In just one week, Elon Musk has somehow turned Twitter, an already chaotic place online, into even more of a nightmare.
Since Musk took over the site last Thursday as the “Chief Twit,” he’s fired multiple top executives, allegedly threatened to layoff 75 percent of employees, and introduced a new subscription plan that allows users to become verified and prioritized for $8 a month — all while current users are sharing that they’re steadily losing followers.
Comedians, journalists, even celebrities have shared that since Musk stepped into Twitter HQ, they’ve lost followers with no signs of slowing down.
down about 400 followers since yesterday and I don't think my tweets have been especially bad. perhaps the Elon Exodus is underway
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 27, 2022
So, I've lost almost 6000 followers in the last three days. Is it because of the new twit owner… or not posting enough cute animal videos lately? 🐷 🤔 https://t.co/28t1nNAiV0
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) October 28, 2022
Of course, when anyone takes over a company there’s bound to be a few shakeups. But Musk stepped into Twitter HQ with guns blazing, and there’s no signs he’s ready to stop. This week he announced the Twitter Blue subscription, which would cost users $8 a month and allow their content to have higher priority (aka more visibility) in replies, mentions and searches.
Subscriptions aren’t new to social platforms, but it is a bit confusing. Musk claims to be a “free speech absolutionist,” so charging users a monthly fee for their voice to be heard seems counterintuitive to the cause.
