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Tag: social media

  • What’s Up with Twitter? Social Media Experts Available

    What’s Up with Twitter? Social Media Experts Available

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    Newswise — University of Oregon faculty members from our School of Journalism and Communication who research social and mass media trends and developments are available to discuss the recent developments involving Twitter and its new ownership: from a business perspective, what it means for the social media landscape, as well as the broader cultural reverberations it may have.

    Our faculty experts:

    • Damian Radcliffe, Carolyn S. Chambers Professor in Journalism: Damian Radcliffe is an academic expert in news media trends, social media, community journalism, and media policy. As an experienced digital analyst, consultant, journalist, and researcher, he can speak to media policy and the media landscape. His research focuses on the usage of social media and wider trends in local media, technology, the business of media, and journalism innovation. https://uonews.uoregon.edu/damian-radcliffe-school-journalism-and-communication

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    University of Oregon

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  • 5 Things You Should Know Before Collaborating With An Influencer

    5 Things You Should Know Before Collaborating With An Influencer

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Brands are projected to spend a whopping $15 billion on influencer marketing in 2022. Influencer marketing is one of the most effective digital marketing techniques to help brands connect with their audience. Why? Because people tend to trust influencers and their content about the product more than companies.

    According to this study, 63% of their participants between the ages of 18 and 34 trust what influencers say about brands more than what brands say about themselves.

    Collaborating with an influencer to scale your business is a smart move, but there are a few things you should know. Let’s dig right into some of the best practices for better influencer-brand collaboration.

    First, choose the right platform that fits your product or service

    As we know, a major part of your social media strategy is selecting the right platform. Selecting the right platform depends on a few factors:

    • Your goals: Do you want to drive more traffic to your website, drum up sales or encourage more engagement from your audience? Some social platforms encourage engagement and conversation, while others encourage views. This can help you identify the platform you should focus on when looking for an influencer. For example, if your goal is to encourage engagement, I recommend TikTok where the average engagement rate per post reaches 5.9% while it’s only 0.83% on Instagram and 0.13% on Facebook. Let’s say you’re selling B2B products or services, LinkedIn will be the most suitable platform to build brand awareness, drive website traffic and generate leads.
    • Your target audience: You should also consider demographics like age, gender and location when choosing a platform. Adults between 24 – 34 years old, for instance, make up 31% of Instagram’s audience, while 24% of TikTok’s global audience were women between the ages of 18 and 24 years are more likely to be on TikTok. Facebook is the top-visited social media platform in the U.S., while Twitter is the most popular social media in Japan if we exclude LINE, a messaging app founded in South Korea. Do your research before selecting the platform. Back up your decisions with demographic data, rather than being swayed by the current trends.
    • Where the competitors are: It can save you time seeing how the competitors are performing, what things they did well, what things they dropped the ball on and learning from their mistakes.
    • Identify if the influencer is well-known on the platform: You might find an influencer with more than a million followers on TikTok while having little or no presence at all on YouTube. So, validate that the influencer has a highly engaging audience on the selected social media channel(s).

    Related: How to Succeed Using Influencer Marketing and Brand Collaboration

    1. Choose a relevant influencer

    It is essential to choose an influencer that addresses the same target audience as you do. For instance, when marketing a fitness product, a suitable influencer could be someone who shares educational content about health and fitness or workout videos. Relevancy is a crucial part of selecting who to partner with to build trust with your audience and provide advice and recommendations from experts with authority in the field.

    You should also keep in mind that there are different types of influencers out there and that you can expect different results from each. There are four main types of influencers when it comes to their follower base:

    • Nano-influencers: 10,000 followers or fewer.
    • Micro-influencers: between 10,000 and 100,000 followers.
    • Macro-influencers: between 100,000 and 1 million followers.
    • Mega-influencers: 1 million or more followers.

    If you aim to raise brand awareness, relevant mega and macro-influencers would fit nevertheless. Although micro and nano-influencers reach fewer people, they are more likely to inspire action. Micro-influencers can have a greater impact on followers’ actions than celebrities can. One study suggests the reason for this is that audiences usually find them more trustworthy and relatable than celebrities.

    2. Validate the followers

    To know whether an influencer is a perfect fit, you first need to pay close attention to their followers. If you have a business account on a social media platform, chances are you have come across those accounts that pretend to be like real ones by collecting fake followers and engagements. A simple but effective test to see if the influencer you want to work with has fake followers or not is to select some of their followers at random and notice how they engage with that account.

    Check on their profiles to confirm that they are not fake and that they look like your customer profile. A fake account can be easily detected, a typical one would normally hold zero number of posts or very few ones. The fake follower would most likely follow thousands of accounts while having a significantly lower number of followers. Sometimes the account has no profile picture or a vague profile description. All these criteria are red flags that they are fake accounts.

    You can also check the influencer’s previous posts. If you find only a few engagements (likes, comments, shares) then don’t be deceived by the high number of followers. This influencer most probably bought fake followers. A good exercise is to chat with the influencer about previous successful campaigns’ they’ve worked on.

    Related: What ‘Authenticity’ Actually Looks Like in an Influence-Marketing Collaboration

    3. Give influencers room for creativity

    The content delivered to the audience should be authentic. The best way to do this is to analyze the influencer’s previous posts as a reference point, and work together on how the content will look, the constraints you have and the things you expect to achieve without dictating and letting them do the talking.

    4. Monitor engagements and track campaign results and outcomes

    One of the core pillars of social media marketing is listening and engagement. Social media listening is identifying and assessing what customers say about the brand, brand mentions and the trends around a company. It will allow the company to measure the campaign’s success, know what worked well and avoid future mistakes.

    It is really important to track the impact of influencer marketing by using social media listening tools and not depending only on data supplied by the influencer. There’re many social media listening tools like Brandwatch, which helps marketers understand their audience, track conversions and monitor brand mentions.

    If influencers drive website traffic, you have to set up Google Analytics to measure the campaign performance KPIs like the number of visitors to your website, pages per session and bounce rate. Ultimately, if you’re selling a product online, you should track sales in real-time. An easy way is to give each influencer a discount coupon to share with his/her followers so you can easily detect the source of each transaction.

    Are you ready to collaborate with an influencer? When in doubt, refer back to these pointers before you commit.

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    Ahmed Mokhtar

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  • Widespread Twitter layoffs begin a week after Musk takeover

    Widespread Twitter layoffs begin a week after Musk takeover

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    NEW YORK — Twitter began widespread layoffs Friday as new owner Elon Musk overhauls the company, raising grave concerns about chaos enveloping the platform and its ability to fight disinformation just days ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.

    The speed and size of the cuts also opened Musk and Twitter to lawsuits. At least one was filed Thursday in San Francisco alleging Twitter has violated federal law by not providing fired employees the required notice.

    The company had told workers by email that they would find out Friday if they had been laid off. It did not say how many of the roughly 7,500 employees would lose their jobs.

    Musk didn’t confirm or correct investor Ron Baron at a Friday conference in New York when he asked the billionaire Tesla CEO how much money he would save after he “fired half of Twitter.”

    Musk responded by talking about Twitter’s cost and revenue challenges and blamed activists who urged big companies to halt advertising on the platform. Musk hasn’t commented on the layoffs themselves.

    “The activist groups have been successful in causing a massive drop in Twitter advertising revenue, and we’ve done our absolute best to appease them and nothing is working,” he said.

    Some employees of the San Francisco-based company got clues about their pending dismissal when they lost access to their work accounts hours earlier. They and others tweeted messages of support using the hashtag #OneTeam. The email to staff said job reductions were “necessary to ensure the company’s success moving forward.”

    No other social media platform comes close to Twitter as a place where public agencies and other vital service providers — election boards, police departments, utilities, schools and news outlets — keep people reliably informed. Many fear Musk’s layoffs will gut it and render it lawless.

    Several employees who tweeted about losing their jobs said Twitter also eliminated their entire teams, including one focused on human rights and global conflicts, another checking Twitter’s algorithms for bias in how tweets get amplified, and an engineering team devoted to making the social platform more accessible for people with disabilities.

    Eddie Perez, a Twitter civic integrity team manager who quit in September, said he fears the layoffs so close to the midterms could allow disinformation to “spread like wildfire” during the post-election vote-counting period in particular.

    “I have a hard time believing that it doesn’t have a material impact on their ability to manage the amount of disinformation out there,” he said, adding that there simply may not be enough employees to beat it back.

    Perez, a board member at the nonpartisan election integrity nonprofit OSET Institute, said the post-election period is particularly perilous because “some candidates may not concede and some may allege election irregularities and that is likely to generate a new cycle of falsehoods.”

    Twitter’s employees have been expecting layoffs since Musk took the helm. He fired top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, and removed the company’s board of directors on his first day as owner.

    As the emailed notices went out, many Twitter employees took to the platform to express support for each other — often simply tweeting blue heart emojis to signify its blue bird logo — and salute emojis in replies to each other.

    The sweeping layoffs will jeopardize content moderation standards, according to a coalition of civil rights groups, that escalated their calls Friday for brands to pause advertising buys on the platform. The layoffs are particularly dangerous ahead of the elections, the groups warned, and for transgender users and other groups facing violence inspired by hate speech that proliferates online.

    Leaders with the organizations Free Press and Color of Change said they spoke with Musk on Tuesday, and he promised to retain and enforce election integrity measures already in place. But the mass layoffs suggest otherwise, according to Jessica González, co-CEO of Free Press.

    González pushed back on Musk’s assertion that content moderation rules — an operation she said was already “dangerously under-resourced” — had not changed since his takeover.

    “When you lay off reportedly 50% of your staff — including teams who are in charge of actually tracking, monitoring and enforcing content moderation and rules — that necessarily means that content moderation has changed,” González said.

    As of Friday, Musk and Twitter had given no public notice of the coming layoffs, according to a spokesperson for California’s Employment Development Department. That’s even though the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification statute requires employers with at least 100 workers to disclose layoffs involving 500 or more employees, regardless of whether a company is publicly traded or privately held.

    A lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in San Francisco on behalf of one employee who was laid off and three others who were locked out of their work accounts. It alleges Twitter violated the law by not providing the required notice.

    The layoffs affected Twitter’s offices around the world. In the United Kingdom, Twitter would be required by law to give employees notice, said Emma Bartlett, a partner specializing in employment and partnership law at CM Murray LLP.

    In the case of mass firings, failure to notify the government could “have criminal penalties associated with it,’’ Bartlett said, adding that whether criminal sanctions are ever applied is another question.

    The speed of the layoffs could also open Musk and Twitter up to discrimination claims if it turns out, for instance, that they disproportionally affected women, people of color or older workers.

    Employment lawyer Peter Rahbar said most employers “take great care in doing layoffs of this magnitude” to make they are justified and don’t unfairly discriminate or bring unwanted attention to the company.

    “For some reason, he seemingly wants to lay off half the company without doing any due diligence on what these people do or who they are and without any regards to the law,” Rahbar said.

    The layoffs come at a tough time for social media companies, as advertisers are scaling back and newcomers — mainly TikTok — are threatening older platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

    In a tweet Friday, Musk blamed activists for what he described as a “massive drop in revenue” since he took over Twitter late last week. He did not say how much revenue had dropped.

    Big companies including General Motors, REI, General Mills and Audi have all paused ads on Twitter due to questions about how it will operate under Musk. Volkswagen Group said it is recommending its brands, which include Audi, Lamborghini and Porsche, pause paid activities until Twitter issues revised brand safety guidelines.

    Musk last week sought to convince advertisers that Twitter wouldn’t become a “free-for-all hellscape” but many remain concerned about whether content moderation will remain as stringent and whether staying on Twitter might tarnish their brands.

    In his tweet, Musk said “nothing has changed with content moderation.”

    But Twitter advertisers have steadily declined since Musk agreed to buy Twitter in April, according to MediaRadar, which tracks ad buys. Between January and April, the average number of advertisers on Twitter was 3,350. From May through September, the number dropped to 3,100. Prior to July, more than 1,000 new advertisers were spending on Twitter every month. In July and August, that number dropped to roughly 200.

    Insider Intelligence analyst Jasmine Enberg said there is “little Musk can say to appease advertisers when he’s keeping the company in a constant state of uncertainty and turmoil, and appears indifferent to Twitter employees and the law.”

    “Musk needs advertisers more than they need him,” she said. “Pulling ads from Twitter is a quick and painless decision for most brands.”

    ———

    AP Business Writers Mae Anderson, Alexandra Olson and Ken Sweet in New York, James Pollard in Columbia, S.C., Frank Bajak in Boston and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this story.

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  • Twitter Layoffs ‘Callous’, Possibly in Violation of Federal, State Law

    Twitter Layoffs ‘Callous’, Possibly in Violation of Federal, State Law

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    Newswise — A lawsuit was filed against Twitter for allegedly violating California’s WARN Act by failing to give enough notice about ongoing mass layoffs.

    Cathy Creighton is the director of the Buffalo Co-Lab at Cornell’s ILR School and a labor law expert. She can speak to the law, implications for Twitter and possible impacts for the wider labor-management landscape.

    Creighton says:

    “Musk’s treatment of his workers is very poor in so many ways. Termination of employment is one of the worst things that can happen to a person as it eliminates a means of providing a person and their family with a living. Employees do not expect to be summarily terminated, especially by a person of such wealth and means as Mr. Musk. Since health insurance is often tied to employment in the U.S., employees who are terminated also lose their health insurance, which can be devastating. Shame on Mr. Musk for treating his workers so callously and shabby.  

    “Twitter may be running afoul of federal and state law. Under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act), when there is a mass layoff, employers must give 60 days’ notice to employees. It does not seem that employees received such notice. Additionally, California law requires 60 days’ notice and there are higher penalties for violating the law. Failure to give proper notice under the California WARN Act results in a penalty of $500 per day per employee. Additionally, the employer must pay employees’ health insurance claims as if the employee had their employer health insurance plan during the notice period.

    “Employees who are unionized would receive notice and an opportunity to bargain over a layoff. Tech workers in the U.S. who are looking at their employers following Elon Musk’s lead might want to consider unionizing their workplaces. A unionized workforce has many protections that nonunion employees do not have – this is just one example.”

    Cornell University has dedicated television and audio studios available for media interviews.

    – 30 –

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    Cornell University

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  • BBC tries to understand politics by creating fake Americans

    BBC tries to understand politics by creating fake Americans

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    NEW YORK — Larry, a 71-year-old retired insurance broker and Donald Trump fan from Alabama, wouldn’t be likely to run into the liberal Emma, a 25-year-old graphic designer from New York City, on social media — even if they were both real.

    Each is a figment of BBC reporter Marianna Spring’s imagination. She created five fake Americans and opened social media accounts for them, part of an attempt to illustrate how disinformation spreads on sites like Facebook, Twitter and TikTok despite efforts to stop it, and how that impacts American politics.

    That’s also left Spring and the BBC vulnerable to charges that the project is ethically suspect in using false information to uncover false information.

    “We’re doing it with very good intentions because it’s important to understand what is going on,” Spring said. In the world of disinformation, “the U.S. is the key battleground,” she said.

    Spring’s reporting has appeared on BBC’s newscasts and website, as well as the weekly podcast “Americast,” the British view of news from the United States. She began the project in August with the midterm election campaign in mind but hopes to keep it going through 2024.

    Spring worked with the Pew Research Center in the U.S. to set up five archetypes, although the center was not involved in how to use them. Besides the very conservative Larry and very liberal Emma, there’s Britney, a more populist conservative from Texas; Gabriela, a largely apolitical independent from Miami; and Michael, a Black teacher from Milwaukee who’s a moderate Democrat.

    With computer-generated photos, she set up accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok. The accounts are passive, meaning her “people” don’t have friends or make public comments.

    Spring, who uses five different phones labeled with each name, tends to the accounts to fill out their “personalities.” For instance, Emma is a lesbian who follows LGBTQ groups, is an atheist, takes an active interest in women’s issues and abortion rights, supports the legalization of marijuana and follows The New York Times and NPR.

    These “traits” are the bait, essentially, to see how the social media companies’ algorithms kick in and what material is sent their way.

    Through what she followed and liked, Britney was revealed as anti-vax and critical of big business, so she has been sent into several rabbit holes, Spring said. The account has received material, some with violent rhetoric, from groups falsely claiming Donald Trump won the 2020 election. She’s also been invited to join in with people who claim the Mar-a-Lago raid was “proof” Trump won and the state was out to get him, and groups that support conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

    Despite efforts by social media companies to combat disinformation, Spring said there’s still a considerable amount getting through, mostly from a far-right perspective.

    Gabriela, the non-aligned Latina mom who’s mostly expressed interest in music, fashion and how to save money while shopping, doesn’t follow political groups. But it’s far more likely that Republican-aligned material will show up in her feed.

    “The best thing you can do is understand how this works,” Spring said. “It makes us more aware of how we’re being targeted.”

    Most major social media companies prohibit impersonator accounts. Violators can be kicked off for creating them, although many evade the rules.

    Journalists have used several approaches to probe how the tech giants operate. For a story last year, the Wall Street Journal created more than 100 automated accounts to see how TikTok steered users in different directions. The nonprofit newsroom the Markup set up a panel of 1,200 people who agreed to have their web browsers studied for details on how Facebook and YouTube operated.

    “My job is to investigate misinformation and I’m setting up fake accounts,” Spring said. “The irony is not lost on me.”

    She’s obviously creative, said Aly Colon, a journalism ethics professor at Washington & Lee University. But what Spring called ironic disturbs him and other experts who believe there are above-board ways to report on this issue.

    “By creating these false identities, she violates what I believe is a fairly clear ethical standard in journalism,” said Bob Steele, retired ethics expert for the Poynter Institute. “We should not pretend that we are someone other than ourselves, with very few exceptions.”

    Spring said she believes the level of public interest in how these social media companies operate outweighs the deception involved.

    The BBC said the investigation was created in accordance with its strict editorial guidelines.

    “We take ethics extremely seriously and numerous processes are in place to ensure that our activity does not affect anyone else,” the network said. “Our coverage is transparent and clearly states that the investigation does not offer exhaustive insight into what every U.S. voter could be seeing on social media, but instead provides a snapshot of the important issues associated with the spread of online disinformation.”

    The BBC experiment can be valuable, but only shows part of how algorithms work, a mystery that largely evades people outside of the tech companies, said Samuel Woolley, director of the propaganda research lab in the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas.

    Algorithms also take cues from comments that people make on social media or in their interactions with friends — both things that BBC’s fake Americans don’t do, he said.

    “It’s like a journalist’s version of a field experiment,” Woolley said. “It’s running an experiment on a system but it’s pretty limited in its rigor.”

    From Spring’s perspective, if you want to see how an influence operation works, “you need to be on the front lines.”

    Since launching the five accounts, Spring said she logs on every few days to update each of them and see what they’re being fed.

    “I try to make it as realistic as possible,” she said. “I have these five personalities that I have to inhabit at any given time.”

    ———

    This story was first published on Nov. 1, 2022, and updated on Nov. 4, 2022, to add that the Pew Research Center was not involved in how five archetypes of fake Americans were used.

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  • How Online Journaling Helped Me Get 10k Instagram Followers

    How Online Journaling Helped Me Get 10k Instagram Followers

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Growing up, I always loved writing. Writing allowed me to express my thoughts and ideas. It was also a great avenue to vent my frustrations. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve always kept a private journal. I struggle with journaling on a daily basis, so I would always update my private journal every six months. It wasn’t until I started my software company, Trend Watchers, that I decided to hop on the #buildinginpublic trend.

    Building in public is where you document yourself starting a company from scratch. When documenting your journey, you are supposed to showcase the good, bad and ugly days.
    Most people build in public on Twitter, but I decided to do it on Instagram. To start, I decided to delete my account and start from scratch.

    Related: How Journaling Can Make You a Better Entrepreneur and Leader

    How journaling online grew my Instagram following

    At first, I documented my journey through Instagram posts only. I would create a minimalistic graphic on Canva and would max out my Instagram caption, sharing whatever lesson I learned that week.

    The thing that makes my Instagram posts so unique is my wide variety of topics.
    One week, I’ll write about a lesson I learned from conducting business, another week I’ll write about a lesson I learned from dating, and so forth. There is no way to predict what I will write next. Even I have no idea what topic I’m going to be writing about beforehand.

    My posts are 100% based on inspiration. This makes my posts even more unique to where people want to share and read my posts. I started seeing growth on my page after I started posting pictures of myself to go along with the maxed-out caption.

    Growing up, I never took photos of myself. When I try to look back, I can only find the photos my parents took of me. I never took any of myself. To change this, I decided to post high-quality pictures of myself with each post that goes up. After doing this for over a year, I’m able to look back at my life with gratitude and can tell you exactly what was going on based on the photo I’m looking at.

    Instagram also likes it when you show your face. It makes you appear more human. I noticed my engagement jump up by 50% when I started adding photos of myself. This organic engagement boost combined with sharing my story with the Trend Watchers customer list helped me make my way to 10,000+ followers. When I first started the page, I had no idea it would make it this far, but by building in public, I have earned the following:

    Related: 7 Ways to Grow Your Instagram Without Buying Followers

    1. Networking opportunities

    To get the most out of networking online, it is important to have your profile well put together. Once it is well optimized, start following key people within your industry.

    One of my favorite tactics is to follow professionals I meet in person and have them follow me back. I also keep my Instagram stories up showcasing my life, and usually by doing this, they will remember me. Some of these relationships go nowhere, but now and then, an opportunity will come through.

    2. Dating opportunities

    About 2-3 times a month, someone will slide in my DMs. Most of the time, I’ll take these girls out on a first get-to-know-you date, and the conversations are just amazing. Most of the time, they have the same energy as me, and it’s refreshing to be around someone that has a growth mindset. Whether your intention is dating or not, building an Instagram following the way that I have can help you meet new people and build meaningful relationships.

    3. Customer acquisition channels

    My Instagram page also serves as a way for me to acquire new customers. If I’m selling high-ticket, I’ll have them follow me on Instagram to further build trust. They can scroll through my posts, learn more about me and see that I am authentic and credible. This often makes closing the sale a breeze.

    4. Amazing friendships

    Women are not the only ones sliding in my DMS. Every once in a while, guys will as well. Most of these people are not serious, but now and then I’ll come across someone who is. We’ll end up talking, and before you know it, we are great friends talking about issues both in our business and personal life. This is probably one of my favorite benefits of documenting my journey online.

    When I decided to start documenting my journey on Instagram, I did it for fun. I love having my own personal databases/journals that I can always look back on and go through. Little did I know, my public journal would gain momentum and start touching lives all over the world. Not only is it touching lives, but it is starting to open up doors in all directions that I could have never imagined.

    Related: 4 Ways Documenting the Journey Has Become More Popular Than Celebrating the Outcome

    If you are passionate about writing or keeping a journal, I’d highly recommend documenting your journey online. You’d be surprised by the people you’ll touch and the opportunities that will come your way.

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    Dejon Brooks

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  • Elon Musk said Twitter has seen a ‘massive drop in revenue’ as more brands pause ads | CNN Business

    Elon Musk said Twitter has seen a ‘massive drop in revenue’ as more brands pause ads | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    Elon Musk said Friday that Twitter has seen a “massive drop in revenue,” as a growing number of advertisers pause spending on the platform in the wake of his $44 billion acquisition.

    “Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists,” he said in a tweet. “Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America.”

    The remarks came after General Mills and the Volkswagen Group confirmed that they are pausing advertising on Twitter in the wake of Musk’s acquisition of the social media company, in the clearest sign yet of growing advertiser uncertainty about the future of the platform under new ownership.

    “We have paused advertising on Twitter,” Kelsey Roemhildt, a spokesperson for General Mills, told CNN in a statement, making it the first company that doesn’t compete with Musk’s Tesla to confirm such a move. “As always, we will continue to monitor this new direction and evaluate our marketing spend,” the spokesperson said.

    In a separate statement, Volkswagen Group, which owns Audi, Porsche and Bentley, confirmed it had recommended its brands “pause their paid activities on the platform until further notice.”

    The Wall Street Journal, which was first to report the moves, also said Pfizer and Mondalez are pausing ads on Twitter. The companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The companies join General Motors, which had previously said it would pause paying for advertising on Twitter while it evaluates the platform’s “new direction.” Toyota, another Tesla competitor, previously told CNN that it is “in discussions with key stakeholders and monitoring the situation” on Twitter.

    Ad buying giant Interpublic Group, which works with consumer brands such as Unilever and Coca Cola, earlier this week also recommended its clients pause advertising on the platform.

    The impact is apparently already being felt at Twitter, as Musk tweeted that “Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers” Thursday after many of the advertising announcements were made.

    After months of uncertainty about Musk’s pending acquisition, advertisers are now confronting questions around how Musk will change the platform, which is already an also-ran in the digital ad space despite its outsized political influence. Musk, known as both an innovative entrepreneur and an erratic figure, has promised to rethink Twitter’s content moderation policies and undo permanent bans of controversial figures, including former President Donald Trump.

    That creates a challenge for brands, which are sensitive to the types of content their ads run against, an issue made more complicated by social media. Most marketers bristle at the thought of having their ads run alongside toxic content such as hate speech, pornography or misinformation.

    The pauses also come days ahead of the US midterm elections, as many civil society leaders worry that misinformation and other harmful content could spread on the platform and create disruption.

    Musk has said he’s not a fan of advertising and is currently working to boost Twitter’s subscription revenue to boost its bottom line and be less dependent on ad sales, which account for 90% of Twitter’s overall revenue. But this shift won’t happen overnight, if it happens at all. Musk said he plans to launch an $8 per month subscription plan that will provide users with a verification mark, as well as several other perks, but the plans has faced sharp backlash.

    In the meantime, Musk is working to stave off a possible advertiser exodus. Musk’s team spent Monday “meeting with the marketing and advertising community” in New York, according to Jason Calacanis, a member of Musk’s inner circle.

    Musk also met earlier this week with a group of leaders of civil society organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, Free Press and the NAACP, to address concerns about a rise in hate on the platform. Representatives who attended the meeting told CNN they were encouraged by Musk’s willingness to talk and his initial commitments not to change the company’s content policies ahead of the midterms, but called on him to take further steps to protect the platform.

    Shortly before news broke last week that his $44 billion Twitter acquisition was completed, Musk wrote an open letter attempting to reassure advertisers that he does not want the social network to become a “free-for-all hellscape.”

    “Fundamentally, Twitter aspires to be the most respected advertising platform in the world that strengthens your brand and grows your enterprise,” he wrote. “Let us build something extraordinary together.”

    – CNN’s Jon Passantino and Peter Valdes-Dapena contributed to this report.

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  • Twitter layoffs begin a week after Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover

    Twitter layoffs begin a week after Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover

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    Twitter employees on Friday braced for widespread layoffs as part of new owner Elon Musk’s broad overhaul of the social platform.

    In a letter to employees obtained by multiple media outlets, the company said that workers would find out by 9 a.m. Pacific Standard Time if they had been laid off. The email did not say how many people would lose their jobs.

    “Everyone will receive an individual email with the subject line: Your Role at Twitter,” read the notice. Workers who receive the note at their Twitter company email can expect to keep their jobs, while those who receive it at their personal emails would be laid off, the notice read.

    The email to staff said job reductions were “necessary to ensure the company’s success moving forward.”

    Some employees tweeted early Friday that they had already lost access to their work accounts. They and others tweeted messages of support using the hashtag #OneTeam. 

    “Looks like I’m unemployed y’all. Just got remotely logged out of my work laptop and removed from Slack,” Simon Balmain, a former community manager based in the U.K., tweeted. “So sad it had to end this way.”

    According to reports from Reuters and other media outlets, Musk is looking to lay off as much as half of Twitter’s roughly 7,500 employees as he seeks to make the social media platform profitable. 

    Already, the billionaire Tesla CEO has fired top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, on his first day as Twitter’s owner. He also removed the company’s board of directors and installed himself as the sole board member. Among his plans include charging $8 a month for users to display the blue “verified” checkmark indicating their online identity is who they are in real life and increasing subscription revenue so Twitter relies less on advertising. 


    How would Elon Musk regulate Twitter’s content?

    08:19

    At the same time, major advertisers have paused their Twitter ads as they wait to see how the company develops under Musk. He has called himself a “free speech absolutist” and pledged to reverse bans on prominent figures, including former President Donald Trump, as Twitter’s head.

    Many worry that the overhaul will lead to an explosion of hate speech and spam on the platform.  Within just 12 hours of Musk’s purchase being finalized Friday, references to a specific racist epithet used to demean Black people shot up by 500%, according to an analysis conducted by the Network Contagion Research Institute, a Princeton, New Jersey-based firm that tracks disinformation.

    No public notice

    As of Thursday, Musk and Twitter had given no public notice of the coming layoffs. That’s even though the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification statute requires employers with at least 100 workers to disclose layoffs involving 500 or more employees, regardless of whether a company is publicly traded or privately held.

    Barry C. White, a spokesperson for California’s Employment Development Department, told the Associated Press Thursday the agency has not received any such notifications from Twitter.

    A class action lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in San Francisco on behalf of one employee who was laid off and three others who were locked out of their work accounts. It alleges that Twitter intends to lay off more employees and has violated the law by not providing the required notice.


    Elon Musk’s leadership style as head of Twitter

    09:04

    The layoffs come at a tough time for social media companies, as advertisers are scaling back and newcomers — mainly TikTok — are threatening the older class of social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

    Meta Platforms Inc., Facebook’s parent company, recently posted its second quarterly revenue decline in history and its shares are trading at their lowest levels since 2015. Meta’s disappointing results followed weak earnings reports from Google parent Alphabet and even Microsoft.

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  • DNA’ Podcast Hosts Two Climate and Health Twitter Spaces Chats

    DNA’ Podcast Hosts Two Climate and Health Twitter Spaces Chats

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    Newswise — Vanderbilt Health is hosting spin-off live chat episodes of its award-winning podcast series, “DNA: Discoveries in Action,” on Twitter Spaces. These live chats will explore how climate change is impacting well-being and how listeners can boost their climate literacy and action.

    These conversations are designed to cross-pollinate expertise, sectors and perspectives to illustrate the collaborative imperative of tackling climate change.

    DNA’s expert guests will explain why they have hope and want listeners to be energetic and reject “doomerism” while embracing reality and emphasizing teamwork without ego to accomplish individual and systemic goals.

    The conversations feature guests from Vanderbilt’s Medical Center, School of Law and School of Nursing, along with experts from Metro Nashville government, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Philips.

    The conversations will take place on Nov. 13 and 14, from 12:15 pm – 1 pm CT and will be held on Twitter Spaces. Some guests will appear live from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) annual meeting in Nashville with other guests joining remotely.

    Twitter Spaces is a feature that allows people to listen to real-time voice conversations taking place in the mobile app. Anyone may join the audience for the Twitter Spaces conversations; users may listen only on desktop. To be a part of the active audience and potentially ask a question, the mobile app is required.

    Get details by following @VUMC_Insights. Suggest questions ahead of or during the conversations by tweeting using the hashtag #ListenDNA.

    Click the links below to set reminders for the conversations or join the DNA Climate x Health Twitter Spaces on the day of the chat:

    Nashville’s Opportunity: Eco-Action or Anxiety, Sun., Nov. 13, from 12:15 pm to 1 pm CT

    Equity, Energy, Action: The Climate Opportunity, Mon., Nov. 14, from 12:15 pm to 1 pm CT

    The “Climate and Health” chapter of Discoveries in Action (DNA) offers  an expansive look at the disparities of climate change and its impact on health and well-being, as well as sustainability opportunities.

    Episodes offer tangible steps forward for further education and resources to personally shift toward climate-forward paradigms and leadership roles.

    Find the following episodes at listendna.com or subscribe on any podcast platform:

     

    How To…

    •Be A Climate Changemaker (Oct. 31)

    •Fill In The Knowledge Gap (Nov. 7)

    •DIY Climate Action (Nov. 14)

     

    The third season of VUMC’s award-winning podcast, DNA, is an experimental, fresh concept crafted to emphasize collaboration and conversation about how the current era of rapid change impacts mental and physical well-being.

     

     

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    Vanderbilt University Medical Center

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  • Amber Heard appears to have left Twitter after Elon Musk takeover | CNN

    Amber Heard appears to have left Twitter after Elon Musk takeover | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    More than a few people have said they were leaving Twitter after Elon Musk bought the company, but his former girlfriend, Amber Heard, appears to have actually split with the social media platform.

    Her handle, @RealAmberHeard, is no longer listed.

    She announced via her verified Facebook page on April 10, 2017, “I am now live on Twitter. You can follow my tweets here – @realamberheard.”

    Heard and Musk went public with their relationship that same month, reconciled after a brief split, and then reportedly broke up for good in April 2018.

    Over the summer, the actress tweeted about losing her defamation case against her ex-husband Johnny Depp.

    “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence and sway of my ex-husband,” Heard tweeted in June.

    She still has accounts on Facebook and Instagram, but has not shared publicly as to why she left Twitter.

    CNN has reached out to Heard’s representative for comment.

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  • Growing number of companies are freezing their Twitter ads after Elon Musk takeover

    Growing number of companies are freezing their Twitter ads after Elon Musk takeover

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    General Mills and Audi are the latest big advertisers to pause ads on Twitter as questions swirl about how the social media platform will operate under new owner Elon Musk.

    Spokesperson Kelsey Roemhildt on Thursday confirmed the move by the Minneapolis-based maker of food brands such as Cheerios and Annie’s macaroni and cheese. “As always, we will continue to monitor this new direction and evaluate our marketing spend,” she said.

    Audi spokesperson Whaewon Choi-Wiles said the German automaker is pausing ads and “will continue to evaluate the situation.”

    Advertisers are concerned about whether content moderation will remain as stringent under Musk — a self-described “free speech absolutist” — as it has been, and whether staying on Twitter might tarnish their brands.

    Shortly before taking over the San Francisco company last week, Musk issued a vow to advertisers that he would not allow Twitter to become a “free-for-all hellscape,” an indication there would still be consequences for violators of its rules against harassment, violence, or election and COVID-related misinformation.


    Elon Musk’s leadership style as head of Twitter

    09:04

    But since then some users have posted racial slurs and recirculated long-debunked conspiracy theories in an apparent attempt to see if the site’s policies were still being enforced. 

    Spike in hate speech

    Researchers from Montclair State University found that the 12 hours immediately following Musk’s takeover of Twitter saw a much more “hostile” environment on platform. The team looked at tweets filled with “vulgar and hostile” rhetoric aimed at people based on their race, religion, ethnicity and orientation, such as the “n-word,” “k-word,” and “f-word,” to find out just how bad it got. They found an “immediate, visible, and measurable spike” in those terms.

    Researchers also said there was an increase in negative sentiment, with more than 67% of the tweets sent after Musk’s takeover having a negative tone.

    The NAACP said this week it has expressed to Musk its concerns about “the dangerous, life-threatening hate and conspiracies that have proliferated on Twitter” under his watch.

    Last week, General Motors announced that it had temporarily paused its Twitter advertising while it works to “understand the direction of the platform.” GM described the pause as a normal step it takes when a media platform undergoes significant change.

    IPG Mediabrands sent a recommendation to clients on Monday that they pause advertising on Twitter for a week until more clarity emerges about brand safety on the site, according a person who had seen the recommendation.

    Other big Twitter advertisers like Warner Discovery, Coca-Cola and Nestle did not respond to requests for comment about their advertising plans.

    Some could evaluate their plans after Twitter’s new “content moderation council” meets. Musk has said he will not reinstate any accounts or make major content decisions before it is convened. No date has been announced for that meeting.


    Elon Musk fires top executives after Twitter takeover

    02:21

    About 90% of Twitter’s revenue comes from advertisers but it’s far from the biggest platform that advertisers turn to for digital marketing. Google, Amazon and Meta account for about 75% of digital ads, with all other platforms combined making up the other 25%.

    Twitter will account for 0.9% of worldwide digital ad spending in 2022, according to projections by Insider Intelligence. Meta will account for 21.4% in 2022.

    Twitter has lost most of its top executives in the past week, including the one in charge of advertising sales. Sarah Personette, the site’s chief customer officer, tweeted earlier this week that she resigned on Friday from Twitter and her work access was officially cut off Monday night. Days earlier, she said she had a “great discussion” with Musk and expressed optimism about the company’s future. 

    In announcing her resignation Tuesday, she said she still believes Twitter’s new administration understands the importance of upholding the “brand safety” standards she sought to champion.

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  • Interest rates will keep rising. How high will they go? | CNN Business

    Interest rates will keep rising. How high will they go? | CNN Business

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    A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’ Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here. You can listen to an audio version of the newsletter by clicking the same link.


    New York
    CNN Business
     — 

    What will the Federal Reserve do at its meeting in December? Analysts can speculate all they want, but Fed officials say they will be using hard economic data to make their next decision.

    That means key housing, labor, and inflation reports will likely have outsized effects on the market as investors speculate about what they might mean for the future of interest rates.

    What’s happening: No one can move markets like Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell — with just a few words on Wednesday he crushed investors’ hopes of an interest rate pivot and sent stocks plunging. “We have a ways to go,” said Powell of the Fed’s current hiking regime meant to fight persistent inflation. “It’s very premature, in my view, to think about or be talking about pausing.”

    But Powell did add an important caveat. The Fed could start to slow the pace of those painful hikes as soon as December. “Our decisions will depend on the totality of incoming data and their implications for the outlook for economic activity and inflation,” Powell said on Wednesday.

    So what will the Fed be looking at between today and its next policy decision on December 14?

    The labor market: The Fed’s biggest worry is the super-tight US labor market, and Friday’s jobs report isn’t likely to soothe any nerves.

    The government report is expected to show the economy added another 200,000 positions in October — down from last month, but still a very solid number as demand for employment continues to outpace the supply of labor.

    That means more inflation. Businesses have to pay higher wages to attract employees and are able to charge more for their goods and services. The Fed will be looking closely at hourly wage growth in the report. In September, wages rose by 5% from a year ago.

    There is a possible upside: Another jobs report in December is expected ahead of the Fed meeting. If both reports show a downward trajectory in employment, that could be enough to placate Fed officials, even if the unemployment rate remains historically low.

    Inflation data: Expect new data from two major indexes that measure the pace of inflation ahead of the next Federal Reserve meeting.

    The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for October, which tracks changes in the prices of a fixed set of goods and services, is out on November 10.

    Core CPI prices, which exclude oil and food, rose 0.6% in September month-over-month, matching August’s pace and coming in well above expectations of a 0.4% increase, not a great sign for the Fed. And analysts expect to see another large 0.5% increase in October.

    The Fed will also get to see October data from its favored measure of inflation, Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), on December 1.

    PCE reflects changes in the prices of goods and services purchased by consumers in the United States. The Fed believes the measure is more accurate than CPI because it accounts for a wider range of purchases from a broader range of buyers.

    Core PCE climbed by 5.1% on an annual basis in September, higher than the August rate of 4.9% but below the consensus estimate of 5.2%, per Refinitiv.

    Housing: The housing market has been deeply impacted by the Fed’s efforts to fight inflation, and is one of the first areas of the economy to show signs of cooling.

    The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.95% last week, up from 3.09% just a year ago, and elevated borrowing costs are leading to a decline in demand.

    “The housing market was very overheated for the couple of years after the pandemic as demand increased and rates were low,” said Powell on Wednesday. “We do understand that that’s really where a very big effect of our policies is.”

    October’s new and existing home sales numbers, due on November 18 and 23, will show the continued impact of that policy ahead of the next meeting.

    The US economy is still standing strong in the face of rising interest rates, but things are softening much more quickly across the pond.

    The United Kingdom will face hard economic times and elevated interest rates well into next year, officials warned this week.

    The Bank of England raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point on Thursday, the biggest hike in 33 years, as it attempts to fight soaring inflation.

    But the bank also issued a stark warning. It said that economic output is already contracting and that it expects a recession to continue through the first half of 2024 “as high energy prices and materially tighter financial conditions weigh on spending.”

    A two-year recession would be longer than the one that followed the 2008 global financial crisis, though the Bank of England said that any declines in GDP heading into 2024 would likely be relatively small.

    The central bank also doesn’t think inflation will start to fall back until next year. That will require more interest rate hikes in the coming months, warned policymakers.

    Elon Musk has been busy over at Twitter HQ. Aside from tweeting and deleting a conspiracy theory, he’s talked about implementing some big changes at his $44 billion acquisition. Here’s what’s happened so far:

    Layoffs begin: Elon Musk began laying off Twitter employees on Friday morning, according to a memo sent to staff. The email sent Thursday evening notified employees that they will receive a notice by 12 p.m. ET Friday that informs them of their employment status.

    The email added that “to help ensure the safety” of employees and Twitter’s systems, the company’s offices “will be temporarily closed and all badge access will be suspended.”

    Twitter had around 7,500 employees prior to Musk’s takeover.

    Several Twitter employees have already filed a class action lawsuit claiming that the layoffs violate the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.

    The WARN Act requires any company with over 100 employees to give 60 days’ written notice if it intends to cut 50 jobs or more at a “single site of employment.”

    Consolidating strength: In less than a week since Musk acquired Twitter, the company’s C-suite appears to have almost entirely cleared out, through a mix of firings and resignations.

    Twitter’s board of directors was also dissolved last week, according to a securities filing.

    The company filing states that all previous members of Twitter’s board, including recently ousted CEO Parag Agrawal and chairman Bret Taylor, are no longer directors “in accordance with the terms of the merger agreement.” That makes Musk, according to the filing, “the sole director of Twitter.”

    Cashing blue checks’ checks: Musk on Tuesday said he planned to charge $8 a month for Twitter’s subscription service, called “Twitter Blue,” with the promise to let anyone pay to receive a coveted blue check mark to verify their account. That’s a steep haircut from his original plan to charge users $19.99 a month to get or keep a verified account.

    In a tweet, the world’s richest man used an expletive to describe his assessment of “Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark.” He added: “Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.”

    Advertisers hit pause: Elon Musk wrote an open letter to advertisers just hours before cementing his acquisition of Twitter, explaining that he didn’t want the platform to become a “free-for-all hellscape.” But that attempt at reassuring the advertising industry, which makes up the vast majority of Twitter’s business, doesn’t appear to be working.

    General Mills

    (GIS)    , Mondelez International

    (MDLZ)    , Pfizer

    (PFE)     and Audi

    (AUDVF)     have reportedly joined a growing list of companies hitting pause on their Twitter advertising in the wake of Musk’s acquisition.

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  • Elon Musk’s Twitter informs staff layoffs are set to begin | CNN Business

    Elon Musk’s Twitter informs staff layoffs are set to begin | CNN Business

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    CNN Business
     — 

    Elon Musk will begin laying off Twitter employees on Friday morning, according to a memo sent to staff. The email sent Thursday evening notified employees that they will receive a notice by 12 pm ET Friday that informs them of their employment status.

    “If your employment is not impacted, you will receive a notification via your Twitter email,” a copy of the email obtained by CNN said. “If your employment is impacted, you will receive a notification with next steps via your personal email.”

    The email added that “to help ensure the safety” of employees and Twitter’s systems, the company’s offices “will be temporarily closed and all badge access will be suspended.”

    The email concluded acknowledging that it will be “an incredibly challenging experience to go through” for the workforce.

    The memo comes after news reports that Musk had planned to lay off up to half of the company’s staff after acquiring it last week for $44 billion.

    Twitter had around 7,500 employees prior to Musk’s takeover.

    Musk started his tenure at Twitter by firing CEO Parag Agrawal and two other executives, according to two people familiar with the decision.

    And in less than a week since Musk acquired the company, its C-suite appears to have almost entirely cleared out, through a mix of firings and resignations. Musk has also dissolved Twitter’s former board of directors.

    – Clare Duffy contributed to this report

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  • ‘Tiger King’s’ Joe Exotic describes Atlanta federal prison as ‘bottom of hell’

    ‘Tiger King’s’ Joe Exotic describes Atlanta federal prison as ‘bottom of hell’

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    ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – The infamous reality TV star “Tiger King” Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is now spending time in a cage at the Atlanta federal prison and he isn’t too happy about it.

    In posts to social media, Joe says that senators (Jon) Ossoff and (Raphael) Warnock and (Herschel) Walker are “all lying to you Black Voters of #Georgia because the Animals at the Atlanta #Zoo are living better than your loved ones are in here… .” He also describes the prison as “the bottom of hell.”

    In July, Sen. Ossoff opened hearings into alleged abuses and corruption at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta.

    Ossoff, who is chairman of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, told the panel that a 10-month bipartisan probe uncovered a “harrowing picture of a federal prison in crisis for many years.”

    RELATED: Inmate suicides, sewage backups, non-existent security cited at Atlanta federal pen

    “Conditions for inmates were abusive and inhumane, and should concern all of us who believe in our country’s constitutional traditions, that all people have an Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment and a Sixth Amendment right to counsel,” said Ossoff.

    After the hearings, federal officials nearly emptied the prison and banned several prison staffers.

    Ossoff recently inspected the prison and said that conditions at the prison appear to be improving. He also said it was too soon to declare the prison to be problem-free.

    RELATED: PSI Chair Osoff introduces major bipartisan bill to overhaul prison oversight

    The former 59-year-old zookeeper was sentenced to 22 years in prison in January 2020 after he was convicted to trying to hire two men to kill animal welfare activist and enemy Carole Baskin.

    He was also convicted of killing 5 tigers, selling tiger clubs and falsifying wildlife records.

    It is unknown why Maldonado-Passage is in the Atlanta prison or how long he will be there. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer after he was sentenced but is reportedly in remission. Recent media reports say he has been battling a common variable immunodeficiency and has been sick for the last few months. He was previously imprisoned at the Butner Federal Medical Center in North Carolina, which houses inmates with special needs.

    Atlanta News First received the following statement from the Bureau of Prisons:

    The BOP takes pride in protecting and securing individuals entrusted in our custody, as well as maintaining the safety of correctional staff and the community.  We make every effort to ensure the physical safety of inmates confined to our facilities through a controlled environment that is secure and humane.

    Copyright 2022 WANF. All rights reserved.

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  • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claims her Twitter account has experienced difficulties following feud with Elon Musk

    Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claims her Twitter account has experienced difficulties following feud with Elon Musk

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    Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claimed Wednesday that her Twitter account was experiencing technical issues following an online disagreement with Twitter’s new owner and CEO, Elon Musk.

    The Democratic New York representative alleged Wednesday that her Twitter “mentions/notifications conveniently aren’t working.” She followed up with a second tweet Thursday that claimed that the “Verified” tab of her account, which should be populated with tweets from verified creators, appeared empty. 

    “This is what my app has looked like ever since my tweet upset you yesterday,” she wrote. “What’s good? Doesn’t seem very free speechy to me.”

    The back-and-forth began Tuesday, when Ocasio-Cortez tweeted her distaste that a “billionaire [is] earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that ‘free speech’ is actually a $8/mo subscription plan,” referencing a Musk announcement that the platform was considering charging users for verification status. 

    “Power to the people! Blue for $8/month,” Musk wrote, referring to Twitter’s current blue check mark system as a “lord & peasants system.”

    Musk argued that charging users for their badge would allow the platform a revenue stream with which to reward content creators, and that those shelling out extra money would have access to additional in-app benefits, such as priority in replies, mentions, searches, extended video and audio posting privileges and reduced advertisements. 

    Musk replied to Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet, writing, “Your feedback is appreciated, now pay $8.” 

    Shortly after the exchange, Musk tweeted a photo of a sweatshirt available on Ocasio-Cortez’s website, circling the $58 price tag. Ocasio-Cortez quote-tweeted the dig, writing, “My workers are union, make a living wage, have full healthcare, and aren’t subject to racist treatment in their workplaces,” referencing lawsuits which have been filed against Tesla by Black employees of the company. 

    “Items are made in USA. Team AOC honors and respects working people. You should try it sometime instead of union-busting,” she added. 

    In 2021, the National Labor Relations Board ordered Musk to delete an anti-union tweet, and ordered Tesla to rehire a union supporter who had been fired.

    In her original claim of app-specific difficulties Wednesday, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, “Just a reminder that money will never [buy] your way out of insecurity, folks.”

    Though Musk did not respond directly, his tongue-in-cheek Twitter bio currently reads “Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator.”

    CBS News has reached out to Twitter for comment.

    C Mandler


    1630512655666.jpg

    C Mandler is a social media producer and trending content writer in New York, focusing on LGBTQ+ issues.

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  • General Mills, Audi pause Twitter ads, will evaluate site

    General Mills, Audi pause Twitter ads, will evaluate site

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    NEW YORK — General Mills and Audi are the latest big advertisers to pause ads on Twitter as questions swirl about how the social media platform will operate under new owner Elon Musk.

    Spokesperson Kelsey Roemhildt on Thursday confirmed the move by the Minneapolis-based maker of food brands such as Cheerios and Annie’s macaroni and cheese.

    “As always, we will continue to monitor this new direction and evaluate our marketing spend,” she said.

    Audi spokesperson Whaewon Choi-Wiles said the German automaker is pausing ads and “will continue to evaluate the situation.”

    Advertisers are concerned about whether content moderation will remain as stringent under Musk — a self-described “free speech absolutist” — as it has been, and whether staying on Twitter might tarnish their brands.

    Shortly before taking over the San Francisco company last week, Musk issued a vow to advertisers that he would not allow Twitter to become a “free-for-all hellscape,” an indication there would still be consequences for violators of its rules against harassment, violence, or election and COVID-related misinformation.

    But since then some users have posted racial slurs and recirculated long-debunked conspiracy theories in an apparent attempt to see if the site’s policies were still being enforced. The NAACP said this week it has expressed to Musk its concerns about “the dangerous, life-threatening hate and conspiracies that have proliferated on Twitter” under his watch.

    Last week, General Motors announced that it had temporarily paused its Twitter advertising while it works to “understand the direction of the platform.” GM described the pause as a normal step it takes when a media platform undergoes significant change.

    IPG Mediabrands sent a recommendation to clients on Monday that they pause advertising on Twitter for a week until more clarity emerges about brand safety on the site, according a person who had seen the recommendation.

    Other big Twitter advertisers like Warner Discovery, Coca-Cola and Nestle did not respond to requests for comment about their advertising plans.

    Some could evaluate their plans after Twitter’s new “content moderation council” meets. Musk has said he will not reinstate any accounts or make major content decisions before it is convened. No date has been announced for that meeting.

    About 90% of Twitter’s revenue comes from advertisers but it’s far from the biggest platform that advertisers turn to for digital marketing. Google, Amazon and Meta account for about 75% of digital ads, with all other platforms combined making up the other 25%.

    Twitter will account for 0.9% of worldwide digital ad spending in 2022, according to projections by Insider Intelligence. Meta will account for 21.4% in 2022.

    Twitter has lost most of its top executives in the past week, including the one in charge of advertising sales.

    Sarah Personette, the site’s chief customer officer, tweeted earlier this week that she resigned on Friday from Twitter and her work access was officially cut off Monday night. Days earlier, she said she had a “great discussion” with Musk and expressed optimism about the company’s future. In announcing her resignation Tuesday, she said she still believes Twitter’s new administration understands the importance of upholding the “brand safety” standards she sought to champion.

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  • Paypal drops on light revenue forecast for Q4

    Paypal drops on light revenue forecast for Q4

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    The PayPal logo displayed on a smartphone screen with a stock market graphic in the background.

    Omar Marques | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images

    PayPal shares fell more than 5% in after-hours trading, despite beating earnings and revenue expectations for the third quarter, as the company’s Q4 revenue estimate came in behind analysts’ expectations.

    Here’s what PayPal reported:

    • Earnings per share (EPS): $1.08 per share, ex-items, vs. 96 cents expected, according to a Refinitiv survey of analysts
    • Revenue: $6.85 billion, vs. $6.82 billion expected, according to Refinitiv

    The company estimated Q4 revenues to come in at $7.38 billion, which is less than the $7.74 billion consensus expectations, according to analysts surveyed by Refinitiv

    PayPal raised EPS guidance for the full fiscal year, saying it’s benefited from “ongoing productivity initiatives.” It expects to add 8 to 10 million net new active users in the fiscal year.

    The company said it’s working with Apple to enhance its offerings for PayPal and Venmo, including by letting U.S. merchant customers accept contactless payments through their mobile wallets and adding PayPal and Venmo network-branded credit and debit cards to the Apple Wallet.

    WATCH: Consumer watchdog agency investigating fintech apps after PayPal reverses controversial user policy

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  • Hesitant to Use Social Media for Your Business? Here’s What You’re Missing Out On.

    Hesitant to Use Social Media for Your Business? Here’s What You’re Missing Out On.

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Building an authentic brand through attractive marketing is essential to the success of any business. Social media plays an important role in your marketing strategy. It is one of my favorite topics to talk to business owners about because it is a simple way to step into the life you’ve been dreaming of.

    As an entrepreneur bootstrapping your way to success, your resources are limited. You can funnel time and money into old-school marketing, with its one-dimensional message and limited reach, or you can showcase your dynamic personality in front of your target audience by building an online presence. A world of opportunities suddenly becomes closer than you imagined possible.

    You might be hesitant to use social media for your business. The thought of making videos or dancing to the latest trending song makes you roll your eyes a little. There’s already a lot on your plate, and you can’t imagine how adding this to your growing to-do list will benefit you. Besides, isn’t social media just meant for entertainment?

    The answer is yes … but that’s perfect for your business.

    Related: The Business of Harnessing the Power of Social Media

    Connect with your audience

    Most people run to social media to escape life for a hot second and dive into a world that’s a little more fun. The great news is that you can leverage the users’ intent for your own brand benefit by creating content that is fun and exciting to watch. The content should be on-brand for your company but also infuse an energy that captivates the audience in a fun way so they can get educated on what it is you do without getting bored and scrolling away forever.

    Just as with any other aspect of your business, to be successful on social media you must be genuine. It’s not about making up a phony persona based on what you think people what to see. Trending dances make quick entertainment, but if that doesn’t speak of your brand message and showcase your true self, then don’t waste your time. People want to connect with people they know, like and trust. Build that first, and the business opportunities will follow. That’s where the gold lies for entrepreneurs.

    Related: 3 Tips for Building Your Personal Brand on Social Media

    What kind of content should you post?

    Be intentional with your message on social platforms. Take the time to really build out content that is thoughtful and aligns with your brand values. Even thread some personal content in about your goals, mistakes and life behind the scenes to help your audience see who you really are and what you (and therefore your brand) stand for.

    If the thought of making a plan seems overwhelming, just know this: I didn’t have a plan when I first started posting on social media, I just got started. Imperfect action is better than no action at all. I did what felt right, wrote from the heart each morning and started out just posting more about my personal life until my brand message became more dialed in. I shared my yoga journey and wasn’t afraid to get a little silly sometimes. Then I threaded in some messaging about my new business ventures. I was surprised at the positive response. People were interested in what I was doing and began asking questions about how they could work with me.

    My followers connected with me because they recognized similarities to their own lives or watched me achieve goals they also wanted for themselves. They began cheering me on, thanking me for sharing my knowledge and wanting to know how they could achieve their own goals. My confidence grew as I got more dialed in on my path. It lit me up to have such a positive impact on people by showing up as myself.

    Related: Social Media Engagement Is Where the Magic Happens for Your Business

    Be yourself

    Energy is contagious! When people see you doing what you love, they want to be a part of it. Let them lean into you by seeing who you are and understanding what you do. Be you. Talk about what you do and who you are. Keep in mind that it’s not all about making a sale or getting a client. Connect with others without pitching to them. Don’t be afraid to share your genius, it could spark something amazing in yourself and others. The more you lean into people, the more they will lean into you. So, share who you are and what you know without the expectation of a sale, and I guarantee that is exactly how you’ll get more of what you are looking for: Customers who are really excited about and aligned with your brand!

    One last thing: When you start your posting journey on social media, don’t get caught up in the popularity contest. You aren’t there to be popular; you are there to build brand awareness. There are always eyes on you even if your posts aren’t racking up likes or comments, so lead by example. Inspire people by showing them the possibilities. But don’t be afraid to post about the “messy middle,” too. Showing your low moments gives others hope because they see that winners face challenges too. You’ll make connections and open yourself to new opportunities with your willingness to show your vulnerability.

    It’s a big world out there. Seizing opportunities created by the aligned connections I’ve developed through social media has allowed me to expand beyond what I thought was possible. Not just in my business, but in my life!

    You’re not going to go from zero posts to a viral or verified (blue tik) account in a month. Building a personal brand takes time, but it won’t happen until you get started. If you’re hesitant to use social platforms to build your business, go slowly at first to establish a habit. Think about what excites you. Commit to posting once a day about something that really lights your fire. Once you’ve gained traction, keep expanding.

    Show up as your genuine self to cut through the marketing noise. Your unique energy is the foundation to create a brand with the most meaningful impact. Give yourself the chance to shine, and watch the magic happen!

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    Jessica Dennehy

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  • Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets each to donate $500,000 to anti-hate organizations; NBA star takes ‘responsibility’ for negative impact of tweets | CNN

    Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets each to donate $500,000 to anti-hate organizations; NBA star takes ‘responsibility’ for negative impact of tweets | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets announced on Wednesday that they will both donate $500,000 towards anti-hate organizations after the point guard tweeted a documentary deemed to be antisemitic last week.

    In a joint statement between Irving, Nets and the Anti-Defamation League – a “nonprofit organization devoted to fighting antisemitism and all types of hate that undermine justice and fair treatment for every individual” – the 30-year-old said he took “responsibility” for the “negative impact” his post had towards the Jewish community.

    “I oppose all forms of hatred and oppression and stand strong with communities that are marginalized and impacted every day,” Irving said.

    “I am aware of the negative impact of my post towards the Jewish community and I take responsibility. I do not believe everything said in the documentary was true or reflects my morals and principles.

    “I am a human being learning from all walks of life and I intend to do so with an open mind and a willingness to listen. So from my family and I, we meant no harm to any one group, race or religion of people, and wish to only be a beacon of truth and light.”

    Irving was condemned last week by, among others, Nets owner Joe Tsai and the NBA for tweeting a link to the 2018 movie “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America.”

    The movie is based on Ronald Dalton’s book of the same name, which has been blasted as being antisemitic by civil rights groups.

    Earlier this week, NBA analyst and Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said he thought the league “dropped the ball” on Irving and that he believed Irving should have been suspended.

    On Tuesday, when asked why Irving had not been disciplined for his actions, Nets general manager Sean Marks told reporters: “I think we are having these discussions behind the scenes.

    “I honestly don’t want to really get into those right now. … Really just trying to weigh out exactly what the best course of action is here.”

    NBA Commissioner Adam Silver says he is “disappointed” with Irving after the guard did not offer an apology nor denounce the “harmful content contained in the film he chose to publicize.” Silver will meet with Irving in the next week, the commissioner said in a statement Thursday.

    “Kyrie Irving made a reckless decision to post a link to a film containing deeply offensive antisemitic material,” Silver said. “While we appreciate the fact that he agreed to work with the Brooklyn Nets and the Anti-Defamation League to combat antisemitism and other forms of discrimination, I am disappointed that he has not offered an unqualified apology and more specifically denounced the vile and harmful content contained in the film he chose to publicize.”

    Irving was not made available to the media on Monday or Tuesday following Nets games on those days.

    The joint statement said the donations were made to “eradicate hate and intolerance in our communities.”

    “This is an effort to develop educational programming that is inclusive and will comprehensively combat all forms of antisemitism and bigotry,” the statement read.

    Jonathan Greenblatt, the Anti-Defamation League CEO, said: “At a time when antisemitism has reached historic levels, we know the best way to fight the oldest hatred is to both confront it head-on and also to change hearts and minds.

    “With this partnership, ADL will work with the Nets and Kyrie to open dialogue and increase understanding.

    Irving talks with now-former head coach Steve Nash during a game against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, January 21, 2022.

    “At the same time, we will maintain our vigilance and call out the use of anti-Jewish stereotypes and tropes – whatever, whoever, or wherever the source – as we work toward a world without hate.”

    Kanye West, who has been criticized following antisemitic remarks on social media and in interviews, showed his support for Irving, tweeting a picture of the guard on Thursday.

    Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has previously said Jewish people have too much control over the business world.

    He threatened in a Twitter post to “Go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” He also ranted in an Instagram post about Ari Emanuel, CEO of the talent agency Endeavor, referencing “business” people when he clearly meant Jews.

    Last Friday, he told paparazzi that his mental health issues had been misdiagnosed by a Jewish doctor, made reference to Jewish ownership of media and compared Planned Parenthood to the Holocaust.

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  • Miss Puerto Rico, Miss Argentina announce they are married

    Miss Puerto Rico, Miss Argentina announce they are married

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    HAVANA — Two former beauty queens, Fabiola Valentín of Puerto Rico and Mariana Valera of Argentina, announced this week that they had secretly married.

    The joint Instagram post spurred celebration in LGBTQ communities across Latin America, a region that has historically lagged on gay rights but has made small steps in recent years.

    “After deciding to keep our relationship private, we’re opening the doors on this special day, 28/10/22,” Valentín and Valera said in their announcement posted Sunday.

    The post includes a video montage of their relationship, including the two on vacations, at bars and on the beach at sunset. There is a view of gold and silver balloons reading “Marry me?” and the two together after the proposal.

    The video ends with Valentín and Valera dressed in white kissing outside the courthouse in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

    Once barred in the U.S. territory, same-sex marriage became legal in Puerto Rico in 2015 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled such bans unconstitutional. In 2020, new codes came into place on the island adding additional LGBTQ protections.

    The two women met at the Miss Grand International competition in Thailand in 2020, where they represented their countries. They continued to post on social media together since.

    The marriage announcement was met with a swell of celebration on social media, which the couple responded to with enthusiam.

    “Thank you for all the love! We’re very happy and joyful,” wrote Valera. “I am sending you all back the love you are giving us.”

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