Elon Musk to buy Twitter

[Longwood50]

23 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

But at the same time, it's not hard to understand why Twitter would have banned the accounts of the others you mention above who repeatedly peddled false and unproven "stolen election" claims on Twitte

That is "your opinion"  

However note there is not one single "liberal" on the list of people banned by Twitter.  Gosh what a coincidence. 
,,,
The very fact that not one single liberal is banned is pretty hard evidence of a bias.  If you were suing a company for discrimination and it was proven only people of 1 sex, 1 religion, or 1 ethnicity were always fired, it would be proof positive of discrimination.  The same is true of Twitter.  They ban only conservatives

Edited April 30, 2022 by onthedarkside

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

24 minutes ago, Longwood50 said:

That is "your opinion"  

However note there is not one single "liberal" on the list of people banned by Twitter.  Gosh what a coincidence. 
 

Really?... the list you're citing is YOUR self-selected list of would be insurrectionists... not Twitter's list of all those who it has banned....

 

Twitter has purged left-wing accounts with no explanation

 

Dozens of activists linked to the Occupy movement are up in arms after their accounts were suspended by Twitter

 

"Twitter accounts run by activists linked to the Occupy movement have been suspended after the social network continued its attempted crackdown on bots and fake accounts. Around 80 activists with a collective following of five million people are thought to have had their accounts suspended."

 

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/twitter-political-account-ban-us-mid-term-elections

 

There are generally TWO subjects that have gotten various so-called conservatives booted from Twitter -- false election / insurrection-related content, and false COVID and COVID vaccine misinformation claims.

 

I would pretty well guarantee, if liberals were tweeting to overthrow an elected U.S. president or that COVID vaccines are some kind of microchip control conspiracy, they'd soon find themselves booted as well.

 

You reap what you sow...

 

 

Edited April 30, 2022 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[heybruce]

1 hour ago, Longwood50 said:

This is actually both:  Twitter blocked the New York Posts Twitter account because of its reporting on the Hunter Biden laptop and its authenticity., 

Here Twitter allowed a blatant characterization that Trump is a White Supremicist despite overwhelming evidence that he has gone out of his way to assist minorities in the past.  One major example is his demand and lawsuit against Miami Dade County forcing them to allow Jewish and Blacks into the his Mar Lago golf club. 

https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/katy/opinion/article/Trump-insisted-on-including-Jews-blacks-at-Palm-9702222.php

I don't know what chron.com is, but it is mischaracterizing the situation.  Trump's lawsuit against Orange County was settled without reference to admissions of minorities.  After that, during another dispute with the city, Trump referenced the open admission policy of the golf club when attempting to have traffic restrictions around the club lifted.   https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/feb/11/viral-image/trump-did-open-mar-lago-blacks-and-jews-business-m/

 

Presenting the opinion on Twitter (isn't that what Twitter is for?) that Donald Trump is a white supremacist does not incite to violence in any direct manner.  Besides, Trump does have a documented history of actions many would consider racist.  https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/every-moment-donald-trumps-long-complicated-history-race

[heybruce]

14 minutes ago, Longwood50 said:

That is "your opinion"  

However note there is not one single "liberal" on the list of people banned by Twitter.  Gosh what a coincidence. 
,,,
The very fact that not one single liberal is banned is pretty hard evidence of a bias.  If you were suing a company for discrimination and it was proven only people of 1 sex, 1 religion, or 1 ethnicity were always fired, it would be proof positive of discrimination.  The same is true of Twitter.  They ban only conservatives

I'm guessing that not one single liberal on your list posted lies about a stolen election and attempted to overturn the legitimate results.  That is the primary thing that distinguishes them from those you listed who were banned from Twitter. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Earlier in this thread, someone posted a long TED Talks video interviewing Musk that was filmed after he had announced his plans to buy Twitter, and it was very interesting viewing...

 

When he was asked about AI and self-driving cars and such, he was clear, eloquent, well spoken, etc etc.

 

But when asked about why he wanted to buy Twitter and how he planned to deal with the company, he hemmed and hawed, stuttered a lot, had a hard time saying much at all... other than that he thought the vast social communication capability of Twitter was important to "democracy" in the U.S. and elsewhere  -- and he wanted to add an "edit" capability for already posted tweets.

 

Let's hope, under his future rule, that Twitter doesn't end up reverting to allowing tons of false and unsubstantiated election misinformation in future election cycles...just because Musk has said he is personally averse to Twitter permanently banning people from the service.

 

Will a future Musk Twitter ban people who use Twitter to advocate insurrection or false COVID conspiracy/misinformation claims or Steve Bannon advocating that Dr. Fauci and FBI Director Wrap be beheaded?

 

It's pretty hard to see how allowing that kind of misinformation to find a thriving home on Twitter once again is going to advance U.S. "democracy."

Edited April 30, 2022 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[KanchanaburiGuy]

1 hour ago, Longwood50 said:

That is "your opinion"  

However note there is not one single "liberal" on the list of people banned by Twitter.  Gosh what a coincidence. 
,,,
The very fact that not one single liberal is banned is pretty hard evidence of a bias.  If you were suing a company for discrimination and it was proven only people of 1 sex, 1 religion, or 1 ethnicity were always fired, it would be proof positive of discrimination.  The same is true of Twitter.  They ban only conservatives

Is that a comprehensive list of people banned by Twitter............ or is it merely a selected list of "Conservatives" banned by twitter......... after which you disingenuous say "show me the Liberals on that list?" 

 

Seems to me the answer is pretty obvious, since a comprehensive list would be much MUCH larger. 

 

Y'know, if you hand someone a handful of quarters and say "now show me the dimes in your hand!".......... that's not really what I would call a "good faith" tactic!

 

But when you're right, you're right! There are no "Liberals" on that carefully selected list of Conservatives  banned by Twitter!

 

????????????

 

Cheers! 

Edited April 30, 2022 by KanchanaburiGuy

[mtls2005]

11 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Earlier in this thread, someone posted a long TED Talks video interviewing Musk that was filmed after he had announced his plans to buy Twitter, and it was very interesting viewing

 

Yes, but the response from one vocal critic here was the they didn't watch it because it was too long.

 

That hasn't stopped them from spending hours fashioning posts on this thread though.

 

Go figure.

 

 

 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

13 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

 

Yes, but the response from one vocal critic here was the they didn't watch it because it was too long.

 

That hasn't stopped them from spending hours fashioning posts on this thread though.

 

 

I watched most of the whole video.... and was surprised by how articulate he was about things relating to his main business (considering how he often comes off on social media)... and moreso how inarticulate he was about something (Twitter) where he was planning to spend/invest $40+ billion.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Elon Musk sells billions in Tesla stock as he prepares to buy Twitter.

He raised $8.5 billion in a series of sales this week and said he didn’t have plans to sell any more.

 

Elon Musk is amassing the funds he needs to buy Twitter, selling $8.5 billion in Tesla stock this week, according to filings released on Thursday and Friday.

 

He tweeted that there were no further sales planned, which may come as a relief to Tesla shareholders, as the electric carmaker’s shares have fallen 20 percent since he first revealed that he had bought a 9 percent stake in Twitter in early April. Mr. Musk owned about 17 percent of Tesla’s shares before this week’s sales.

 

Although Mr. Musk is the richest person in the world, with a net worth above $200 billion, his wealth is mostly tied up in Tesla stock. He plans to raise more than $46 billion to buy Twitter, in a mix of cash and debt.."

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/29/business/elon-musk-tesla-stock.html

 

Edited April 30, 2022 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

And then there are these reports coming out:

 

Breakingviews: Elon Musk probably won’t buy Twitter

 

NEW YORK, April 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Four years ago, Elon Musk vowed to set up a peanut brittle company to take on Warren Buffett’s iconic U.S. confectioner See’s Candies. Then he changed his mind. It wouldn't be surprising if Musk's $44 billion deal to buy social network Twitter went the same way.

,,,

There are good reasons for him to get cold feet. The biggest is Tesla. The electric-vehicle maker’s stock has fallen around a fifth since Musk first revealed his stake in Twitter, partly because Musk may sell shares to fund his new adventure. If Tesla’s stock bounces back – likely if the Twitter deal falls away – the $40 billion of recouped wealth would more than make up for the break fee."

 

https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/elon-musk-probably-wont-buy-twitter-2022-04-27/

 

AND

 

Column: Is Elon Musk already looking to bail out of his Twitter deal?

 

"Is Elon Musk’s spectacular $44-billion acquisition of Twitter about to fall victim to one of the greatest outbreaks of buyer’s remorse of all time?

 

That’s what some Musk observers are asking, based on the recent action in shares of Twitter and Tesla, the electric-car maker on which Musk’s fortune is based, along with Musk’s behavior in the immediate wake of his deal for the social media platform.

 

The economic argument against Musk’s following through on his acquisition was laid out by Reuters in an article headlined “Elon Musk probably won’t buy Twitter.” The commentary piece concluded that Musk has financial reasons to let the deal fall apart."

 

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-04-28/is-elon-musk-already-looking-to-get-out-of-the-twitter-deal

 

 

Edited April 30, 2022 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[mtls2005]

14 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

He raised $8.5 billion in a series of sales this week and said he didn’t have plans to sell any more.

 

Disclaimer: I know nothing.

 

I think he wanted out of a lot of his TSLA stock, for whatever reason, and the Twitter escapade allowed that without having a run on the stock.  Note that he also has a reverse termination fee ($1 B) on the Twitter deal.

 

 

Musk’s Twitter financing tests Wall Street’s mettle: ‘What could go wrong?’

 

https://www.ft.com/content/f60b6385-eef6-461e-9fcc-b3cb999a70c6

 

 

FWIW I started following him a few days ago. Wow he's weird, or maybe just stoned. I'm sensing more Howard Hughes here than Howard the Duck. Again, let's all be thankful he can't be POTUS.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 30, 2022 by mtls2005

[ozimoron]

1 hour ago, Longwood50 said:

That is "your opinion"  

However note there is not one single "liberal" on the list of people banned by Twitter.  Gosh what a coincidence. 
,,,
The very fact that not one single liberal is banned is pretty hard evidence of a bias.  If you were suing a company for discrimination and it was proven only people of 1 sex, 1 religion, or 1 ethnicity were always fired, it would be proof positive of discrimination.  The same is true of Twitter.  They ban only conservatives

says more about the conservatives than the liberals. Who are the ones peddling BS, racism, insurrection, etc?

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, ozimoron said:

says more about the conservatives than the liberals. Who are the ones peddling BS, racism, insurrection, etc?

It is precisely this.

 

Rather than list banned people, list lies, misinformation, incitement to violence, incitement to insurrection, and the sad list of hatred topics, racism, homophobia, misogyny etc. 
 

Then list the people who Twitter banned for breaking the platform’s policies wrt to these harmful topics.

 

Hey-Ho, who you got on that list?!

[Longwood50]

5 hours ago, KanchanaburiGuy said:

Is that a comprehensive list of people banned by Twitter............ or is it merely a selected list of "Conservatives" banned by twitter......... after which you disingenuous say "show me the Liberals on that list?" 

No that is not a comprehensive list.  Twitter does not publish the complete list. 

However I will turn it around.  Name the liberals who were banned by Twitter.  And I used only those that expressed conservative political viewpoints on Twitter not some Hollywood type who got banned for personal behavior completely unrelated to politics.  

I won't hold my breath waiting. 

[onthedarkside]

A post with numerous unsourced and off-topic claims has been removed.

 

[ozimoron]

2 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

No that is not a comprehensive list.  Twitter does not publish the complete list. 

However I will turn it around.  Name the liberals who were banned by Twitter.  And I used only those that expressed conservative political viewpoints on Twitter not some Hollywood type who got banned for personal behavior completely unrelated to politics.  

I won't hold my breath waiting. 

Every person banned by Twitter was banned for posting either incitement to violence, hate speech or anti vax misinformation. Show me the liberals who should have been banned but were not and the posts they should have been banned for. You contention is that there are liberals who have breached the rules and not been banned so step up.

Edited April 30, 2022 by ozimoron

[mtls2005]

12 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

However I will turn it around. 

Yeah, a winning argument every time. Not.

 

Deny, deflect.

 

 

[Berkshire]

Yet more proof that the right's claim of conservative views being censored on Twitter is totally bogus...

 

"And despite the right-wing perception of liberal bias on Twitter, an internal audit found that the site’s algorithms “amplify right-leaning political content more than left-leaning content.” The evidence suggests that for all their outrage, conservatives consistently receive preferential treatment from social-media platforms, but are so cavalier about disregarding the terms of service that sometimes they get banned anyway.

 

"The fact that conservative concerns about Big Tech vanish the second a sympathetic billionaire buys a social-media platform, however, illustrates the shallowness of their complaints about the power of Silicon Valley. Conservatives are not registering their concern over the consolidation of corporate power so much as they are trying to ensure that consolidation serves their interests."

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/04/elon-musk-twitter-free-speech/629694/

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Musk is supposed to be keen on AI (artificial intelligence) kind of stuff, which is what drives Twitter's content emphasizing and de-emphasizing process.... But somehow, I'm guessing he won't much be swayed by what Twitter's own research shows about how conservative viewpoints are actually amplified more than liberal ones on their platform.

 

Twitter algorithms amplify conservative content more than that of the political left, researchers find

 

The review covered millions of tweets by elected officials in seven countries, as well as posts that linked to political content from news outlets

 

"An internal evaluation of Twitter’s recommendation algorithms concluded that they amplify right-leaning political content more than left-leaning content, company researchers announced Thursday, undercutting allegations by many conservatives who contend they are being censored on the platform.

 

Twitter researchers analyzed millions of 2020 tweets by elected officials in seven countries — Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Britain and United States — as well as posts that linked to political content from news outlets....

 

“Our results reveal a remarkably consistent trend: In 6 out of 7 countries studied, the mainstream political right enjoys higher algorithmic amplification than the mainstream political left,” the researchers wrote in a 27-page report."

 

(more)

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/22/twitter-algorithm-right-leaning/

 

 

Examining algorithmic amplification of political content on Twitter

 

Thursday, 21 October 2021

...

"In six out of seven countries — all but Germany — Tweets posted by accounts from the political right receive more algorithmic amplification than the political left when studied as a group.

 

Right-leaning news outlets, as defined by the independent organizations listed above, see greater algorithmic amplification on Twitter compared to left-leaning news outlets. However, as highlighted in the paper, these third-party ratings make their own, independent classifications and as such the results of analysis may vary depending on which source is used."

 

https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2021/rml-politicalcontent

 

 

Edited May 1, 2022 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[coolcarer]

One of Elon’s major challenges is to carry through on his promise to get rid of the spam bots. He even states that half his follower count are fake. 
 

If he manages to do this then it will a major improvement, those bots are notorious for all sorts of fake news including anti vaccine and now Russian war propaganda.

 

He also wants to authenticate all users.

 

https://time.com/6171726/elon-musk-fake-followers/
 

https://www.9news.com.au/world/elon-musk-twitter-authenticate-real-humans-privacy-access-explained/600c8d7c-1bc7-464e-b21e-f770105c936d

 

 

[mtls2005]

21 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

However note there is not one single "liberal" on the list of people banned by Twitter. 

Guilty.

 

I just got my first/only 12 hour ban - been on Twitter for ~ 12 years, the clock only started when I agreed to delete the tweet. Was in reply to some clown with the handle @elonmusk.

 

 

[Longwood50]

1 hour ago, mtls2005 said:

Guilty.

 

I just got my first/only 12 hour ban - been on Twitter for ~ 12 years, the clock only started when I agreed to delete the tweet. Was in reply to some clown with the handle @elonmusk.

Oh, I did not recognize your international notoriety. 

[KanchanaburiGuy]

16 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

No that is not a comprehensive list.  Twitter does not publish the complete list. 

However I will turn it around.  Name the liberals who were banned by Twitter.  And I used only those that expressed conservative political viewpoints on Twitter not some Hollywood type who got banned for personal behavior completely unrelated to politics.  

I won't hold my breath waiting. 

No, no, please DO hold your breath waiting! 

 

Sorry, but pointing out where someone has used a highly disingenuous tactic and then effectively says "See?"......... puts absolutely no burden on me to spend a bunch of time bending to your will. 

 

Asking ME to produce a list that YOU want......... is just another disingenuous tactic: You ask for something you know NO ONE would ever waste their time doing for you........... and say yet again, "See?" (Effectively) 

 

Now, if you'd REALLY like to make a point............ how about YOU provide a list of "Liberals" you think should have been banned.......... but weren't. But please, provide substantive examples of their ban-worthy tweets for people....... like me........ who actively avoid Twitter. Names with no corresponding examples......... would be a waste!

 

Ah, but now that YOU are the one expected to do the work to produce the list it seems YOU want people to see.......... "Liberals" who have violated Twitter's TOAs as egregiously as the "Conservatives" have, but NOT been banned.......... "I - I - I - won't hold my breath!" 

 

See? 

 

????????????

 

Cheers! 

[Longwood50]

14 hours ago, ozimoron said:

16 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

No that is not a comprehensive list.  Twitter does not publish the complete list. 

However I will turn it around.  Name the liberals who were banned by Twitter.  And I used only those that expressed conservative political viewpoints on Twitter not some Hollywood type who got banned for personal behavior completely unrelated to politics.  

I won't hold my breath waiting. 

Expand  

Every person banned by Twitter was banned for posting either incitement to violence, hate speech or anti vax misinformation. Show me the liberals who should have been banned but were not and the posts they should have been banned for. You contention is that there are liberals who have breached the rules and not been banned so step up.

As I said, show me one person of notoriety who is liberal who was posting anything of a political nature that was banned.  You see you fail to grasp it is not what is "objectionable"  It is blantant bias and discrimination when you only ban what "you find objectionable".  

Here is just one example.  This was parody and humor and it is totally true.  They were jesting about Rachel "Richard" Levine being named Times "Woman of the Year.  This makes Levine the first woman of year who has to turn left and cough at an annual physical, does not go through menapause, and has to have a PSA level check with blood work.  

Now this is "inciting" violence or hate? 

 

This is what they posted on Twitter. 

 

This is the notice Twitter sent them. 

 

 

 

[Iamfalang]

14 hours ago, ozimoron said:

Every person banned by Twitter was banned for posting either incitement to violence, hate speech or anti vax misinformation.

Every person?  Your list includes 100% of all the bans.

 

spam is not listed in your 100% list.

 

so nobody was ever banned for spam on Twitter?

 

porn....or xxx content........is not on your 100% list.

 

defamation or libel is not on your 100% list.

 

breaching security secrets is not on your 100% list

 

should I go on until the end of eternity??????????????????????  no, I shall not.  lol

[heybruce]

55 minutes ago, Longwood50 said:

Ah like all liberals.  They are always unable to give any example or facts.  Just spout opinions.  

As said you can't come up with 1 single liberal who has ever been banned.  Call it what it is and stop being a hypocrite.  Banning only conservatives is blantant censorship. 

And you can't come up with a single liberal tweet that you think should be banned under Twitter's terms of service.

[ozimoron]

4 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

As I said, show me one person of notoriety who is liberal who was posting anything of a political nature that was banned.  You see you fail to grasp it is not what is "objectionable"  It is blantant bias and discrimination when you only ban what "you find objectionable".  

Here is just one example.  This was parody and humor and it is totally true.  They were jesting about Rachel "Richard" Levine being named Times "Woman of the Year.  This makes Levine the first woman of year who has to turn left and cough at an annual physical, does not go through menapause, and has to have a PSA level check with blood work.  

Now this is "inciting" violence or hate? 

 

This is what they posted on Twitter. 

 

This is the notice Twitter sent them. 

 

 

 

Nobody gets banned for publishing political views. As I said before they get banned for hate speech, incitement to violence, covid misinformation and conspiracy theories. I asked you to provide me with an example of a liberal who has done that and not been banned which was the basis of your complaint. Blatant bias never gets banned. You're only reading from an echo chamber which panders to confirmation bias. Again, show me otherwise.

Edited May 1, 2022 by ozimoron

[ozimoron]

7 hours ago, Iamfalang said:

Every person?  Your list includes 100% of all the bans.

 

spam is not listed in your 100% list.

 

so nobody was ever banned for spam on Twitter?

 

porn....or xxx content........is not on your 100% list.

 

defamation or libel is not on your 100% list.

 

breaching security secrets is not on your 100% list

 

should I go on until the end of eternity??????????????????????  no, I shall not.  lol

I don't believe that spam is a reason for being banned on Twitter at all. I see thousands of posts touting stuff like crypto coins and you tube websites which can only be described as spam. Porn is obvious and need not be listed as it is self evident.... The topic of this thread is about Twitter banning people for regular free speech issues such as political opinion. My response was to challenge a BM to provide evidence that Twitter has a strong left bias and bans permitted free speech on the basis of that bias. They don't.

[Chomper Higgot]

8 hours ago, Iamfalang said:

Every person?  Your list includes 100% of all the bans.

 

spam is not listed in your 100% list.

 

so nobody was ever banned for spam on Twitter?

 

porn....or xxx content........is not on your 100% list.

 

defamation or libel is not on your 100% list.

 

breaching security secrets is not on your 100% list

 

should I go on until the end of eternity??????????????????????  no, I shall not.  lol

No need to go on the end of eternity, just get to the point wrt the allegation of rightwing views being banned.

[Jingthing]

The debate continues:

 

Elon Musk and the Tech Bro Obsession With 'Free Speech' | Time

Quote

 

Elon Musk and the Tech Bro Obsession With 'Free Speech'

 

They say that something is worth what someone will pay for it.

If that’s true, then protecting “free speech,” which Elon Musk has cited as a central reason he agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion this week, may be worth twice as much as solving America’s homelessness problem, and seven times as much as solving world hunger. It’s worth more (to him, at least) than educating every child in nearly 50 countries, more than the GDP of Serbia, Jordan, or Paraguay.