Twitter chaos explained: a basic guide for non-tweeters

Thanksgiving, for many, means it’s time to banter about current events with relatives. And it’s likely that at least one of your family members is among Twitter’s more than 200 million users.

But if you’re not on the platform and you’re watching from a distance, it can be hard to keep up with all the changes since Elon Musk took ownership.

So what’s happening on the bird app? Here are six things you need to know.

The billionaire’s deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion took months to complete.

He made an unsolicited offer in April to buy it, arguing that the company should do more to protect free speech. But months in, Musk walked back the deal. He accused Twitter of failing to accurately count the number of spam and bot accounts it hosted. By July, Musk announced he wasn’t going through with the acquisition.

That’s when Twitter sued in the Delaware Court of Chancery.

The company accused Musk of chickening out to protect his own personal wealth.

Musk tried to negotiate the price, but Twitter didn’t budge. Weeks before the trial was set to start in October, the deal was back on. Musk became Twitter’s owner and CEO and took the company private, delisting its stock.

The dinner table takeaway: It took some time, but Musk eventually bought Twitter.

When Musk began his tenure at Twitter, he entered the company’s headquarters carrying a bathroom sink (”Let that sink in!” he tweeted).

He promised new features, free speech, and open-source algorithms. Musk announced remote work would end for employees, as well as company-provided meals in the office. As of this week, Musk walked back the ban on remote work.

Since then as many as half of the 7,500 full-time employees — and counting — have been laid off, reports said. Musk said the major cuts were necessary to keep Twitter in the black. Days later, some were rehired. Notably, last week, a wave of employee resignations led to Twitter headquarters in San Francisco temporarily closing its doors.

Hundreds of employees left the company instead of accepting an ultimatum Musk posed, asking them to sign a pledge to work more hours, according to the Washington Post.

But employees who spoke with the Post said the situation is critical, with important Twitter systems lacking the number of engineers needed to function properly.

The dinner table takeaway: Twitter has way fewer employees than it once did. Now, the platform is lacking resources experts say are necessary to keep it alive.

Musk has said from the start that he wanted to empower people equally on Twitter.

One of his attempts to do this entailed allowing users to purchase a blue “verified” checkmark that was previously reserved for brands and public figures, including politicians and journalists. Within days of launching the $8 feature, Twitter paused the rollout because of a surge in impostor accounts impersonating brands and celebrities.

» READ MORE: Imposter accounts had a heyday on Twitter. How will Philadelphia accounts respond?

Though it hasn’t happened yet, Musk has said that previously verified accounts will eventually lose their checkmarks if they do not subscribe to the $8 service. Critics have pointed out the complications that could pose for journalists and municipality accounts who use Twitter as a way to disseminate information quickly.

Some brands have paused tweets and advertising on the platform while re-strategizing. Musk announced a sharp decline in advertising since his takeover.

The dinner table takeaway: Musk said the company’s main source of revenue — advertising — is plummeting. But his strategy is angering some advertisers.

Since Musk’s takeover, impostor accounts have been on the rise. For example, a faux LeBron James account tweeted a trade announcement that was shared widely. Politicians have criticized how easy it is to make a fake verified account.

Additionally, reports have shown an uptick in hate speech and racist language on the platform.

One of the departments hit by Musk’s initial wave of layoffs was Twitter’s content moderators, whose job was to flag or remove hate speech and misinformation. According to the Washington Post, half of Twitter’s trust and safety policy team has resigned, including a majority of those who work on spotting misinformation, spam, fake accounts, and impersonation.

The dinner table takeaway: Twitter timelines look like the Wild West, with fake accounts and information spreading as legit accounts become harder to identify.

Engineers say the platform will struggle amid continued layoffs and resignations. Hashtags predicting the end was near trended last week on the app. Google searches for alternative apps were trending. Apps like Mastodon, an open-source app that’s been billed by users as a “less toxic Twitter,” are seeing more sign-ups. Some Twitter users are also migrating their conversations to the messaging app Discord.

» READ MORE: Looking for a Twitter replacement? Here are 5 suggestions.

The dinner table takeaway: Some Twitter users sense the end is near and are looking to alternative apps, particularly Mastodon.

What’s a Thanksgiving meal without some political talk?

Musk announced last week that he would reinstate former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account, which was previously banned. Trump used to be an active Tweeter, but Twitter suspended his account following the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riots, citing fears he was inciting violence. Musk said he made the decision based on an informal Twitter poll. Trump has not tweeted since his account was brought back online. Instead, the former president announced he would focus on his conservative-leaning Twitter doppelgänger, Truth Social.

Musk has reinstated other banned celebrities, including Kanye West — who has faced a new wave of recent scrutiny for antisemitic remarks — and Kathy Griffin — who was banned weeks ago for mocking Musk — as well as conservative accounts, including the Babylon Bee and Project Veritas, which were banned for posting transphobic content and operating fake accounts, respectively.

As noted by the Washington Post, Musk previously said he’d defer decisions to ban or reinstate accounts to a new moderation council. But it’s unclear if that council was ever appointed.

The dinner table takeaway: Nothing lasts forever, including permanent account bans.