The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.
© Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Twitter bans linking to Facebook, Instagram, other rivals
By MATT O'BRIEN and BRIAN P. D. HANNON SAN FRANCISCO©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
70 Comments
Dango bong
when rich people are insecure....
rainyday
Ah yes, more banning of content by the king of free speech.
dagon
When all the "leftists" were in control of Twitter they sure didn't do a very good job of supporting left wing causes or even not banning them.
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/twitter-political-account-ban-us-mid-term-elections
Funny innit?
StevieJ
This is what happens when an insecure billionaire throws a hissy fit.
At least the general public is finally starting to see Musk for what he truly is.
dagon
Many oligarchs have authoritarian aspirations and believe some speech is freer than others, despite their empty support of "free speech absolutism".
Musk's so-called inspiration, the noted author Iain Banks, would have been appalled at Musk's latest turn toward authoritarianism.
lincolnman
Our far right friends seem to be unable to recognize their own hypocrisy - all they did before Musk bought Twitter was while and cry about far-right hate speech being banned - "so unfair!". Now they parrot what their opponents have been telling them for months...
Just like with their opposition, then support for Kevin McCarthy, it flips every day...
Good advice for our far-right friends - which we know they'll ignore...and flip again tomorrow...
dagon
So at the time, 2018, of "leftists" being banned from Twitter the Feds were under which administration.....?
There is an article on the front page today about satire, sarcasm and parody being used incorrectly and misinterpreted and it certainly fits a lot with the clumsy right-wing boilerplate copy pasta on many topics.
rainyday
Yeah, but they didn't buy the company while specifically promising everyone it would be a free speech panacea, then within weeks of taking it over start arbitrarily banning and micro-managing content to an extent the previous regime hadn't even dreamed of. You can't even share
This amuses me.
dagon
And the rightists trying to craft this narrative as right-wing speech being banned always fail to mention Matt Taibbi who helped to release these files has posted that many Occupy Wall Street and anti-capitalist collectives were banned.
As I posted above.
But please continue stuttering about "the left" and how they are keeping the right wing man down.
Russell Leisenheimer
None of this helps solve Twitter's biggest problem -- far more cash needed to service its debt than revenue coming in
Nemo
So, Elon can make up rules as he goes along because he is a thin-skinned narcissist, which as the owner of a non-publicly traded company he can (an objectively hypocritcal move that is also stupifyingly dumb from a business perspective, but ok), but somehow the previous owners enforcing the company's TOS to avoid posting revenge porn was some sort of massive free-speech violation by a private company?
This seems to fail the consistency test, but consistency was never a strong point of the GQP anyway, so....
Fun Fact: The 1st Amendment only deals with government interference in speech (not in a business moderating content) and the government in 2018 was run by (checks notes) Trump (That's actually TWO fun facts. You are welcome.)
Peter14
Like those that went before him, Musk's personal insecurities drive his tenancies to control the narrative and restrict posts simply for being counter to his thoughts and desires, with little commitment to what is true or accurate.
Musk is a hypocrite who bans things that show him in a negative light even when true. Self protection and control. The man is not fit to run a public platform unless he can distance himself from content, restore protections to ensure blatant lies are removed but the truth, no matter how painful to him personally. Gutting the personnel was a mistake from which Twitter may never fully recover.
wallace
Late Sunday evening, Elon Musk posted a poll to the social media app asking his more than 120 million followers and other users whether or not he should take a step back from his role with the company.
Nemo
Yes, off 60% for the year and a shareholders revolt looming.
Because launching a “Should I step down as head of Twitter (currently 60/40 YES!) poll”, banning people for non-violations and making a mockery of one’s stated principles are all such good indicators of management competence….
Nemo
The Twitter Files "dump" is the GQP's Pink Shart 2.0.
It reveals that the company was dealing honestly with messy content moderation decisions in accordance with it's TOS (as opposed to making "stuff" up as the egotisical megalomanic decides on a whim).
The Biden campaign requested that revenge porn pics of his son not be allowed to be shared in accordance with the TOS and Twitter complied with its request. If Twitter hadn't, it would arguably have been comitting a crime as knowingly facilitating their sharing is illegal, but that would have been a matter for the government. The Biden Campaign would have had no enforcement mech of its own.
The Trump Admin, on the other hand also requested content of unknown content be taken down and this too was accomadated. Unlike the Biden Campaign, it had an enforcement mechanism and thus this could constitute an actual 1st Amendment violation.
(Side note: By now it's a pretty safe bet to assume that whatever Trump is accusing his political opponents of doing - engaging with a foreign power to influence an election, poor security of unauthorized intelligence, conspiring to overthrow a free and fair election, what have you - it is doing in spade. It is projection on a grand scale.)
The Twitter files, once one gets into them, is the wet-fart fever dream of a cult.
lincolnman
But you did...
No, that's what you said above...
So once more, after you said he should be replaced, are you now supporting the spineless RINO?
Because you can't...thanks for admitting it...
virusrex
It may be just my personal impression, but it looks like Musk is doing as much as he possibly can to bring down Twitter without openly accepting he is trying to do it.
Strangerland
Interesting choice, to degrade his platform to web 1.0, when most platforms are moving towards web 3.0.
I'm interested to see where this goes. People keep using it. He keeps losing money. Will people keep using it? Will he keep feeding it money?
lincolnman
OK, thanks for agreeing with me...
So the left are copying what the far right already did - must be good then, huh?
Nancy became Speaker...Kevin doesn't have the votes - and you called him "spineless" when he lied about telling Trump to resign. Is he still spineless?
And the far-right use the same words the left used just a few month ago - thanks for confirming their arguments were valid...
ROFL...
lincolnman
Not even close.
Your words - either own them or take them back - you know, "flipping"...
Once again, your words; you said the left "started it" - and now the far-right is copying it - validating the left's arguments...or are you now "flipping'?
Then you must be disappointed since you called him a "spineless RINO" before... Have you flipped on that too?
Prove it...
Why complain - the far-right just abandoned their previous views and copied the left - that's "winning"...
ROFL...
Nemo
Elmo now says that changes in rules will be subject to polling from now on, showing that he realizes that he is in trouble (particularly with the EU where fines for banning mentions of other platforms could result in fines totaling 20% of annual revenue).
And also because that’s exactly what they taught us in the MBA program: When you have a difficult question with complexity, varying and conflicting interests and someone is going to get angry as a result, abandon management and shake the on-line equivalent of a magic 8-ball.
”Magic on-line poll, If I stop behaving like an un-hinged lunatic, will people stop booing me at a comedy club?”
”Unclear at this time. Check back later.”
Bob Fosse
Absolute indecision. It certainly gives the impression that he doesn’t have a clue what he is doing.
Express sister
As we all know, Japan is the only country on Earth.
Bob Fosse
I’ve never used twitter and never will. Were you able to share content or link to Instagram and Facebook previously?
Seems rather draconian and not at all what I’d expect from a ‘free speech absolutist’
Quite the opposite in fact. I imagine if Jack Dorsey had done this there would have been lots of right wing heads ‘exploding’.
Bob Fosse
Do they? Interesting.
Oh the ‘Twitter files’ you claim you’ve already seen but are now all hushed up again. Didn’t you take any screenshots or anything? Damn.
Yubaru
Cherry picked my quote! Go back and read it again. It's disingenuous to cherry pick posts to attempt to make a point. That's why it's impossible to trust what people write, someone reads what you wrote, and are wrong, because you failed to include ALL the pertinent information!
Also the number of "users" does not relate to the actual number of people who actual participate on Twitter.
Twitter has 1,3 billion "users", but just how many actually use it?
Nemo
Side note: It really is interesting and a little creepy how obsessed some people are with accessing illicit pics of a drug addict's junk. (They could just DM Gargoyle for pics of Jr. I am sure she has some she would be happy to share on the down-low)
And the premise that somehow if people could see the illict pics of a candidate's son's manhood, they would have magically forgotten about the absolute feces-show that the Trump "administration" had become seems "dubious".
lincolnman
My goodness....according to multiple posts here by our far-right friends, Musk is the definition of a "leftist" for banning Trump's Truth Social....
First he says Trump is "too controversial" to run in 2024, and now bans his social media network on Twitter...
Maybe one of our Trump supporting friends here can explain all this "leftist behavior" to us....
ROFL...
Nemo
By the looks of it he won't be running a private one much longer either.
A: Either he will abide by the "Voice of the people" and step down or,
B: Drive the company into the ground.
I am guessing B and it's going to be more fun to watch anyway.
Bob Fosse
I totally agree. It’s just funny seeing all those who had a problem with this concept pre-musk now suddenly accepting what they were told last year.
lincolnman
OK, so you're taking your words back and are flipping again...your choice...
And you admitted the right is copying them....good, copy more....LOL...
So he's a "spineless RINO" on some things...
After saying he should be replaced, are you now flipping and supporting the spineless RINO?
OK, you can't prove it - thanks for admitting it...
Nemo
As for the "If you don't like it make your own platform" throwdown, this is actually true and nobody is denying it. I give you Mastadon and Post. Both of which are more active in moderating hate speech and disinformation, and both of which are seeing explosive growth (albeit still small in absolute terms) in their user bases.
Elmo (as he is widely referred to now) may actually be the best thing that ever happened to both of these new platforms, and it is a sign of what a threat they represent to dumpster fire he has turned Twitter (as I like to say "He flushed Twitter down the (word that rhymes but would not escape moderation)") that he arbitrarily and without notice banned any reference or promotion of them - something that no other social media platform does.
TokyoLiving
It's definitely pathetic. capricious and infantin clown is going to end up ruining twotter..
He is using it as his own playground.
It could be his social network, but investing 44 billion in a company to destroy it is immensely ridiculous..
Yubaru
Who cares really? Twitter has long been by passed by Instagram and Tik-Tok by nearly an entire generation of Japanese that for here in Japan, it really doesnt mean much.
It's Musk's company now, and it's his choice to do whatever the hell he wants with it.
diagonalslip
"free promotion" (⌒▽⌒)
Yubaru
Depending upon what website you choose to check, something like 20% of Japanese use twitter, meaning roughly 24 million actual users, a hell of a lot less than the number you googled and posted here.
If you are going to post "facts" get them straight!
japancat
Twitter is owned by a ' Twit ' !.....( and before the censors lose their minds its not a swear word, its an old English word meaning FOOL ) albiet a very rich one.
Blacklabel
“58.95 million users
Japan is Twitter's second largest market globally, behind Singapore. With over 58.95 million users, 52.3% of the total population, and both used in private and business, Twitter is the second most dominant Social Media platform in Japan, after LINE.Mar 31, 2022”
REDWhiteBlue
so much for freedom of the press in the west.
mrtinjp
Yeah, but they didn't buy the company while specifically promising everyone it would be a free speech panacea, then within weeks of taking it over start arbitrarily banning and micro-managing content to an extent the previous regime hadn't even dreamed of. You can't even share
This amuses me.
Well THEY banned and micro-managed when it suited them, especially the last election, with the job done THEY sold it and made billions..and yes, it is amusing, simply cannot see, what THEY did..
Blacklabel
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1299807/number-of-monthly-unique-tiktok-users/
TikTok only 16 million users in Japan. And instagram 46 million from same source.
Blacklabel
As you said it’s what I googled. Is Google lying to us?
where did your “facts” come from?
Blacklabel
https://www.statista.com/statistics/242606/number-of-active-twitter-users-in-selected-countries/
58 million users in Japan.
Blacklabel
ok here it is.
Ok, where did you discuss users or active users or prove that instagram has more or tik tok has more users or even active users. No data at all. So What was cherry picked?
you just made up what your feelings want to be true- that isn’t.
Blacklabel
thats exactly what Twitter is banning. Self promotion of yourself (obviously) on other social media sites. They are interfering with Twitter’s business.
“hey everyone have you tried japanyesterday.com? Much better than this site! Engage with me at my user name “hunterbidenslaptop”- see you there!” No, right? This site wont allow that and shouldn’t.
plus linking to things the site doesn’t allow. Like if this site says posting about Hunter Biden is off topic, I cant just link to another Site’s article about…Hunter Biden. It will be deleted too.
Blacklabel
good thing it’s private then.
Blacklabel
Well... considering my response was to this:
So actually no Twitter has not been passed in Japan by Instagram or Tik-Tok. in fact. Japan has the 2nd highest number of twitter users in the world.
bass4funk
No reason to.
No, that's what the left is implying, but whichever way, they just have to deal with it.
Some
Don't need to
bass4funk
What cracks me up is when the former execs were banning conservatives or even Trump, there was so much adulation on this site and now that Musk is doing the same (which is his absolute right as the owner) the left just comes unglued, personally, I think it's funny, now they understand a bit of the frustration that the right was going through.
Blacklabel
So why are the journalists fighting so hard to stay on Twitter that they need to post from their dog’s account?
just go to these sites no one uses and talk there. mastodon even stole their name it’s so unoriginal.
bass4funk
Translation, blocking conservatives, but on a lesser scale, with lesser power, reach and influence.
Yeah? We shall see.
Running out of insults???
Not so sure, seems like everything turned to gold that Musk touched, so it'll make a turnaround, now that conservatives have a voice, kick out the bots, the FBI, CIA and all the lazy people that spent their time dumping on dissent and free speech we should see the company finally making a profit and not being a mouthpiece for political assassinations.
bass4funk
Exactly! Say, blank Twitter and move on to the extinct mammal.
But it won't be run by the left of the Feds either.
He said so, and he can still run the company as he wants, unless a richer and more powerful liberal can buy him out and that won't happen, so its off to the extinct mammal for you guys.
That won't happen now that he kicked all the roaches out.
Sadly, that won't happen.
Blacklabel
its no different than McDonalds kicking out a person if they walk in with a Burger King take out bag and try to sit down and eat a Whopper.
Its just common business sense.
bass4funk
Not even close
They did.
On some things, other things no.
Not me.
That is what the left continues to do, calm down. Maybe Soros could loan you guys a buck or two.
Blacklabel
I didn’t doxx anyone on Twitter! I just posted a link on Twitter to where I doxxed the person on Facebook!
i didn’t do it that’s my dog’s account!
says no serious person ever.
Blacklabel
Twitter article- 68 comments.
Facebook article- 1 comment.
facebook stock down more than Tesla this year isn’t it? As are many other companies.
So maybe it’s not the companies but Biden?
bass4funk
No, that’s your opinion.
No, this is the result, don’t complain.
Better him than Nancy and the Dems holding on to the purse.
I don’t need to. I’m not applying for the job.
“
Blacklabel
yeah all these Twitter polls are really helping to identify and remove all the bots quicker.
Brilliant move.
bass4funk
Semantics and political Copperfield wrangling won’t save the Dems on this. They made their beds, now like excited wolves they howl at the wind whining about injustice, give me a break. Lol
Blacklabel
You know good and well that’s a total misrepresentation of what was going on. Gas- meet lighting.
Chabbawanga
Cant wait to see how this all ends up. Ill admit that Twitter has become more interesting since all the SJWs scooted off, but im not sure Mr Musk can fix all of the other issues.
bass4funk
Funny, when the old owners were banning people left and right (predominantly conservatives) not a single outraged word from the left other than, don’t whine, it’s a private owned company, they can do whatever they want, how they want, if you don’t like it, don’t use their platform or go somewhere else or start your own social media platform.
Well, the left should heed their own advice.
Blacklabel
leftists (even those who dont even use Twitter) sure have a lot of comments about Twitter- as long as it isnt anything about what was found in any of the six "Twitter files" releases.
bass4funk
Not even close.
The other way around or did Obama get banned?
And struggled a lot with AOC and the Squad, a lot
He will
The left have nothing to complain about, don’t like it, start your own social media platform.
bass4funk
That’s the best??? Lol
He can do this.
Again, no outrage from the left with what they were doing for the last 2 years. Now we should be outraged? Why?
Think you’re taking this way too seriously.
commanteer
Amusing to see all the anti-free-speech folks suddenly switch sides. I am sure they will switch back when it is convenient for them.
That said, this move by Elon doesn't seem to be a good idea. Walled gardens should be a thing of the past. I think he is trying things out and then adjusting after he gets feedback, so I wouldn't expect this new policy to last. At least it's better than the FBI/CIA backroom activities that used to run Twitter.
bass4funk
But they were good at silencing the right and had a l it of help from the Feds in doing so.
bass4funk
The left started this trend.
Now the left are doing exactly the same.
Like the Squad did with Nancy.
Meanwhile, the left continue to whine about Musk hurting their feelings.