The Smell of Musk

Over the weekend, actress Valerie Bertinelli decided to show how ludicrous the new “Twitter Blue” verification policy was.  And so, she changed her screen name to “Elon Musk” and tweeted out about a dozen messages, many of them in support of Democratic candidates.  She then changed her name back.
 
I was curious how Elon Musk reacted, so I went to his feed.  It was not pretty.  My intention was just to check out if he had a response, and my post a reply.  But what he wrote on the subject and so much of the other criticism was just jaw-droppingly bad.  It was sort of like forming a comedy duo act, and he decided to be the straight man.  Tweet after tweet after tweet after tweet.
 
I kept thinking, “Okay, that’s it.”  But then I’d read the next one.  And then think, “Okay, I can’t not comment on that.”
 
Here’s how I spent about a half-hour last night --
 
 
ELON MUSK:
Twitter needs to become by far the most accurate source of information about the world. That’s our mission.
 
R.J.E.:
Well, y'know, getting rid of the Identity Verification protocol was a *Really Bad* way to start going about this.  By the way, you did a nice job in "One Day at a Time."
 
 
 
ELON MUSK:
My commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk.
 
R.J.E.:
What about someone else's direct personal safety risk? (Like, say, where people tweet that someone deserves to die.) Are you committed to *that*??
 
Or to the safety of democracy? As in "spreading misinformation to help destroy people's trust in institutions."
 
 
 
ELON MUSK:
Power to the People
 
R.J.E.:
Like no voter suppression!

And no laws that discriminate against anyone, regardless of race or gender!

And laws that require corporations pay fair taxes, like The People!

And a woman's right to choose for HER life!

And no book banning!

And teaching the truth of slavery!

Right on!
 
 
 
ELON MUSK:
Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning. This will be clearly identified as a condition for signing up to Twitter Blue.
 
R.J.E.:
This sounds a little like a line from the commandant in "The Great Escape."
 
BTW, what if one has not signed up for $100/year "Twitter Blue" and therefore not received the "warning?"  Will they get suspended even though they weren’t warned?
 
 
 
ELON MUSK:
Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying “parody” will be permanently suspended
 
R.J.E.:
You seem a bit touchy.


Define "parody." How does it differ from "mocking"? Or "social protest"?

P.S. Are you aware that when you tell a joke but say, "OK, this is going to be a joke, it's funny" it generally ruins the joke.

Ohh, I get it. This is "free speech." With limits.
 
 
 
ELON MUSK:
Any name change at all will cause temporary loss of verified checkmark
 
R.J.E.:
This is an added burden for women who get married and change their name.

And Kanye West a couple times a year.
 
 
 
ELON MUSK:
Trash me all day, but it’ll cost $8
 
R.J.E.:
It will cost $8 to criticize someone now on Twitter?? Or just if you are criticized.

Is that $8 per criticism, or will it cover criticizing you for a full month?

Free speech seems to be getting more expensive by the day.
 
 
 
ELON MUSK:
Again, to be crystal clear, Twitter’s strong commitment to content moderation remains absolutely unchanged. In fact, we have actually seen hateful speech at times this week decline *below* our prior norms, contrary to what you may read in the press.
 
 
 
R.J.E.:
And your whitewashing note is contrary to what I see on my actual feed.

We have totally different definitions of "crystal clear" and "commitment."   I believe mine are more accurate. Though, to be crystal clear, I'm biased.
 
 
 
ELON MUSK:
Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day. Everyone exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required.
 
R.J.E.:
No one forced YOU to vastly overpay $44 BILLION for Twitter. So, that was a choice.

And you chose to change policies about verification & making hate speech more accessible, driving away advertising.

Cool, so it was "You're fired, instead of 2 weeks severance, here's 3 weeks."
 
 
 
ELON MUSK:
Excellent summary of Twitter’s Trust & Safety from the head of the team.  [He then attached a statement from the head of the team.]
 
R.J.E.:
”As proof that all our new policies are GREAT, our new company official who I hired to install them will now tell explain the new policies are GREAT!!"
 
 
 
ELON MUSK:
Followed by creator monetization for all forms of content
 
R.J.E.:
Is this from you or Valerie Bertinelli?