It was a busy weekend on Twitter.
ICYMI: Elon Musk, the site's new owner, restored the personal Twitter account
of former President Donald Trump nearly two years after it was permanently banned following the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
He also welcomed back Kanye West, now known as Ye, whose account was suspended in October over an antisemitic rant. And on Monday, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who'd been suspended 10 months ago for repeatedly spreading Covid-19 misinformation, also was allowed back on.
So just to catch everyone up: In less than one month of owning Twitter, Elon Musk has laid off roughly half of its staff, hastily launched a paid verification program that was quickly rolled back, fired people who disagreed with him, and prompted hundreds of resignations with an ultimatum that those who stay on at the company must adopt an "extremely hardcore" work ethic.
Late last week, there were so many departures that users weren't sure the site could even stay online. Many posted emotional farewell messages, letting their followers know where they can find them in the future. It was a very last-day-of-high-school vibe.
The Trump news was no surprise — even before buying Twitter, Musk made clear he would reinstate Trump and rethink the site's content-moderation policies. But he's also trying to assure advertisers he won't let things go off the rails. He said he would establish a "content moderation council" before making any decisions on restoring accounts, though there is no indication any such group exists. After all, he decided to reinstate Trump based on a public Twitter poll.
BIG PICTURE
If Musk has any strategy behind the decision and its timing, my colleague Seth Fiegerman writes, it appears to be betting that chaos makes for a good show.
Through all of it, Musk has stressed that Twitter is hitting all-time highs in user numbers. With Trump back in the mix, Elon's counting on those numbers to tick higher. Who can resist such a messy drama?
But it's not yet clear whether Trump will resume tweeting, or stick to his Truth Social platform. And if Musk's strategy is to stoke controversy, he's already brought out the big guns in letting Trump back on. There's only so much outrage left to tap into.
Meanwhile, civil rights groups and advocates are warning companies not to do business on Twitter.
"In Elon Musk's Twittersphere, you can incite an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, which led to the deaths of multiple people, and still be allowed to spew hate speech and violent conspiracies on his platform," NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement. "Any advertiser still funding Twitter should immediately pause all advertising."
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