Social media app, launched in the wake of Twitter chaos, recorded 576,000 active users in August, down 79% from 2.3 million in July
The daily usage of Threads, Meta’s answer to Twitter, continues to slump after a strong start in its first weeks of existence.
Engagement with the social media app is down 79% from a high of 2.3m active users in early July to 576,000 as of 7 August, according to Similarweb, a digital intelligence platform.
Continue reading...X owner in talks with government over historic site for event – though Colosseum and Rome ruled out
Elon Musk is in talks with Italy’s government about hosting his proposed cage fight with Mark Zuckerberg at a historic site in the country, but the Colosseum has been ruled out as a venue.
The owner of X Corp and the chief executive of Facebook-owner Meta first raised the idea of a one-on-one scrap in a series of social media posts back in June. The challenge came as Zuckerberg prepared to launch Threads, a rival microblogging site to Musk’s now rebranded Twitter platform.
Continue reading...The company now called X was served a search warrant in January, but delayed complying and was held in contempt by federal judge
The US special counsel who is investigating Donald Trump obtained a search warrant for the former president’s Twitter account in January, and the social media platform delayed complying, a court filing on Wednesday showed.
The delay in compliance prompted a federal judge to hold Twitter in contempt and fine it $350,000, the filing showed.
This is a developing story.
Continue reading...Comment comes as company is going through organizational changes and looking to boost falling advertising revenue
Elon Musk has said his X social media platform will pay the legal bills and sue on the behalf of people who have been treated “unfairly” by employers because of posting or liking something on the site formerly known as Twitter.
“If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill,” Musk said in a post on X late on Saturday, adding that there will be no limits to funding the bills.
Continue reading...Social media platform rebranded as X lifts ban on rapper-producer imposed after swastika tweet
Kanye West’s account on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has been reinstated almost eight months after he tweeted an image of a swastika blended with a star of David.
The rapper-producer and designer, legally known as Ye, embarked on a series of antisemitic rants on social media and during interviews towards the end of last year. In October, he tweeted that he would go “death con 3” on Jewish people. His account was subsequently locked but he was soon readmitted.
Continue reading...Experts warn that rebranding of 15-year-old app may be a risky move at a time when competitors are upping their game
Elon Musk has revealed a new logo for Twitter, choosing a “minimalist art deco” X as part of a rebrand of the platform.
The Twitter owner indicated that the design would be altered, tweeting that it “probably changes later, certainly will be refined”. Twitter’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino, confirmed the choice on Monday by tweeting the design and writing: “X is here! Let’s do this.”
Continue reading...Elon Musk has said advertising has plunged on his social media platform and it is cashflow negative
An investor in Elon Musk’s Twitter has written down their stake in the business by 47% as advertisers rein in their spending on the social media platform.
The move by ARK Investment Management came as an analysis firm claimed that usage of the “Twitter killer” Threads app has fallen by half since its launch by Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta.
Continue reading...Khan accused of giving herself ‘unchecked power’ by taking aggressive steps to regulate Twitter, Meta and Google
Lina Khan, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission, faced a grueling four hours of questioning during a House judiciary committee oversight hearing on Thursday.
Republicans criticized Khan – an outspoken critic of big tech – for “mismanagement” and for “politicizing” legal action against large companies such as Twitter and Google as head of the powerful antitrust agency.
Continue reading...Former head of employee benefits files proposed class action over workers laid off after Elon Musk acquired company
Twitter allegedly refused to pay at least $500m in promised severance to thousands of employees who were laid off after Elon Musk acquired the company, a lawsuit filed on Wednesday claims.
Courtney McMillian, who oversaw Twitter’s employee benefits programs as its “head of total rewards” before she was laid off in January, filed the proposed class action in San Francisco federal court.
Continue reading...Twitter owner calls Facebook founder a ‘cuck’ as rancour grows over launch of Threads, a competitor to Musk’s network
Twitter owner Elon Musk has suggested he and Mark Zuckerberg should have “a literal dick-measuring contest” in the latest broadside aimed at his rival billionaire.
In a message inspired by the Meta chief executive’s launch last week of Threads, a Twitter competitor, Musk added a ruler emoji.
Continue reading...In a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, a lawyer for the Elon Musk-owned app said Meta had unlawfully misappropriated trade secrets
Twitter has threatened to sue Meta over its new Threads app, which Mark Zuckerberg has openly billed as a rival, claiming the company has violated Twitter’s “intellectual property rights”.
In a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, first published by the news outlet Semafor, a lawyer for Twitter said the company “has serious concerns that Meta Platforms (Meta) has engaged in systematic, willful and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property”.
Continue reading...New app developed by Facebook and WhatsApp owner is due to launch in the UK and US on Thursday
Mark Zuckerberg’s rival to Twitter will not launch in the EU on Thursday amid regulatory uncertainty about the service’s use of personal data.
Sources at Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, said regulations were behind the postponement of an EU launch, amid a series of clashes between the social media group and the bloc.
Continue reading...Australia-based company Facilitate seeks more than A$1m for work done at offices in London, Dublin, Sydney and Singapore
Twitter is facing another lawsuit after the company was accused of failing to pay for services for offices in London, Dublin, Sydney and Singapore.
Sydney-based infrastructure company Facilitate is seeking a collective payment over A$1m ($666,000) across the three businesses in alleged owed payments dating back to October last year, when Elon Musk bought Twitter.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed.
Albanese takes swipes at the Greens
The Midwinter Ball was held overnight. It seems to have been a fairly staid affair but I am still ferreting out info.
Consulting firm PwC engaged in a “calculated” breach of trust by using confidential information to help its clients avoid tax and engaged in a “deliberate cover-up” over many years, a Senate committee has found.
PwC should be “open and honest” by promptly publishing the names and details of its partners and staff involved, the finance and public administration committee has recommended.
Continue reading...Julie Inman Grant says platform has ‘dropped the ball’ on tackling ‘peddlers of outrage’
Australia’s eSafety commissioner says Twitter has “dropped the ball” on tackling online hate and has issued a legal notice to the social media giant demanding an explanation about what it is doing about the scourge.
The commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, said there have been more complaints about online hate on Twitter in the past year than any other platform, and complaints have spiked since Elon Musk’s takeover of the company in October.
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Continue reading...Oxfam International apologised and re-edited cartoon alleged to include racial stereotyping and JK Rowling attack
The UK charities watchdog is assessing whether it will take action against Oxfam after receiving complaints about a cartoon published by the charity that ignited a row about transgender issues.
Oxfam International put the cartoon out on Twitter last week to mark pride month, but took it down on Tuesday after a backlash against its use of the term Terf (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) in an image depicting anti-trans “hate groups”.
Continue reading...Call comes amid moves to combat disinformation from Russia, while Twitter is warned to comply with new digital content laws
Social media companies including Google and Facebook have been urged by the EU to “immediately” start labelling content and images generated by artificial intelligence as part of a package of moves to combat fake news and disinformation from Russia.
At the same time, the EU has warned Twitter that it faces “swift” sanctions if it does not comply with new digital content laws that come into effect across the bloc on 25 August.
Continue reading...The world’s richest person lapsed into an unusual silence on social media during his trip to the electric carmaker’s second largest market
Followers of Elon Musk didn’t know what to expect from his trip to China. Would he speak about Tesla, a company with a large market and manufacturing footprint there? Or SpaceX, with its symbiotic relationship with the American state? Or even Twitter, the social network he bought because “free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy”?
The one thing no one expected: silence.
Continue reading...The social network has floundered since the tech billionaire took over – political live streams may give the platform relevance
The news that Ron DeSantis will launch his presidential campaign during a live Twitter appearance with Elon Musk marks the tech billionaire’s latest attempts to shore up engagement with the social network at a moment of crisis for the company.
The event – which will take place Wednesday on Twitter Spaces, a live stream feature that is often broadcasted at the top of Twitter’s feed – was confirmed by Musk on Tuesday afternoon. Speaking at the Wall Street Journal CEO Summit, Musk called the Florida governor’s decision “ground breaking” and said it won’t be the last political event that Twitter will host.
Continue reading...Twitter owner and Tesla chief defends tweet about George Soros after being accused of antisemitism
Elon Musk has said he will continue sending controversial tweets even it loses him money, as he defended himself against accusations of antisemitism over tweets about George Soros.
The Twitter owner and Tesla chief executive said he is “allowed to say what I want to”, as he defended a tweet posted on Tuesday saying the billionaire financier “reminds me of Magneto” – the Jewish villain in the X-Men series.
Continue reading...