# Now that Musk bought Twitter -- Breaking News only **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news, elon-musk\ **Created:** [November 29, 2022, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737 "2022-11-29T13:10:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2023, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/201 "2023-04-05T22:56:07Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > The “state affiliated media” label is meant for outlets where the government has editorial control over the content, such as Chinese state media. That is very much not true of NPR. Influence is hard to quantify. It looks like somewhere between 1 and 10% of NPR’s funding comes from US and state government sources. A 10% reduction in money is basically equivalent to a 10% reduction in head count, which isn’t insignificant. I could see that as being large enough to make someone who loves their employees question how far they were willing to press a politically-charged angle, if it wasn’t dire. VOA and other sources, obviously, should be slapped with the label before NPR is so it is still stupid from that vantage. You can’t complain about sources being unreliable when your own system is capricious and motivated by something other than honesty. Personally, I have no objection with the label but it should be applied consistently, though it would probably be better to split it into something like these two classifications or you’re really conflating some pretty drastically different things: 1. State influenced 2. State operated A company with a 5-20% funding supply from some government might have a motivation to cover matters in a certain way, but they could always tighten their belt and last through a few years of hardship if they felt like it was necessary for the safety of the people. It doesn’t hurt to be made aware of the influence but a reasonable person might still pay attention to the source. A company that’s directly controlled by the government is just as likely to be real news as propaganda (or real news propaganda, through selective coverage) and it should always be viewed with suspicion as nothing more than as a position piece from the government in question. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2023, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/202 "2023-04-05T22:59:55Z")
And yet NPR constantly runs stories critical of state and federal governments. If they’re buying influence, they’re doing it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2023, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/203 "2023-04-05T23:02:42Z")
You don’t remember NPR’s glowing coverage of the Trump administration? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2023, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/204 "2023-04-05T23:12:51Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > And yet NPR constantly runs stories critical of state and federal governments. If they’re buying influence, they’re doing it wrong. If we want to be as cynical as possible, they could look at how things run in Washington. I believe that you need 3/5ths support to get a bill passed through the Senate. This means that if you cozy up to one of the two parties, they’re likely to support you all the way up until that 3/5ths limit is reached. You could guarantee continued funding by selectively choosing to target one party for negative coverage and the other for positive. If, at some point, the harmed party gains the majority then - finally - your funding could be cut. But, until that point, you’re relatively safe. If, on the other hand, you are negative towards both parties then you risk losing both parties and losing funding. The real test isn’t whether they say negative things, it’s whether they’re fair about it and negative to everyone. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2023, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/205 "2023-04-05T23:23:19Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Nonsense. Elon knows just about there is to know about software engineering so he could easily reverse it if he wished! > > [You are being redirected...](https://www.analyticsinsight.net/how-good-is-the-ultra-legend-elon-musk-at-coding/) He certainly does! 🤣 Summary of the key take-aways from that article: - Elmo is “a prodigy and a well-practiced problem solver” - [It’s] quite clear that Elon is a visionary, but is he good enough at coding? Well, yes - he has immense knowledge of multiple programming languages - Musk is not only a good coder but his tweets about technologies and cryptocurrencies adversely affect the market sentiments of the general public. I have no idea what that last point means, and I’m sure that the Elmo sycophant who wrote the article doesn’t know, either. Also have no idea what “immense knowledge” of programming languages means. I can understand how someone can have good experience in one or more programming languages, but at what point does that cross over into “immense knowledge”? In any case, one clear fact is that Elmo disbanded the Twitter media relations office and substituted the auto-reply poop emoji to tell the world how much he cares what they think. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/206 "2023-04-06T00:27:54Z")
He’s following the model he developed at Tesla, where he also disbanded the media relations office. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2023, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/207 "2023-04-06T02:02:53Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > The real test isn’t whether they say negative things, it’s whether they’re fair about it and negative to everyone. They seem to be, to a fault. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/208 "2023-04-23T05:15:29Z")
> **[Elon Caves, Gives Blue Checks Back to Twitter’s Biggest Celebs](https://www.thedailybeast.com/elon-musks-backs-off-legacy-checkmark-purge-re-verifies-platforms-biggest-celebs)** > > Across Twitter on Saturday, some of the platform’s biggest names expressed surprise when their fickle checkmarks suddenly reappeared. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2023, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/209 "2023-04-23T12:03:41Z")
Elon also banned a twitter account started to protest Musk’s decision, urging people to ignore/block anyone with the blue check mark. That movement also has a hashtag. Restoring only the celebs with the check may may be a counter to that. But either way Musk one again proves that he and twitter was never about freedom of speech. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/210 "2023-05-03T02:20:01Z")
> **[Elon Musk threatens to re-assign @NPR on Twitter to 'another company'](https://www.npr.org/2023/05/02/1173422311/elon-musk-npr-twitter-reassign)** > > Musk, who has been scuffling with the media since acquiring the platform last year, asked if NPR was going to start tweeting again. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/211 "2023-05-03T05:19:25Z")
Wow, I couldn’t imagine a more stupid move, but sometimes I lack imagination. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/212 "2023-05-03T05:52:58Z")
[Elon Musk has chopped Twitter down to about 1,000 employees](https://archive.is/TASEL) Down from 7500 at the time of the acquisition. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2023, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/213 "2023-05-03T13:10:31Z")
I don’t know that I’d call it “stupid”. It’s trollish & jerky, sure. It almost seems that he’s taking a page out of Trump’s book: just say outrageous shit for the fun of seeing your name light up in outrage all over the internet & conventional media. Then follow through on only a small fraction of the shit you say, because actually doing it was never the point in the first place. To the degree he actually did reassign @NPR to some Reactionary Right mouthpiece, he / they could keep picking the real NPR’s scab indefinitely. While confusing some hefty fraction of the public. At least for a while. While forcing the real NPR to continually fight to keep the confusion at bay. Destroying the public’s trust that the truth about anything is knowable and destroying trust that the world is reliable and predictable are both cornerstone ideas of nihilist government as practiced by tyrants such as Putin. And as practiced by propagandists such as the Murdochs. The benefits to them of this approach are obvious. The dis-benefits to the rest of us are equally obvious ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2023, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/214 "2023-05-04T15:02:28Z")
Is twitter . com currently not operational for anyone else? I’m getting a “Nothing to see here” page. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2023, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/215 "2023-05-04T15:03:17Z")
working for me ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/216 "2023-05-13T04:14:44Z")
> **[Linda Yaccarino to replace Elon Musk as Twitter CEO. Here's who she is.](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/linda-yaccarino-nbc-new-twitter-ceo-elon-musk/)** > > One analyst said Yaccarino, with decades of ad and monetization experience, is a "homerun hire" for Twitter. She will focus primarily on business operations, while Elon will focus on product design & new technology. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2023, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/217 "2023-05-20T14:39:44Z")
> **[This is Instagram’s new Twitter competitor](https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/19/23730070/instagram-twitter-app-competitor-leak)** > > Here’s a first look at the upcoming app. It could be here by June. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2023, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/218 "2023-05-20T19:53:15Z")
To be clear, that’s an app made by Instagram that will be a competitor to Twitter, not an app that competes with Instagram made by Twitter. Which is what I thought it would mean, but the headline is a bit ambiguous. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2023, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/219 "2023-05-20T21:25:55Z")
This looks very promising. Like everyone else, I’ve been annoyed with Twitter’s changes, but I’ve been reluctant to switch to something like Mastodon because few of the people I follow are there. On the other hand, everyone worth following is on instagram. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737/220 "2023-05-31T00:20:03Z")
Latest from the financial markets: [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-30/twitter-is-worth-33-of-musk-s-purchase-price-fidelity-says](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-30/twitter-is-worth-33-of-musk-s-purchase-price-fidelity-says) > [@](#): > > # Twitter Is Now Worth Just 33% of Elon Musk’s Purchase Price, Fidelity Says > > Twitter is now worth just one-third of what Elon Musk paid for the social-media platform, according to Fidelity, which recently [marked down](https://www.actionsxchangerepository.fidelity.com/ShowDocument/ComplianceEnvelope.htm?_fax=-18%2342%23-61%23-110%23114%2378%23117%2320%23-1%2396%2339%23-62%23-21%2386%23-100%2337%2316%2335%23-68%2391%23-66%2354%23103%23-16%2369%23-30%2358%23-20%2376%23-84%23-11%23-87%230%23-50%23-20%23-92%23-98%23-116%23-28%2358%23-38%23-43%23-39%23-42%23-96%23-88%2388%23-45%2336%2375%23118%2350%23-101%23-95%23116%2327%23-74%235%23-89%23-105%23-67%23126%2377%23-126%23100%2345%23-44%23-73%23-15%238%23-21%23-37%23-17%23-14%23-98%23123%23-18%2345%23-59%23-82%2367%2383%23112%2317%2370%23-78%2378%23-50%2336%23-86%23-90%2381%23-21%23-119%23-30%23120%2349%2328%23-98%2333%2351%23-78%23-119%23-16%2350%23-58%2350%23102%2348%23-17%2352%23-99%23) the value of its equity stake in the company. > > Musk has acknowledged he overpaid for Twitter, which he bought for $44 billion, including $33.5 billion in equity. More recently, he said Twitter is worth less than half what he paid for it. It’s unclear how Fidelity arrived at its new, lower valuation or whether it receives any non-public information from the company. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-musk-bought-twitter-breaking-news-only/975737.md?page=12)