Furious Elon Musk critics reveal three worst Twitter changes – as users vow to quit
ELON Musk’s controversial takeover of Twitter has left the social media platform’s users divided.
Some have welcomed the eccentric billionaire’s changes to the site, while others are less trilled.
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A number of users are so disappointed that they have vowed to quit the app forever.
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Blue tick troubles
Musk’s first big announcement was his paid verification plan, which charged users $8 (£11) for a previously free ‘blue tick’.
The new CEO, who bought the platform from $44billion last year and took the reins in October, initially wanted to charge users $20 before being talked down over the fact that it was too high of a fee.
While the verification symbol is typically $8, Apple iOS subscribers are charged $11 because Musk doesn’t want to pay Apple’s 30% in-app purchase tax.
The move was designed to bring more cash into the social media company.
But instead, it meant bots and bad actors could impersonate political figures and massive companies to spread false statements.
Though Musk urged earlier this week that “Twitter is far more resilient to fake accounts than it has ever been”.
Author Stephen King threatened to boycott the app when it was first introduced.
Another user said at the time: “I would probably entirely quit Twitter rather than pay literally any money for it… But I guess a lot of institutions would feel obliged to pay for a blue tick?”
While another user earlier this month Tweeted: “Mate if I have to buy that blue tick… I’d rather quit twitter. Screams of desperation.”
Weaker oversight
The billionaire entrepreneur’s overhaul of Twitter has also been accompanied by an increase in digital harassment of religious and ethnic minorities, former employees and experts told the Washington Post.
Musk, who also owns Tesla, SpaceX and Starlink, started his tenure as CEO by firing or accepting the resignations of thousands of staff.
Or around three-fourths of Twitter’s workforce.
Thousands of contractors who were monitoring the site for slurs and threats reportedly had their deals terminated after the takeover, the Washington Post reported.
However, Musk did announce an end to the practice of doxxing, which is when details of a person’s work or home address is shared online as a form of punishment.
“When someone shares an individual’s live location on Twitter, there is an increased risk of physical harm,” Musk said in an update.
“Moving forward, we’ll remove Tweets that share this information, and accounts dedicated to sharing someone else’s live location will be suspended.”
One less-than-happy Twitter user wrote this weekend: “I’m telling you, I almost deleted my account yesterday.
“There are just way too many bots pitting us against each other. I quit Facebook. If Twitter doesn’t stop being a political nightmare, I’m going to have to take a long social media break.
“It’s not fun anymore.”
Another said: “First you get half your employees to quit, now you’ll get half your users to quit.
“I guess I just don’t understand how geniuses do business.”
Suspended accounts
Musk has been very vocal of his push for ‘free speech’ on the platform, which allows for more types of comments and content.
He directed Twitter to reinstate around 60,000 accounts that had previously been banned for breaking the company’s former rules.
In November, a slew of accounts Tweeted that they would be leaving Twitter after former US president Donald Trump was allowed back onto the platform.
But while many quit the platform after Trump graced the Twitter stage once again, it’s clear it was a knee jerk reaction for many.
A number of users have since made their way back to the platform, as Musk continues to iron out teething troubles and introduce new updates.
One user, who plans on paying for the new Twitter Blue tick now they’re back on the platform, wrote: “I quit Twitter when they kicked Trump off after being here since 2010. Now I am starting over. So yeah, I plan on [buying Twitter Blue].”
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