Recent viral video features a Trump supporter who seems to think several different actors are “wearing a mask” and pretending to be the president.
Elon Musk may have already broken a key provision of the deal he made with Twitter. One day after Twitter disclosed the terms of its deal with Musk, the Tesla CEO is already raising questions about his willingness to adhere to a non-disparagement clause.
According to an SEC filing shared by twitter on Tuesday, Musk is “permitted to issue Tweets about the Merger or the transactions contemplated hereby so long as such Tweets do not disparage the Company or any of its Representatives.” In other words, Musk can tweet about the deal all he wants, but he can’t denigrate Twitter or its employees.
But once again Musk seems unwilling to moderate himself, and has done so at the expense of a top Twitter executive.
On Tuesday night, Musk replied to a tweet about an earlier Politico story that reported Twitter’s top policy exec, Vijaya Gadde, had cried during a meeting with staff discussing Musk’s buyout. The original tweet also noted Gadde’s role in Twitter’s handling of the Hunter Biden laptop story in 2020. (The company quickly reversed course after initially trying to limit the story, citing its policy on hacked materials.)
“Suspending the Twitter account of a major news organization for publishing a truthful story was obviously incredibly inappropriate,” Musk responded. On Wednesday, Musk targeted Gadde again, tweeting a meme based on her appearance on a 2019 episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast.
Just to say, there are many defensible _nuanced_ perspectives on content moderation and, also, @vijaya is one of the most thoughtful, principled people I know.
— Ev (@ev) April 27, 2022
The tweets, which have prompted a wave of harassment directed at Gadde, have prompted two former Twitter CEOs to come to her defense. Twitter co-founder and former CEO EV Williams wrote that Gadde is “one of the most thoughtful, principled people I know.”
Former CEO Dick Costolo was more pointed. “You’re making an executive at the company you just bought the target of harassment and threats,” hesaid. “Bullying is not leadership,” he wrote in a separate tweet. “I’m just saying Twitter needs to be politically neutral,” Musk responded.
Notably, neither Jack Dorsey — who recently enthusiastically endorsed Musk’s takeover —or current CEO Parag Agrawal has commented directly. Agrawl tweeted Wednesday that he was “proud of our people who continue to do the work with focus and urgency despite the noise.”
I took this job to change Twitter for the better, course correct where we need to, and strengthen the service. Proud of our people who continue to do the work with focus and urgency despite the noise.
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 27, 2022
Twitter didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Regardless, this kind of “noise” from Musk is not likely to sit well with Twitter employees, many of whom are already apprehensive about the direction Musk will take the platform.
Musk has claimed that he wants Twitter to be “politically neutral,” which in his estimation “effectively means upsetting the far right and the far left equally.” Early reports looking at changes in follower counts for high-profile accounts suggest that far-right politicians are seeing a sharp uptick in followers.
Did you know that getting bit by the wrong tick can result in an allergy to steaks and many other types of meat? Here’s what the CDC has to say about it.
As Star Wars becomes increasingly invested in fleshing out the time between the fall of the Jedi in Revenge of the Sith and the time of A New Hope, one of its most frequent fascinations has been the long, dark arm of the Emperor and Darth Vader: the agents of the Imperial Inquisitorius. Before we meet them again in …
The rare 4,500-year-old stone sculpture is of Anat, the goodness of love, beauty, and war in the Canaanite mythology,
Amazon has made a list for the most dangerous workplaces in the US for a third time. The advocacy group National COSH (Council for Occupational Safety and Health) has included Amazon in a “Dirty Dozen” list meant to shame what it sees as the least safe American workplaces of 2022. The internet retailer earned the less-than-flattering distinction for an injury rate more than double the industry average, including six deaths at a Bessemer, Alabama warehouse since it opened in 2020.
National COSH noted that one of the workers who died was reportedly forced to work while ill as he didn’t have enough unpaid time off. It also pointed to worker Jennifer Bates’ concerns that the “pace of work” and overall strain contributed to injuries. The advocates also pointed to Amazon firing Staten Island warehouse worker Gerald Bryson after a 2020 protest over a lack of COVID-19 safety measures. A judge recently ordered Amazon to reinstate Bryson after determining that he’d been fired in retaliation for his criticism.
We’ve asked Amazon for comment. It has historically denied putting workers at undue risk, and maintains that Bryson was fired for violating company language policies despite a lack of evidence. Amazon also made the list in 2019 and 2020. Other companies on the 2022 list include Dollar General, Hilton Hotels and Starbucks.
National COSH’s list won’t have any direct repercussions for Amazon. However, it’s not a good look for the tech firm after a string of allegations and incidents beyond the ones that helped it reach the list. The company has been chastised for running an Illinois warehouse during a tornado that killed six staffers in December. Workers’ rights proponents have also accused Amazon of misusing a charity work program to hide its true injury rates, and Bryson wasn’t the first supposedly fired for criticizing labor practices. We wouldn’t count on Amazon avoiding the 2023 list, even if it is trying to improve safety.
NASA declared that its Opportunity mission is over and the rover will remain on Mars for a long time, but the red planet may not be its final resting place.
After being left at the altar, Kite Man (Matt Oberg) embarks on a new adventure in Noonan’s, his own spin-off set in the world of DC Entertainment and WB Animation’s hit series Harley Quinn, which will be back for a third season this summer. HBO Max has ordered a 10-episode run for the spin-off.
Don’t look now, but the Supreme Court seems poised to strike another blow at the wall between church and state.
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