With the mass resignation of workers and the hashtag #RIPTwitter trending for two days in a row.
The future of Twitter will depend on the new actions of Elon Musk.
Twitter ‘s future seemed to hang in the balance on Friday after its offices were shuttered and key employees resigned in defiance of an ultimatum from new owner Elon Musk .
According to former employees and various US media, hundreds of employees answered “no” to the ultimatum of the new owner and boss, who had given them the choice between working tirelessly to “build a revolutionary Twitter 2.0 ” or leaving with three months’ salary.
Musk, also a Tesla and SpaceX boss , has been under fire since he took over Twitter when he bought it for $44 billion.
Half of the 7,500 employees of the Californian group were fired two weeks ago and at least another 700 had already resigned in the boreal summer, even before being sure that the purchase-sale operation would materialize.
“My friends are gone, there’s a storm coming, and there’s no financial incentive. What would you do?” tweeted Peter Clowes , an engineer who rejected Musk’s ultimatum.
The mogul’s attempts to re-verify users with a controversial subscription service spawned many fake accounts and pranks, and caused major advertisers to back away from the platform.
On Friday Musk appeared to go ahead with his plans, reinstating previously banned accounts, except for former President Donald Trump ‘s , which was blocked after the 2021 storming of the Capitol.
“The decision on Trump hasn’t been made yet ,” said Musk, the world’s richest man.
“Offices Closed”
“What should Twitter do now?” Elon Musk tweeted on Friday.
Since taking the reins at Twitter , the mogul has mobilized teams around the clock on contentious projects that have been shelved, launched a massive social plan before having to call back essential people, and made promises to advertisers as he delivered them. threatened.
On Thursday night, many users of the social network, including former collaborators, journalists and analysts, wondered if the end of Twitter was near.
The magnate in turn tweeted the well-known meme of an actor posing on a grave. Both the man and the tombstone were covered in the blue bird Twitter logo . The post received more than a million likes.
In a subsequent tweet, sent on Friday, he noted: “Record numbers of users are logging in to see if Twitter is dead, ironically making it more alive than ever!” .
On Thursday afternoon, Twitter warned all employees that company buildings were temporarily closed and inaccessible, even for ID card entry, according to an internal memo reported by various US media.
“Forward to bankruptcy”
In the evening, anti – Elon Musk messages were projected onto the facade of the company’s San Francisco headquarters, right next to the logo, including “Elon Musk, shut up,” “Stop toxic Twitter,” or “Forward to bankruptcy.” , according to photos by Gia Vang , a local NBC reporter .
Dozens of employees of the social network met on Thursday night in “Spaces” , the platform’s audio rooms, to support each other and tell anecdotes.
The employees who chose to stay spoke of their unwavering attachment to the company and their desire to see it survive and even be reborn.
“Bravo to all the workers at Twitter. You have built a vital place of connection and you deserve much better. (…) Thank you ,” Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted , indicating in passing where she could be found on other platforms, if twitter shut down
Other lawmakers and regulators raised concerns that the service’s ability to moderate content could be compromised.
US senators warned that Elon Musk ‘s plans “undermine the integrity and security of the platform.”
The billionaire “will not be able to do what he wants” in Europe, said Frenchman Thierry Breton , European Commissioner for the Internal Market, on Franceinfo radio on Friday.
“He knows what the conditions are to continue operating Twitter in Europe,” he added, insisting on the need to recruit more moderators instead of firing them. (AFP)