New Twitter owner Elon Musk talks SpaceX on Aug. 25 in Boca Chica Beach, Texas. (Photo: Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images)
Since launching in 2006, Twitter has buzzed with the news of the day, so it’s no surprise that the social media company itself has been a big topic as of late.
This follows Elon Musk nearing completion of his $44 billion purchase of the company in the final days of October, which was accompanied by changes in leadership and policies. The leader of Tesla and SpaceX made an offer to buy Twitter in April, saying that he wants to promote free speech and end Twitter’s permanent ban on some users, which could include former President Donald Trump.
As he took over the company, Musk made a series of posts about what would happen in the transition.
“Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints,” he wrote. “No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes,” to which he added that no such changes had been made yet.
Musk noted, too, that rapper Ye’s account, had been “restored by Twitter before the acquisition” and without his knowledge. Ye (better known as Kanye West) was reportedly locked out of his account in October following antisemitic comments he made there, which the site blocked after they had been seen. He was back to tweeting by Nov. 2, though.
Meanwhile, some familiar faces — or at least familiar names — declared their intention to leave or take a break from the platform. Musicians Toni Braxton and Sara Bareilles, as well as producer Shonda Rhimes, said they were out of there.
Braxton noted that she was “shocked and appalled” at the “free speech” she was seeing after Musk’s arrival.
“Hate speech under the veil of ‘free speech’ is unacceptable; therefore I am choosing to stay off Twitter as it is no longer a safe space for myself, my sons and other POC,” she tweeted.
Actress Téa Leoni appeared to have deleted her account altogether. According to NBC News, she last tweeted Oct. 29: “Hi everyone. I’m coming off Twitter today — let’s see where we are when the dust settles. Today the dust has revealed too much hate, too much in the wrong direction. Love, kindness, and possibilities for all of you.”
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And there were others. Bill & Ted star Alex Winter, This Is Us executive producer Ken Olin and Billions showrunner Brian Koppelman made it clear that they’re leaving the Twitterverse. Disney star Josh Gad says he’s considering a departure.
Winter’s bio was changed to, “Not here for now,” and his posts were deleted. Per The Hollywood Reporter, at one time, he posted only a meme of Musk, Trump and Ye (aka Kanye West) as the Three Musketeers.
Olin reportedly announced, “I’m out of here” on Oct. 28, noting, “Let’s protect our democracy.”
As for Koppelman, he tweeted, according to THR, “Y’all’s, for real, come find me over on instagram and the tok. Gonna really try to take a breather from here for a minute or a month come deal close time.”
Gad explained that he wasn’t sure if he would stay or not.
“Leaning towards staying,” he posted, “but if today is a sign of things to come, not sure what the point is. Freedom of speech is great. Hate speech intended to cite harm, (with no consequences) ain’t what I signed up for.”
He retweeted a press release announcing that 40 civil-society groups were demanding that Twitter’s top advertisers stop supporting the site “if Elon Musk continues to undermine brand and user safety.” He also amplified a tweet from author Stephen King objecting to Musk’s plan to charge users for verified status.
At the same time, actor and director Rob Reiner pleaded with his followers to stay with Twitter and to vote for Democrats in the upcoming election on Nov. 8.
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