind, there’s nothing sacrosanct about this country, our Constitution, Bill of Rights, or freedoms. Dorsey shares Agrawal’s worldview. The differences between America and India, America and China, America and Africa, America and any place on earth aren’t in our founding documents or Western civilization’s reliance on Judeo-Christian culture; it’s in our willingness to cut corners, oppress, and exploit.
Dorsey is every bit as woke as Agrawal. Don’t let the packaging and Joe Rogan interviews fool you. Dorsey was Twitter’s beard, the hood the app wore to conceal its America-dismantling agenda.
The destruction of American culture is an inside job.
Don’t blame Agrawal for what Twitter has done and will do. He’s following a plan Dorsey and Twitter’s co-founders agreed to the moment they headquartered in San Francisco. Agrawal’s ascension to Twitter’s throne should be greeted with glee and applause. Twitter has removed its hood. As Dorsey stated in a Rogan interview several years ago, Twitter is a tool to amplify voices Dorsey and the company’s leadership team believe deserve amplification.
Twitter’s primary function is to boost the complaints of the BLM-LGBTQ-CRT Alphabet Mafia. Twitter amplifies San Francisco’s worldview. The Bay Area is radical, revolutionary, and secular. Its culture isn’t Judeo-Christian. It’s Marxist. The Bay Area launched the Black Panther Party and the gay movement. Twitter is San Francisco’s megaphone. It drowns out all other points of view.
A year ago, while serving as Twitter’s CTO, Agrawal was asked about protecting free speech and the First Amendment as core values. Free speech is sacrosanct to American culture. It’s what makes America different and special. Here’s how Agrawal responded in full. I’ve bolded his most important comments.
Our role is not to be bound by the First Amendment, but our role is to serve a healthy public conversation and our moves are reflective of things that we believe lead to a healthier public conversation. The kinds of things that we do about this is, focus less on thinking about free speech, but thinking about how the times have changed. One of the changes today that we see is speech is easy on the internet. Most people can speak. Where our role is particularly emphasized is who can be heard. The scarce commodity today is attention. There's a lot of content out there. A lot of tweets out there, not all of it gets attention, some subset of it gets attention. And so increasingly our role is moving towards how we recommend content and that sort of, is, is, a struggle that we're working through in terms of how we make sure these recommendation systems that we're building, how we direct people's attention is leading to a healthy public conversation that is most participatory.
“Twitter isn’t bound by the First Amendment.” Let me translate that statement. Twitter, a company started by four American boys — Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Noah Gross, and Biz Stone — doesn’t care about the U.S. Constitution. It’s no more important than the constitution of Cuba.
“Our moves are reflective of things that we believe lead to a healthier public conversation.” Let me translate that statement. We are the smartest people on Earth, we’re much smarter than the American people, and a small group of us can sit in our San Francisco office and determine what a healthy conversation is.
“But thinking about how the times have changed.” Translation: America’s founding documents are outdated. Times have changed. Everything must be rewritten to fit our worldview.
“Where our role is particularly emphasized is who can be heard.” Translation: We’re going to determine who can be heard and who can’t. People who foolishly believe men can have babies need to be heard and we’re going to mainstream that point of view. People who believe the police are randomly executing black men in a genocidal plot need to be heard and we’re going to amplify their voices.
“So increasingly our role is moving towards how we recommend content.” Translation: We have no journalistic training or interest, but we know what the public needs to know and we’re going to jam that content in front of the public. Anytime a no-name rapper is shot or killed, we’ll make sure the world hears about it.
“How we direct people's attention is leading to a healthy public conversation.” Translation: In our view, healthy conversations lead to racial animus and division. The more racial division and violence we spark, the more we realize we’re doing the right thing.
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