Yahoo Finance says that Twitter's revenue has dropped by 84% since Elon Musk took over. finance.yahoo.com/news/twitter…
84%! It's bringing less than one sixth of what it did pre-takeover!
That's one stable genius, right there.
Yahoo Finance says that Twitter's revenue has dropped by 84% since Elon Musk took over. finance.yahoo.com/news/twitter…
84%! It's bringing less than one sixth of what it did pre-takeover!
That's one stable genius, right there.
Nicole Parsons
in reply to Mike Taylor 🦕 • • •For the Russian, Saudi, and Republican billionaire investors who invested in Twitter, it was money well spent.
disconnect.blog/roundup-who-he…
They lost billions in value, but feel they are on the cusp of ending American constitutional democracy permanently.
dw.com/en/what-do-xs-alleged-t…
Elon Musk engaged in the largest election interference campaign in history on behalf of the richest despots on the planet.
newsweek.com/full-list-investo…
yahoo.com/news/russian-oligarc…
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-w…
Full List of Investors in Elon Musk's X Revealed in Court Filing
James Bickerton (Newsweek)Nicole Parsons reshared this.
Mike Taylor 🦕
in reply to Nicole Parsons • • •Ben Royce 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Don't Boo: Vote
in reply to Nicole Parsons • • •@Npars01
Once upon a time, #socialmedia was mostly stupid (it still is), and mostly harmless
Then the #ArabSpring happened
#Autocracy around the world leaped to attention
13 years later, they have figured out how to coopt it with #troll farms and #plutocracy, #corruption
And now they wield it against #democracy instead
Nicole Parsons reshared this.
Badger AF (he/him) FOR HARRIS
in reply to Ben Royce 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Don't Boo: Vote • • •@benroyce @Npars01 This is why it doesn't matter how much value Twitter has lost since Melon Musk bought it - it was never to be a money-maker - just a way to control dissent of wealthy oligarchs.
It's working exactly as intended.
David Mankins
in reply to Badger AF (he/him) FOR HARRIS • • •@Badger_AF @benroyce @Npars01
I kind of think it matters a little, if only for the opportunity cost.
Let’s take the Musk-public-persona perspective (setting aside the “every billionaire is a crime” mentality for a moment) — he spent about $25 of his own billions on Twitter, what if, instead, he’d spent a few billion on a Mars simulator of the Biosphere 2 sort: a sustained attempt to build an enclosed ecology of the sort that a space colony (Mars, moon, asteroid, orbital) would require?
How about a few billion to build a space station — or a space playground, or even a space mansion?
Or piled money into robotics?
All these things would have fed his ego *and* his reputation, but instead….
Ben Royce 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Don't Boo: Vote
in reply to David Mankins • • •@lain_7 @Badger_AF @Npars01
why did #musk buy #twitter instead of use that money for robotics/ space exploration?
the answer lies in knowing the nature of the edgelord manchild:
why feed your ego with admiration from afar
when you can reach into the social sphere, warp it and control it, and command fealty and worship directly
#plutocracy #autocracy #fascism
David Mankins
in reply to Ben Royce 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Don't Boo: Vote • • •Well, yes. Buying Twitter shattered the Musk-as-Tony-Stark-genius masquerade, and revealed the Musk-as-Manchild-Edgelord reality (Tony Stark was, after all, a manchild, too, at least initially).
Ben Royce 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Don't Boo: Vote
in reply to David Mankins • • •@lain_7 @Badger_AF @Npars01
i used to admire #elonmusk on his accomplishments
i was unaware of who he was as a person
then there was that soccer team trapped in a cave in thailand
#elon tried to build a submarine to rescue the boys
but his spotlight was robbed by cave divers who achieved the rescue without him
so #musk had a #manchild temper tantrum and called one of the cave divers a "pedo"
at that point i became aware of what kind of person elon was
bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-5…
Cave diver tells court Elon Musk tweets 'humiliated' him
BBC NewsTek say vote
in reply to Ben Royce 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Don't Boo: Vote • • •Nicole Parsons
in reply to Tek say vote • • •@tek @benroyce @lain_7 @Badger_AF
Women got an even earlier insight into who Elon Musk really was, due to how he treated his wives, ex-wives, and former children.
How someone treats their spouse & kids says a lot about them. Musk doesn't believe in joint custody. Musk believes in property rights.
finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-mu…
independent.co.uk/tv/lifestyle…
globalnews.ca/news/10650195/gr…
hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyl…
thepinknews.com/2024/08/07/elo…
bostonherald.com/2024/10/12/a-…
Elon Musk and Grimes’ legal battle over their three children shows no sign of ending soon
Emily Maskell (PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news)Tek say vote
in reply to Nicole Parsons • • •Philip Cardella
in reply to Ben Royce 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Don't Boo: Vote • • •@benroyce @lain_7 @Badger_AF @Npars01 basically, I'm the same. And I don't think he even started building the submarine.
He suggested it and it was dismissed by literally anyone whose even been in a cavern, but especially the professionals.
But yeah, that's when I realized he was a total con man with seriously dangerous issues.
Paul Chernoff
in reply to Ben Royce 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Don't Boo: Vote • • •@benroyce @lain_7 @Badger_AF @Npars01 It was more than that. Elon came up with a terrible idea that wouldn't work and would probably kill someone. Shows how he solves things without knowing anything about the situation and then throws a tantrum when called out.
I heard Unsworth talk my niece’s high school graduation, one of the Thai students who was trapped in the cave was in the graduating class. Not a great speaker but a very interesting life. He didn't mention Musk once.
Ben Royce 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Don't Boo: Vote
in reply to Paul Chernoff • • •oh wow! poor guy: smeared by musk. the only valid approach is to never speak of the devil again
Paul Chernoff
in reply to Ben Royce 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Don't Boo: Vote • • •Nicole Parsons
in reply to Paul Chernoff • • •@paulc @benroyce @lain_7 @Badger_AF
Musk's public remarks have consequences.
Musk has triggered stock market volatility to manipulate stock valuations.
forbes.com/sites/digital-asset…
In the UK, Musk's comments sparked far right riots that burned libraries.
theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
In Canada, Musk's comments sparked antivaxxer blockades that cost their economy billions in losses (and shut down his competitors Ford & Toyota)
reuters.com/world/americas/ant…
amp.abc.net.au/article/1008205…
Like Trump, ...
1/2
Inciting rioters in Britain was a test run for Elon Musk. Just see what he plans for America
Carole Cadwalladr (The Guardian)Nicole Parsons reshared this.
Nicole Parsons
in reply to Nicole Parsons • • •2/2
...Musk has fanatics willing to commit crimes & risk going to jail for him.
theconversation.com/social-med…
theguardian.com/world/2023/may…
Stochastic terrorism by Tenet Media was amplified
nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/…
nytimes.com/2024/09/07/busines…
advocate.com/hate-crimes/stoch…
Experts warn of increased risk of US terror attacks by rightwing ‘lone wolf’ actors
Adam Gabbatt (The Guardian)Nicole Parsons reshared this.
Osma A
in reply to David Mankins • • •@lain_7
There was no opportunity cost. Even if Elon spends the rest of his life grilling waguy steaks on $100 bonfires and flies his private jet to breakfast every morning, he will not run out of money. But if the US finally gets a government that puts controls on billionaires, he is (as per his words to Tucker Carlson) "fucked".
Don't forget the current admin is already preparing to break Google apart.
@Badger_AF @benroyce @Npars01 @mike
Doug Baker
in reply to Badger AF (he/him) FOR HARRIS • • •Ben Royce 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Don't Boo: Vote
in reply to Doug Baker • • •@SonofaGeorge @Badger_AF @Npars01
same
that's because we're normal
elon is not normal
Steffi the Redhead
in reply to Ben Royce 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Don't Boo: Vote • • •@benroyce @SonofaGeorge @Badger_AF @Npars01 I mean he still has 250 billions.
forbes.com/profile/elon-musk/
Most of that "money" was never money, but some dude saying "his firms are so and so much worth". But give it time and that made up money can change into real money.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk (Forbes)Ben Royce 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Don't Boo: Vote
in reply to Steffi the Redhead • • •He also buys something with a money losing Twitter that is worth more: power and influence
Steffi the Redhead
in reply to Ben Royce 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Don't Boo: Vote • • •Ben Royce 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Don't Boo: Vote
in reply to Steffi the Redhead • • •@fuchsi @SonofaGeorge @Badger_AF @Npars01
#trump is essentially our first #socialmedia president
and it doesn't reflect well on social media
because the powerbase he grew is a cesspit of vicious lies, racist trolls, disinfo agendas, and weaponized idiocy
and we better get a handle on this phenomenon, because it's not abating
Nicole Parsons
in reply to Ben Royce 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Don't Boo: Vote • • •@benroyce @fuchsi @SonofaGeorge @Badger_AF
With radio propaganda, broadcast license requirements, regulations on hate speech, & oversight on foreign ownership worked for a long time after WW2.
Unfortunately, as @pluralistic points out, regulatory capture by the far right & a corrupt Supreme Court is a reality.
Nicole Parsons reshared this.
Mike Taylor 🦕
in reply to Nicole Parsons • • •Nicole Parsons reshared this.
EarthMomma
in reply to Ben Royce 🇺🇸🇺🇦 Don't Boo: Vote • • •Social media is the WEAPON that propaganda has been searching for years to own, and now they do.
Nicole Parsons
in reply to EarthMomma • • •@LaNaehForaday @benroyce
The Nazis have always used radio as a weapon of propaganda.
The wealthy focus on cheap methods of mass delivery.
spectrum.ieee.org/inside-the-t…
amberley-books.com/radio-hitle…?
theguardian.com/books/2024/mar…
truthout.org/articles/are-the-…
Social Media ballooned that cost-effective power to spread lies.
cnn.com/2024/09/04/politics/do…
reuters.com/world/us/musk-fund…
How to Win an Information War by Peter Pomerantsev review – the radio host who beat Goebbels at his own game
Luke Harding (The Guardian)Nicole Parsons reshared this.
Gatekeeper..Harris Walz
in reply to Nicole Parsons • • •Nicole Parsons reshared this.
Mastodon Migration VOTED
in reply to Nicole Parsons • • •So, just to be clear. Elon is the front guy for the Russian's interference in our presidential election.
Nicole Parsons
in reply to Mastodon Migration VOTED • • •@mastodonmigration
A lot of Russian sanctioned money laundering is being conducted via Turkey and UAE
reuters.com/world/us-allies-pr…
energyintel.com/00000191-e107-…
The same financial institutions helped Musk buy Twitter.
Nicole Parsons reshared this.
Cabbidges
in reply to Nicole Parsons • • •There's journalists still on there. It's bizarre. Some BBC bloke got turfed off, said a few hellos here and didn't post anything since. I presume he's back in the fold.
Dan Riley
in reply to Nicole Parsons • • •@Npars01 I feel like this doesn't get said enough: Russia, Saudi Arabia and many Republican billionaires are completely dependent on fossil fuels for their wealth, and the US is where they have had the most success vilifying climate change mitigation measures.
It's quite a turnaround for Musk; he doesn't seem to have much by way of actual principles.
Nicole Parsons reshared this.
HistoPol (#HP) 🥥 🌴
in reply to Nicole Parsons • • •@Npars01
#X #TwitterTakeover #TwitterDemolition
#Elections2024
#ElectionInterference
Exactly. #Elmo is carrying out "A controlled demolition" of #X (formerly #Twitter.)
I (and others) have been saying this since early 2023.
However, many saw (and still see) it as a "conspiracy theory". Alas, it clearly isn't, Nicole.
If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck--here is the reason why, and it's not pretty:
mastodon.social/@HistoPol/1100…
HistoPol (#HP) 🥥 🌴 (@HistoPol@mastodon.social)
MastodonNicole Parsons reshared this.
Nicole Parsons
in reply to HistoPol (#HP) 🥥 🌴 • • •@HistoPol
The best predictor of future behavior, is past behavior.
Musk fired the staff that made Twitter an effective social media platform.
Why would anyone shoot their own horse as they rode it?
Musk was paid by his investors to torch Twitter to thwart its use by democracies.
Musk intends America to have the same fate as Twitter.
Torched to the ground to benefit his patrons & investors.
theguardian.com/us-news/live/2…
Elon Musk’s $75m puts him among largest Republican donors – US politics live
Chris Stein (The Guardian)Nicole Parsons reshared this.
Marv Clowder
in reply to Nicole Parsons • • •@Npars01 @HistoPol
Why not kill the golden goose?
Its pâté is so yummy!
HistoPol (#HP) 🥥 🌴
in reply to Nicole Parsons • • •#X #Legal #InvestorsUnsealed
(I/n)
You're right, Nicole.
I think, however, there still is a hidden equally important agenda regarding the #TwitterDemolition, which most still fail to see:
mastodon.social/@HistoPol/1111…
I can't prove it yet, OFC, but time will tell. #Bluesky inheriting most of the remaining #X users would just make so much sense.
Apart from the reasons named, #Elmo is still working towards the #EverythingApp, inspired by the #Chinese #WeeChat.
And if #China is...
@mike
HistoPol (#HP) 🥥 🌴 (@HistoPol@mastodon.social)
MastodonNicole Parsons reshared this.
HistoPol (#HP) 🥥 🌴
in reply to HistoPol (#HP) 🥥 🌴 • • •#X #Legal #InvestorsUnsealed
(II/n)
...the role model, well nothing can beat the #Chinese #surveillance state.
It's all in the open, #Twitter's programming and infrastructure is way to much legacy and trying to move masses of people from one app to another is all but impossible due to the network lock-in effect, as Cory @pluralistic has been explaining.
A mature #Bluesky product and a quickly collapsing #X infrastructure...
HistoPol (#HP) 🥥 🌴
in reply to HistoPol (#HP) 🥥 🌴 • • •#X #Legal #InvestorsUnsealed
(1/n)
Via #JacobSilverman
"...it’s important to know who the volatile owner of a major platform for public debate, political discourse, and government surveillance and information operations is working with — who he [#ElonMusk] owes, who he listens to, and who might influence what happens on X."
"*We Got a Judge to Unseal a List of X's Shareholders*"
While the list is quite long, it is interesting to highlight some...
jacobsilverman.com/p/we-got-a-…
Cc @Npars01 @mike
We Got a Judge to Unseal a List of X's Shareholders
Jacob SilvermanNicole Parsons
in reply to HistoPol (#HP) 🥥 🌴 • • •@HistoPol
Unsurprisingly, Fidelity is a major institutional investor in the New York Times as well as Twitter.
It explains a lot about the New York Times negligent journalism of the GOP.
fintel.io/so/us/nyt
Fidelity's DAF's fund hate speech.
newrepublic.com/article/172927…
exposedbycmd.org/2023/12/13/br…
opendemocracy.net/en/5050/dono…
cbsnews.com/news/fidelity-401k…
Bradley Funneled $86 Million to Right-Wing Litigation, Policy, Media, Youth Groups, and Higher Education in 2022 - EXPOSEDbyCMD
David Armiak (EXPOSEDbyCMD)Nicole Parsons reshared this.
HistoPol (#HP) 🥥 🌴
in reply to HistoPol (#HP) 🥥 🌴 • • •@Npars01
#X #Legal #InvestorsUnsealed
(2/n)
...of the investors [which IMO should often be called "co-conspirators,"] in particular the #Saudi crown prince, #MBS's role (see article).
"...The list #X filed with the court mentions 95 names and legal entities.
Some of them are familiar names for Musk-watchers:
#AndreessenHorowitz, 8VC, #JackDorsey, Ross Gerber, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Sequoia, et al. There are 26 entries related to #Fidelity, the mutual fund colossus. There’s...
HistoPol (#HP) 🥥 🌴
Unknown parent • • •@Npars01
#X #Legal #InvestorsUnsealed
(4/n)
...and sanctioned entities, is listed an X investor. (#Binance’s CEO, #ChangpengZhao, pleaded guilty to money laundering violations and is finishing up a short stint in federal prison.)
There are two entries for Prince #AlwaleedBinTalal and another for his Kingdom Holding Company, which was the largest outside shareholder of #Twitter when it was a public company. Prince #Alwaleed briefly opposed #Musk’s takeover —...
HistoPol (#HP) 🥥 🌴
in reply to HistoPol (#HP) 🥥 🌴 • • •#X #Legal #InvestorsUnsealed
(5/5)
...prompting some gentle sparring on #Twitter — but he soon came around. Given #Saudi Crown Prince #MohammadBinSalman’s [#MBS] years-long crackdown against dissent and powerful businessmen and political rivals — which included imprisoning and torturing hundreds of prominent #Saudis, including Prince Alwaleed, in Riyadh’s Ritz Carlton hotel — it’s likely that #MBS controls those shares..."
Do read on:
jacobsilverman.com/p/we-got-a-…
//
We Got a Judge to Unseal a List of X's Shareholders
Jacob Silverman