Elon Musk appears to have settled on a daring new technique for responding to a letter from a US senator probing his dealing with of Twitter: shitposting.
On Friday, Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) tweeted out a letter he had despatched to Musk, partially in response to a Washington Submit story during which the author used Twitter’s new paid verification program to impersonate Markey.
“A @washingtonpost reporter was in a position to create a verified account impersonating me—I’m asking for solutions from @elonmusk who’s placing earnings over individuals and his debt over stopping disinformation. Twitter should clarify how this occurred and tips on how to stop it from occurring once more,” Markey wrote in a tweet accompanying screenshots of the letter he despatched to Musk.
A @washingtonpost reporter was in a position to create a verified account impersonating me—I’m asking for solutions from @elonmusk who’s placing earnings over individuals and his debt over stopping disinformation. Twitter should clarify how this occurred and tips on how to stop it from occurring once more. pic.twitter.com/R4r7p6mduP
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) November 11, 2022
Two days later, on Saturday morning, Musk determined to reply by tweeting, “Maybe it’s as a result of your actual account appears like a parody?”
Maybe it’s as a result of your actual account appears like a parody?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2022
Markey, who—because of final week’s election outcomes—might be a part of the Senate majority for the following two years, rapidly reminded Elon concerning the sort of energy lawmakers on Capitol Hill can wield. “One in every of your firms is below an FTC consent decree. Auto security watchdog NHTSA is investigating one other for killing individuals. And also you’re spending your time selecting fights on-line,” Markey tweeted. “Repair your firms. Or Congress will.”
One in every of your firms is below an FTC consent decree. Auto security watchdog NHTSA is investigating one other for killing individuals. And also you’re spending your time selecting fights on-line. Repair your firms. Or Congress will. https://t.co/lE178gPRoM
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) November 13, 2022
The trade between Twitter’s new, erratic CEO and Markey got here after a severely botched overhaul of the verification course of. Nearly instantly after taking up Twitter, presumably as a swipe on the journalists that he intensely detests, Musk stated that might scrap regular, free verifications for notable people and establishments and as an alternative let anybody get verified, for $8 a month. When the product was lastly rolled out, impersonations of companies, manufacturers, and folks ensued, presumably placing important dents in firms’ market capitalizations.
Twitter first tried to repair the issue by reintroducing a separate sort of verification that it had beforehand launched after which had rapidly suspended. Subsequent, the corporate paused paid $8 verifications altogether, with the intention of constructing that function obtainable once more someday sooner or later.
So why did Musk reply to Markey this fashion? It’s anybody’s guess. You or I might need responded otherwise after advertisers fled the platform out of concern for model security, which Musk’s incessant trolly shitposting imperiled, draining the financially ailing firm of its largest income supply. Other than monetary considerations, a traditional particular person might need simply been embarrassed after rolling out a spate of adjustments at Twitter that went so poorly—from the paid verification chaos to the botched mass layoffs that reportedly led to frantic efforts to rehire fired staff.
However not Elon. He’s constructed totally different. Most individuals who steer cruise ships see icebergs and suppose “hazard, keep away from.” He steers into them. Together with his billionaire mindset, Musk sees alternative the place nobody else does. Per his personal admission to Twitter staff, he may also be searching for chapter quickly.