Twitter as we knew it is on its way out. The micro-blogging site’s downfall seemed inevitable to many from the day business magnate Elon Musk bought the company for $44 billion and sent the social media world into despair. From $8 blue tick subscriptions to zero content moderation, Twitter now is hellfire. Not that it wasn’t chaos before, but some good things came out of it in the past.
However you feel about the social media platform, you cannot deny that it has changed the world. In more instances than one, Twitter has changed the trajectory of world politics. It has influenced protests, held people in power accountable, and much more. In light of recent events though, many have lost hope that things will ever go back to the way they were.
Musk keeps delaying the relaunch of the verification system amid layoffs and workforce uncertainty. As he keeps tinkering around with the app’s features, Twitter’s support account tweeted that the platform was “expanding recommendations to all users.” This means that Twitter will now show you content from people you don’t follow and never asked for.
We want to ensure everyone on Twitter sees the best content on the platform, so we’re expanding recommendations to all users, including those who may not have seen them in the past.
You can learn more about them, and how to best control your experience: https://t.co/ekYWf57JSc
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) November 30, 2022
#RIPTwitter was trending on the site last week, and many celebrities like Jim Carrey, Shonda Rhimes and Whoopi Goldberg among others have deactivated their accounts. Bella Hadid called the app a “cesspool”, and Toni Braxton tweeted that “Twitter isn’t the safe space it once was”.
I'm shocked and appalled at some of the "free speech" I've seen on this platform since its acquisition. Hate speech under the veil of "free speech" is unacceptable; therefore I am choosing to stay off Twitter as it is no longer a safe space for myself, my sons and other POC.
— Toni Braxton (@tonibraxton) October 29, 2022
From news platforms to politicians, several people in positions of power used the app to share real-time updates of important events and initiate a dialogue with their community. Now that Twitter verification has lost all credibility, fake accounts may easily buy the blue tick and spread misinformation.
Following sports transactions and news could become a total mess with the new verification system
Already fake LeBron and Aroldis Chapman tweets going around pic.twitter.com/vQgMqws1W0
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) November 9, 2022
Can't imagine why all the advertisers are pulling out of Twitter lmao pic.twitter.com/pg55WXkxhS
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) November 9, 2022
Some of these are funny now, but could have potential disastrous implications if used to cause serious harm.
Many are also shifting to Mastadon, another free open-sourced software that has similar features to Twitter. This chaos has caused advertisers to pull spending and shun the platform. Many of Twitter’s powerful users have threatened to quit the app. It has also weakened in security, making user data more vulnerable than ever. Just a few days ago it was reported that over 5.4 million users data, including phone numbers and emails, were leaked from Twitter in a colossal security breach.
With sites like Mastadon and Tumblr regaining popularity, people are starting to lose interest in the site. Musk seems to be enjoying his position as chief of Twitter, and is making light of the situation with memes. But if the rebrand that no one asked for continues, will Twitter actually lose its relevance completely?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 18, 2022
