Twitter board agrees to $44 billion sale to billionaire Tesla founder Elon Musk

[Zaune]

Doesn't have the same snap though.

[bilateralrope]

I've seen some people refer to him as Pony Stark due to this: A sexual misconduct claim against Elon Musk involved him offering to buy a SpaceX flight attendant a horse in exchange for an erotic massage

[EnterpriseSovereign]

I've seen some people refer to him as Pony Stark due to this: A sexual misconduct claim against Elon Musk involved him offering to buy a SpaceX flight attendant a horse in exchange for an erotic massage

And just like Trump he's claiming it's "politically motivated"

[bilateralrope]

Musk admits X may be doomed to fail as new glitch wipes out pictures from former Twitter platform

[/i]Glitch comes after Mr Musk’s X slowed down access to the sites of rival social media platforms

Vishwam Sankaran
8 hours ago[/i]

Elon Musk, the owner of X – the company formerly known as Twitter – said on Saturday that the social media platform “may fail” as a new glitch wiped out most pictures tweeted before December 2014.

“The sad truth is that there are no great ‘social networks’ right now. We may fail, as so many have predicted, but we will try our best to make there be at least one,” Mr Musk posted on X.

Since his take-over of the company for $44bn, the multibillionaire has tried to shake things up, introducing radical new changes to the platform, from laying off over three-fourths of Twitter’s workforce to his latest statement that the platform’s feature to block other user profiles would be removed.

The platform, being rebranded as X, has also suffered blackouts and glitches in recent times with the latest one appearing to affect tweets with pictures and links published prior to December 2014.

X appeared to have problems displaying old posts that came with attached images or hyperlinks converted using Twitter’s built-in web link shortener.

Among the images initially lost was the famous “most retweeted” selfie from the 2014 Oscars by the event’s host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres.

This image has since been restored, but most old tweets before December 2014 have broken short links instead of the actual media or links.

“More vandalism from Elon Musk. Twitter has now removed all media posted before 2014. That’s - so far - almost a decade of pictures and videos from the early 2000s removed from the service,” Brazilian YouTuber Tom Coates posted on Twitter.

The glitch comes after Mr Musk’s X intentionally slowed down access to the sites of rival social media platforms such as Threads, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as those of news organisations like New York Times last week.

X seemed to add a delay of about five seconds when people clicked on links to go elsewhere on the web.

There are speculations that the latest glitch preventing access to old images could be due to X trying to recover more server space, but this might also not be an intentional move carried out for cost-cutting purposes.

Some people also appear to be able to view their old images back again, but it remains unclear why the glitch occurred in the first place.

Sounds like Musk is finally noticing that the backend isn't as reliable as it once was. Of course, he's not going to accept that it's because he fired most of the engineers who kept it running.

[bilateralrope]

X may soon add ID verification for 'preventing impersonation'

The feature was spotted several months after rampant impersonation derailed the launch of Twitter Blue.

Karissa Bell|@karissabe|August 17, 2023 3:04 PM

X appears to be working on new ID verification features several months after rampant impersonation temporarily derailed the company’s paid verification plans. The platform is now working on an additional verification feature that requires users to upload a copy of their government-issued ID and snap a selfie, according to a screenshot shared by app researcher Nima Owji.

Owji, who often uncovers unreleased features in X, first spotted an “ID verified” badge on Musk’s profile earlier this month. Now, he’s discovered an in-app message detailing how it works, suggesting that it may be getting closer to an official launch. “Verify your account by providing government-issued ID,” it says. “This usually takes about 5 minutes.” It explains that users will need to provide a photo of their ID and a selfie.

It seems X is partnering with a third-party “identity intelligence” company Au10tix on the feature. The fine print notes that information shared for verification will be seen by Au10tix as well as X. X will keep “ID images, including biometric data, for up to 30 days” and will use the information “for the purposes of safety and security, including preventing impersonation.”

An Au10tix representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The company’s website advertises “8-second verification without even partial human involvement” and “first-of-a-kind tech detecting synthetic fraud patterns globally.” The company says it’s previously worked with companies like Google, PayPal and Uber.

X didn’t respond to a request for comment. But the feature suggests the company is looking for new ways to combat impersonation on the platform. Right now, X offers verified status to anyone paying for an X Premium (formerly known as Twitter Blue) subscription.

The company doesn’t conduct its own identity checks, though it has implemented some safeguards, like its verified organizations feature. Still, some impersonators have still managed to slip through. Verification has also been exploited by numerous scammers, particularly crypto scammers, who use the additional visibility that comes with an X premium subscription to elevate their posts. It’s unclear if adding optional identity checks would fully solve these issues, but it could make some scammers and impersonators a bit easier to identify.

So this is a completely automated method of checking ID.

Imagine I gave you scans of three drivers licenses from a location of your choice:
- One is my real license
- One is my face on someone else's license
- One is my face on a license where all the text is incorrect

How would you tell which is which ?

Unless you can point to some deal between Au10tix and at least one government, you'll have to assume you don't have access to any official license databases.



You can probably see how I'm expecting this to go.

[Solauren]

Yeah. Most governments don't allow that kind of information out to 3rd parties due to privacy laws.

Working for the Canadian Federal Government, its like pulling teeth to get information from other sections of government that I have security clearance to have, let alone other levels (i.e from one of the provincial governments). Forms to fill out, management approval, etc.

It once took a co-workers 2 YEARS to get someone's drivers license photo, to verify someone's ID.

So yeah, my doubts are at like, 99.99%

[bobalot]

Has there ever been a historical precedent of one dickhead destroying a multi-billion dollar company in such a record time?

[Solauren]

Has there ever been a historical precedent of one dickhead destroying a multi-billion dollar company in such a record time?

To be fair, he don't know IF he's destroyed the company yet. Yeah, he's made some very questionable decisions, but the company is still operating, and if their claims are to be believed, the company is close to returning to profitability.

That being said, comparing this to a powerful storm, we appear to be at the edge, with the more powerful aspects of the storm approaching. (i.e Regulators, lawsuits, etc). It's entirely possible (if not probable), that his management up to this point will collide hard with that, and that will destroy the company.

[LadyTevar]

Has there ever been a historical precedent of one dickhead destroying a multi-billion dollar company in such a record time?

King Henry and England's Catholic Church?

[Ralin]

King Henry and England's Catholic Church?

Didn't he spend years trying to be a good Catholic and follow the rules and only schism after the Pope repeatedly denied his requests for a divorce (which had been granted in similar circumstances) because of his wife's family connections? That's a way longer time frame without even considering that he actually did create a new, successful Protestant church to replace them.

[Solauren]

Has there ever been a historical precedent of one dickhead destroying a multi-billion dollar company in such a record time?

King Henry and England's Catholic Church?

King Henry was never in charge of the Catholic Church in England.

He declared himself head of the Church in England, creating the Prodestant Church in the process, and then granted his own divorce, and then siezed all Catholic Church assets.

He didn't take over the church of England, he created a new Church, and then plundered the old one.
To compare to a modern corporate situation - he left his old company, created a new one, and then figured away to buy up all the old corporations assets while leaving it's union agreements and shareholders holding the bill.

Musk wishes he was as effective as King Henry was.

[Lost Soal]

Yeah, its called a leveraged buyout and its what killed Radioshack and Toys r Us among many others, and Musk managed to fuck that up by leaving himself on the hook for large portions of the debt.

[LadyTevar]

Yeah, its called a leveraged buyout and its what killed Radioshack and Toys r Us among many others, and Musk managed to fuck that up by leaving himself on the hook for large portions of the debt.

Is that what got Sears and K-mart too?

[Ralin]

So anyway, Musk has revealed the real cause of Twitter's loss of value. It seems he's been targeted by a group of (((people))) with a disproportionate amount of influence over media who have been bad mouthing him to advertisers.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Has there ever been a historical precedent of one dickhead destroying a multi-billion dollar company in such a record time?

Yes. Trump, to the US government.

[Batman]

Trump needed a full term, and Biden's record so far says it was salvagable. I don't think the same can be said for X (used to be Twitter).

[bilateralrope]

So anyway, Musk has revealed the real cause of Twitter's loss of value. It seems he's been targeted by a group of (((people))) with a disproportionate amount of influence over media who have been bad mouthing him to advertisers.

Suing the ADL will just be one more data point they use to show that he's an anti-Semite and drive away advertisers.

Here's an interesting quote:

The billionaire said that U.S. advertising revenue "is still down 60%, primarily due to pressure on advertisers by @ADL (that's what advertisers tell us), so they almost succeeded in killing X/Twitter!"

Musk didn't call it X. He called it X/Twitter. The name change is so dumb that he isn't using it.

[Ralin]

Musk didn't call it X. He called it X/Twitter. The name change is so dumb that he isn't using it.

Surely that's just because the ongoing Jewish conspiracy against him predates the name change?

[Lost Soal]

Yeah, its called a leveraged buyout and its what killed Radioshack and Toys r Us among many others, and Musk managed to fuck that up by leaving himself on the hook for large portions of the debt.

Is that what got Sears and K-mart too?

Yip. Barrow shit loads, buy the company, move the debt onto the company (you can make a profit just from this) then watch as profitable companies die due to debt they cannot repay.

[Broomstick]

So anyway, Musk has revealed the real cause of Twitter's loss of value. It seems he's been targeted by a group of (((people))) with a disproportionate amount of influence over media who have been bad mouthing him to advertisers.

Excuse me - the triple curved brackets to refer to Jews, a Jewish person, etc. is a feature of anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists and racial supremacist dickheads. The practice originated with actual Neo-Nazis. I'm going to assume you weren't aware of how offensive that is. Please do not do that again. It is hate speech and a racial slur.

(There are some Jews who do this to attempt to re-claim the practice, much as some LGBTQ+ people use the word "queer", or now some African-Americans use the "n-word" amongst themselves, but unless you're Jewish, LGBTQ+, or Black you shouldn't be using them.)

[Zaune]

I think they were trying to make a point about how Dilbert Stark's now quite literally using neo-Nazi rhetoric himself, but yeah. That's something you should be cautious about, Ralin: People might get the wrong idea.

[Dalton]

So anyway, Musk has revealed the real cause of Twitter's loss of value. It seems he's been targeted by a group of (((people))) with a disproportionate amount of influence over media who have been bad mouthing him to advertisers.

Excuse me - the triple curved brackets to refer to Jews, a Jewish person, etc. is a feature of anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists and racial supremacist dickheads. The practice originated with actual Neo-Nazis. I'm going to assume you weren't aware of how offensive that is. Please do not do that again. It is hate speech and a racial slur.

(There are some Jews who do this to attempt to re-claim the practice, much as some LGBTQ+ people use the word "queer", or now some African-Americans use the "n-word" amongst themselves, but unless you're Jewish, LGBTQ+, or Black you shouldn't be using them.)

I think in that context Ralin was being facetious, but yes, let's avoid doing that particular ((())) thing.

[Ralin]

Why yes, I was making the point that Elon Musk's threat to sue a Jewish organization for conspiring to destroy his business using their behind the scenes power over advertisers and the media does seem to have very strong antisemitic overtones. I think that was pretty obvious from context to everyone but Broomstick, and frankly I suspect she understood that too and just felt like being contrary and starting shit.

I will also point out that while I admit I don't take the concept of 'n-word privileges' as seriously as some there was actually a trend of encouraging people of all backgrounds to use the triple parentheses in their own usernames on social media and Twitter in particular several years back when it came into widespread use specifically to make it more of a pain in the ass for neo-Nazi types to use it as a convenient way of singling out Jewish users because of something to do with how Twitter's search function worked (I forget the exact details). Which both further explains why I believed associating this particular reference to antisemitism with Elon Musk was appropriate in this situation and also undermines the notion that the Jewish people have collectively claimed ownership over the use of that particular convention.

Duh.

[Broomstick]

I think that was pretty obvious from context to everyone but Broomstick, and frankly I suspect she understood that too and just felt like being contrary and starting shit.

Pointing out that something could come across as bigoted is not "starting shit", and I did state I didn't think you meant it in that way.

[Dalton]

Alright, settle down. Derailment over. Let’s just avoid using the parentheses thing, and maybe not jump on someone for perceived bigotry until you know more about the motives.

Don’t make me turn this car around.