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Twitter users vote to oust Elon Musk as CEO
Elon Musk took over Twitter on October 27 and has repeatedly courted controversy, not least by sacking half of its staff
Elon Musk took over Twitter on October 27 and has repeatedly courted controversy, not least by sacking half of its staff.

Twitter users voted on Monday to oust owner Elon Musk as chief executive in a highly unscientific poll he organized and promised to honor, just weeks after he took charge of the social media giant.

"Going forward, there will be a vote for major policy changes. My apologies. Won't happen again," he tweeted.

The attempted ban had prompted howls of disapproval and even bemused Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey, who had backed Musk's takeover.

Dorsey questioned the new policy with a one-word tweet: "Why?"

'Perfect storm'

Musk has generated a series of controversies in his short reign, one which analyst Dan Ives from Wedbush described as a "perfect storm."

Twitter has been hit by a growing series of controversies generated by Musk during his short tenure at the helm
Twitter has been hit by a growing series of controversies generated by Musk during his short tenure at the helm.

He noted that "advertisers have run for the hills and left Twitter squarely in the red ink potentially on track to lose roughly $4 billion per year."

Shortly after taking over the platform, Musk announced it would charge $8 per month to verify account holders' identities, but had to suspend the "Twitter Blue" plan after an embarrassing rash of fake accounts. It has since been relaunched.

On November 4, with Musk saying the company was losing $4 million a day, Twitter laid off half of its 7,500-strong staff.

Musk also reinstated Trump's account—though the former US president indicated he had no interest in the platform—and said Twitter would no longer work to combat COVID-19 disinformation.

In recent days, he suspended the accounts of several journalists after complaining some had published details about the movements of his private jet, which he claimed could endanger his family.

Employees of CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post were among those affected in a move that drew sharp criticism, including from the European Union and the United Nations.

Washington Post executive editor Sally Buzbee said the suspension of journalist Taylor Lorenz's account "further undermines Elon Musk's claim that he intends to run Twitter as a platform dedicated to free speech."

Some of the suspended accounts have since been reactivated.

On Monday, the head of the European Parliament, speaker Roberta Metsola, sent a letter to Musk inviting him to testify before the legislature, her spokesman said.

The parliament has no power to compel Musk to turn up, and his response was not immediately known.

© 2022 AFP

Citation: Twitter users vote to oust Elon Musk as CEO (2022, December 19) retrieved 20 December 2022 from https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-twitter-users-vote-oust-elon.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Original Text (This is the original text for your reference.)

Elon Musk took over Twitter on October 27 and has repeatedly courted controversy, not least by sacking half of its staff
Elon Musk took over Twitter on October 27 and has repeatedly courted controversy, not least by sacking half of its staff.

Twitter users voted on Monday to oust owner Elon Musk as chief executive in a highly unscientific poll he organized and promised to honor, just weeks after he took charge of the social media giant.

"Going forward, there will be a vote for major policy changes. My apologies. Won't happen again," he tweeted.

The attempted ban had prompted howls of disapproval and even bemused Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey, who had backed Musk's takeover.

Dorsey questioned the new policy with a one-word tweet: "Why?"

'Perfect storm'

Musk has generated a series of controversies in his short reign, one which analyst Dan Ives from Wedbush described as a "perfect storm."

Twitter has been hit by a growing series of controversies generated by Musk during his short tenure at the helm
Twitter has been hit by a growing series of controversies generated by Musk during his short tenure at the helm.

He noted that "advertisers have run for the hills and left Twitter squarely in the red ink potentially on track to lose roughly $4 billion per year."

Shortly after taking over the platform, Musk announced it would charge $8 per month to verify account holders' identities, but had to suspend the "Twitter Blue" plan after an embarrassing rash of fake accounts. It has since been relaunched.

On November 4, with Musk saying the company was losing $4 million a day, Twitter laid off half of its 7,500-strong staff.

Musk also reinstated Trump's account—though the former US president indicated he had no interest in the platform—and said Twitter would no longer work to combat COVID-19 disinformation.

In recent days, he suspended the accounts of several journalists after complaining some had published details about the movements of his private jet, which he claimed could endanger his family.

Employees of CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post were among those affected in a move that drew sharp criticism, including from the European Union and the United Nations.

Washington Post executive editor Sally Buzbee said the suspension of journalist Taylor Lorenz's account "further undermines Elon Musk's claim that he intends to run Twitter as a platform dedicated to free speech."

Some of the suspended accounts have since been reactivated.

On Monday, the head of the European Parliament, speaker Roberta Metsola, sent a letter to Musk inviting him to testify before the legislature, her spokesman said.

The parliament has no power to compel Musk to turn up, and his response was not immediately known.

© 2022 AFP

Citation: Twitter users vote to oust Elon Musk as CEO (2022, December 19) retrieved 20 December 2022 from https://techxplore.com/news/2022-12-twitter-users-vote-oust-elon.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
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