Truth Social, Donald Trump's alt-right social media platform, has made its stock market debut with a surge in market valuation, but experts warn of overvaluation. A day-long visit to the platform revealed a mix of conspiracy theories, fierce hatred of President Joe Biden, and amateur production. The "Truthsayers" populate the platform with right-wing influencers, political content, and conspiracy theories, making it a haven for those seeking overly political content.
Don Lemon's deal for a new talk show on the social media platform X was canceled by Elon Musk following a testy interview, just days before it was scheduled to air. The interview, filmed at SpaceX's office in Austin, Texas, covered topics such as SpaceX, the presidential election, and Musk's reported drug use. Lemon stated that his questions were respectful and wide-ranging, but Musk's commitment to a global town square where all questions can be asked and all ideas can be shared seemed not to include questions of him from people like Lemon. This cancellation is the latest self-inflicted business disruption at X, following Musk's previous controversial comments and actions.
The European Union has initiated infringement proceedings against Elon Musk's social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, citing suspected violations of transparency obligations, failure to combat illegal content and disinformation, and alleged deceptive design of the user interface. The EU regulator, Thierry Breton, announced the action on Monday, and CNBC is seeking comment from X.
Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter), sparked controversy by criticizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, calling them "discrimination." Musk's comment comes amidst growing criticism of X for amplifying hateful content, leading to an exodus of advertisers. DEI aims to address systemic discrimination by supporting marginalized groups through training, mentorship, and hiring programs. However, some public figures, including Musk, argue that DEI has become a box-ticking exercise that promotes reverse discrimination. The advertising boycott on X by major companies, including IBM, Apple, and Coca-Cola, is expected to cost the platform millions in revenue.
Threads, a social media platform owned by Meta, has introduced "tags" (similar to hashtags) and expanded search capabilities to users worldwide. While Threads tags only allow for a single tag per post, this encourages users to be more selective in their tag choices. Unlike other platforms, Threads tags support spaces, allowing for multi-word tags. The introduction of tags is seen as a step towards building a platform that fosters healthy conversation. However, there is currently no separate interface for trending tags, and users can only see the number of Threads discussing a topic by clicking on the hashtag within a Thread.
Elon Musk's social media platform, X (formerly known as Twitter), is facing a significant advertiser backlash due to controversial remarks and actions by Musk himself. Many major corporations, including Walmart, Apple, Disney, and IBM, have stopped advertising on the platform. Musk's hostile takeover of Twitter resulted in the removal of staff dedicated to policing hate speech and harassment, and his endorsement of an antisemitic post further fueled concerns. The advertiser exodus could potentially lead to significant financial losses for X, with estimates suggesting up to $75 million. Musk has acknowledged that the boycott could be lethal for the company, but his ultimate intentions and the platform's future remain uncertain.
Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy criticizes the Republican National Committee's (RNC) debate format, calling it boring and ineffective in attracting younger and new voters. Ramaswamy proposes holding the next GOP debate on a popular social media platform, X, and suggests conservative commentator Tucker Carlson as the moderator. He has been critical of the RNC's guidelines and performance, calling for RNC chair Ronna McDaniel's resignation and advocating for changes in donor thresholds and debate moderation. The viewership of Republican primary debates has declined, and the next debate is scheduled for December 6 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Educators and parents are concerned about WhatsApp's new Channels feature, which turns the messaging app into a social media platform. While some suggest leaving WhatsApp altogether, the article argues that having a robust internet filter is the key to addressing concerns about inappropriate content and unsolicited messages. Most paid filters have already blocked the Channels feature, and it is emphasized that every frum yid should have a filter as a necessity. Instead of abandoning WhatsApp, the focus should be on using tools like filters to ensure a protected and safe online experience.
Twitter is reportedly developing a job listings feature for verified organizations, allowing them to post job openings on their profiles. The feature, referred to as "Twitter Hiring," will enable verified organizations to attract talent by adding up to five job positions to their profiles. Verified organizations will also have the option to import all of their open jobs to Twitter by connecting to a supported Applicant Tracking System or XML feed. This move positions Twitter to compete with platforms like LinkedIn and Indeed in the job market space. The feature is included in Twitter's Verified for Organizations package, and it aims to make it easier for companies to reach potential candidates across the platform's extensive user base.
Instagram's new Threads app has surpassed 100 million users in a matter of days, reaching the milestone faster than OpenAI's ChatGPT. The app has seen a steady increase in users and engagement, with millions of posts and likes already shared. While it remains to be seen if Threads will achieve the same cultural impact as Twitter, it has the potential to become a conversation-based social media platform. Twitter, on the other hand, has been experiencing a decline in traffic in recent months.
Twitter now blocks unregistered users from viewing tweets or using the platform at all, a change that was previously possible on a limited basis. It is unclear if this is intentional or accidental, but it may be part of Twitter's push to convert visitors into account holders. The user experience on Twitter has deteriorated over time, leading some users to explore alternative platforms.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk announced that verified accounts are now "prioritized" on the social media platform, but did not provide further details. This comes after Twitter removed blue verified badges from accounts that do not pay for its Twitter Blue subscription service, but then returned them for many highly followed accounts. Some users reported receiving check marks again only for them to be taken away once more. Previously, around 400,000 verified users had "legacy" blue checkmarks, including journalists and government agencies.
