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Tag: X

  • Elon Musk Settles Case With Former Twitter Employees Who Were Purged

    Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) has reportedly reached a legal settlement with former Twitter workers who sued the platform after the billionaire bought it and fired them all. The settlements come after a longstanding effort by the platform to resist any sort of payout.

    Most of us remember the shock and awe of 2022, when Musk, the world’s richest man, decided he had to own one of the internet’s most popular websites. Elon’s hostile takeover of the Bird app led to much rancor within the organization, followed by a massive purge of the company’s leadership and lower ranks. Nearly 6,000 staffers were culled from the company in the wake of Musk’s takeover.

    Many of those pissed off former employees ultimately pooled their resources and launched a class-action lawsuit in 2023 that accused the company of owing them some $500 million in severance payouts. The litigation was filed by Courtney McMillian, who had previously overseen Twitter’s employee benefits programs before her own layoff, Reuters writes.

    Well, this week, the social media site moved to settle with those former staffers, the New York Times reports. It’s unclear what the terms of the settlement are, the newspaper notes. Another legal case along similar lines is also being settled, it writes:

    The company also reached a settlement agreement with more than 2,000 former employees who were fighting for severance in arbitration cases, according to terms communicated to former workers on Thursday, two people familiar with the case said. That settlement amount, which has not been made public, would cover almost all of the severance payments for workers involved in the case, including interest, the people said.

    Yet another legal case with former senior Twitter executives is ongoing, the outlet writes. Gizmodo reached out to X for comment.

    At this point, Musk’s procurement of Twitter feels like ancient history. So many things have happened between then and now. In the interim, Musk has gone on to use the platform to help get Donald Trump elected president, become an “unofficial” part of Trump’s cabinet, and launch DOGE. Then he flamed out, left the cabinet, and proceeded to use the platform to tar Trump and link him to Jeffrey Epstein. Even the ongoing resistance to calling the website “X” (for a long time afterward, many of us still referred to the site as “Twitter”) seems to have mostly faded.

    Lucas Ropek

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  • 5 dead, dozens injured after tour bus with about 50 people crashes in New York State, officials say

    A vacation to Niagara Falls ended in tragedy on Friday as a tour bus with about 50 passengers heading back to New York City crashed into a ditch, killing five people and injuring dozens.Officials believe most of the passengers were not wearing a seat belt, as multiple people were also ejected from the bus, which sustained heavy damage in the incident, said New York State Police spokesperson James O’Callaghan.“We believe there is a child that is a fatality,” he said.And translators are headed to the scene to assist police in the investigation, as most of the passengers were Indian, Chinese or Filipino, he said at a news conference.Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo received 24 patients and 20 are being treated, it confirmed at a Friday afternoon news conference.Video below: NY State Police Trooper James O’ Callaghan discusses bus crashAs the investigation unfolds, it’s not yet clear why the crash took place, O’Callaghan said, but he added authorities have a “good idea” of what caused the bus to roll over after losing control, without offering further details.The bus was driving at full speed and did not hit any other vehicles, but lost control from the median onward, O’Callaghan said.Helicopters, ambulances and law enforcement swarmed the crash site, where the bus was seen on its side with many people gathered around it.A list of the passengers provided by the bus company confirms there were 52 people on board, including the driver, police said in a statement.“Several witnesses observed the bus lose control, enter the median, then cross to the southern shoulder and overturn,” the state police said in a news release.The state’s department of transportation is trying to help people get off the interstate as some remain stranded due to the incident, O’Callaghan said. The state Thruway is currently closed in both directions near the crash site, state police say.“It’s a very volatile scene. We have vehicles going the wrong way on the 90,” he said, describing the area as “highly traveled.”The driver is “alive and well” and working with authorities, O’Callaghan said, and some victims were taken to the Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York.New York Gov. Kathy Hochul described the crash as “tragic” and said first responders are “working to rescue and provide assistance to everyone involved” in a post on X.CNN has contacted the U.S. embassies for the Philippines, China and India for comment.

    PEMBROKE, N.Y. —

    A vacation to Niagara Falls ended in tragedy on Friday as a tour bus with about 50 passengers heading back to New York City crashed into a ditch, killing five people and injuring dozens.

    Officials believe most of the passengers were not wearing a seat belt, as multiple people were also ejected from the bus, which sustained heavy damage in the incident, said New York State Police spokesperson James O’Callaghan.

    “We believe there is a child that is a fatality,” he said.

    And translators are headed to the scene to assist police in the investigation, as most of the passengers were Indian, Chinese or Filipino, he said at a news conference.

    Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo received 24 patients and 20 are being treated, it confirmed at a Friday afternoon news conference.

    Video below: NY State Police Trooper James O’ Callaghan discusses bus crash

    As the investigation unfolds, it’s not yet clear why the crash took place, O’Callaghan said, but he added authorities have a “good idea” of what caused the bus to roll over after losing control, without offering further details.

    The bus was driving at full speed and did not hit any other vehicles, but lost control from the median onward, O’Callaghan said.

    Helicopters, ambulances and law enforcement swarmed the crash site, where the bus was seen on its side with many people gathered around it.

    A list of the passengers provided by the bus company confirms there were 52 people on board, including the driver, police said in a statement.

    “Several witnesses observed the bus lose control, enter the median, then cross to the southern shoulder and overturn,” the state police said in a news release.

    The state’s department of transportation is trying to help people get off the interstate as some remain stranded due to the incident, O’Callaghan said. The state Thruway is currently closed in both directions near the crash site, state police say.

    “It’s a very volatile scene. We have vehicles going the wrong way on the 90,” he said, describing the area as “highly traveled.”

    The driver is “alive and well” and working with authorities, O’Callaghan said, and some victims were taken to the Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York.

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul described the crash as “tragic” and said first responders are “working to rescue and provide assistance to everyone involved” in a post on X.

    CNN has contacted the U.S. embassies for the Philippines, China and India for comment.

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  • Musk’s X reaches tentative settlement with former Twitter workers in $500 million lawsuit

    SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Elon Musk’s X has reached a tentative settlement with former employees of the company then known as Twitter who’d sued for $500 million in severance pay.

    Associated Press

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  • An Account Using the Same Name as Trump’s BLS Pick Posted Red-Pilled Conspiracy Theories

    The account was active at least between September 2019 and January 2021, and had the username @PhDofbombsaway. It used several different screen names, including “Dr. Erwin J. Antoni III” and “Dr. Curtis LeMay,” an apparent reference to the US Air Force general who oversaw a campaign of firebombing Japan in World War II, promoted the use of nuclear weapons, and ran for the vice presidency alongside segregationist George Wallace in 1968. The account’s profile picture was a stock image of a fiery mushroom cloud.

    The account’s persona was that of a deeply loyal Trump supporter engaging in conspiracy theories ranging from Covid denialism to attacks on Black Lives Matter, and even ones related to the death of Jeffrey Epstein. The posting, which was infused with a deeply hard-line Catholic worldview, at times displayed misogyny and a knowledge of Nazi military techniques.

    The account posted a mixture of conspiracy theories and pro-Trump MAGA content, sharing a veritable who’s who of right-wing influencer accounts, including Jack Posobiec, Mark Dice, James O’Keefe, Scott Adams, Cassandra MacDonald, Steven Crowder, James Woods and Robby Starbuck.

    Throughout 2020, the account shared Covid conspiracy theories, especially focusing on the claims that China had purposely manufactured the virus to destroy its enemies.

    In February 2020, responding to a posting asking how many nuclear bombs America should drop on China if it turns out the country was responsible for Covid-19, the account—which was using the “Dr. Curtis LeMay” screen name, according to captures from the Internet Archive—wrote “All the bombs—trust me, I’m kind of the expert on this.”

    The account posted a wide variety of conspiratorial content, as well as misogynistic content. In November 2019, for example, the person controlling the account claimed that Jeffrey Epstein “didn’t kill himself.” That same month, in response to a post about then presidential candidate Kamala Harris, they wrote, “She does her best work when life brings her to her knees.”

    But the account was most consistently vocal in its embrace of the conspiracy theory that Joe Biden stole the 2020 presidential election.

    In the days after the November 3, 2020, election, the account posted hundreds of times as it fully embraced numerous conspiracy theories about how the vote had been rigged.

    While citing dozens of different GOP lawmakers, Trump himself, and far-right influencers like Phillip Buchanan, the right-wing internet troll known as Catturd, the account most frequently shared claims of election conspiracies from an account called Election Wizard.

    That account was run by Travis Vernier, a former Oklahoma City police officer who had no experience in assessing election data. Despite this, Election Wizard became one of the most influential voices in the Stop the Steal movement, to the point that Vernier was even invited to Mar-a-Lago for Trump’s 2022 announcement that he was running for president again.

    As well as sharing conspiracy theories, the account bearing Antoni’s name repeatedly used violent rhetoric to declare how far it was willing to go to ensure Trump secured a second term in office.

    David Gilbert

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  • X Says It Has Begun Rolling Out Controversial Change to Block Function

    X Says It Has Begun Rolling Out Controversial Change to Block Function

    X, formerly known as Twitter, says it has begun rolling out a controversial change to its block function. Now when users block someone else, the blocked user will still be able to visit their profile and see their posts, but won’t be able to interact with them in any direct way.

    The change has received a strong negative reaction, with critics saying it will only make it easier for stalkers, abusive ex partners, and others to continue to monitor and prey on their targets. Block users could attacks their targets by screenshotting their posts and encouraging followers to go after them them.

    When X announced the change back in October, it said that it was doing so because some users would block others in order to share harmful information about them without it being noticed by the person they have blocked too quickly. “Today, block can be used by users to share and hide harmful or private information about those they’ve blocked. Users will be able to see if such behavior occurs with this update, allowing for greater transparency.”

    X announced on Saturday that the change is now rolling out, and many replies express displeasure, a common reply repeated by many users being that “Nobody asked for this.”

    To be fair, when somebody is blocked on X, they can still visit their target’s profile from another account. But it’s an added friction and this change seems on its surface like it would just make a harasser’s life easier.

    Other X changes that initially met resistance have since been accepted, most notably the company’s decision to hide who has liked a post. After X made the change, many noted it made them feel comfortable to like sensitive content free of judgement. High profile figures have been embarrassed over the years by their like history, such as when it was discovered that Senator Ted Cruz had liked a short clip from a Reality Kings porno called “Dick For Two.” Ironically though, X’s justification that changing the block feature to show content will add more transparency contradicts its move to hide likes for the opposite reason.

    Some have pointed out changing the block feature in such a way might violate Apple and Google’s guidelines on social media apps that are available in their respective stores. Apple’s guidelines specifically state that apps must have “the ability to block abusive users from the service.” Apple seems to have a somewhat friendly relationship with X under Elon Musk’s ownership however; it was early to resume advertising on the platform, for instance.

    At this point, it remains to be seen how much impact this change will have on users’ experience on X. Competing platforms including Bluesky and Threads, of course, have gained many users since Musk’s takeover, who felt his changes to moderation have made it a more toxic place to be in general. Musk has been heavily posting increasingly more right-wing, incendiary content in the run-up to the presidential election. A recent report from Fortune found that his posts appear in users’ feeds within two sessions, whether they try and find his account or not.

    In response to X’s October announcement of the block change, Bluesky said that its platform would retain the original block functionality. The startup recently announced it has more than 13 million users, while Meta said in a recent earnings call that Threads has more than 275 million.

    Thomas Maxwell

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  • Elon Musk Could Have US Citizenship Revoked If He Lied on Immigration Forms

    Elon Musk Could Have US Citizenship Revoked If He Lied on Immigration Forms

    These questions, says immigration lawyer Ira Kurzban, are asked to see whether an applicant obtained their residence validly, a prerequisite for citizenship. US immigration authorities have, he says, become “very exacting” on this point over the past 10 years.

    The US Citizenship and Immigration Service didn’t respond to an inquiry about whether forms used by its predecessor agency, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, asked exactly these questions at the time Musk would have been using them, but experts say he would have been asked substantively similar questions, as the relevant law hasn’t changed.

    “Those grounds of deportability have been around for decades,” says Yale-Loehr, “and the forms back then probably had similar or identical questions.”

    An immigrant who makes misrepresentations as part of the naturalization process can also face criminal exposure: Under US federal law, making a false statement to or concealing a material fact from the government carries a potential penalty of five years in prison.

    Greg Siskind, a leading immigration attorney, doesn’t disagree that the law as written could expose someone who lied about working without authorization to loss of citizenship, but says that as a practical matter, it may not amount to a material fact.

    “If he had disclosed it, would that have prevented him from getting later immigration benefits?” he asks. “The answer to that is probably no.”

    Siskind nonetheless believes that there are serious questions here about, among other things, the nature of the professional relationship between the Musk brothers. And Musk’s past is highly relevant to the clearances he reportedly holds as a top government contractor with an extensive portfolio of holdings related to national security.

    Even if Musk were found to have violated the law, he would not be summarily deported. “It’s generally quite difficult to revoke someone’s citizenship for relatively minor status violations which occurred decades earlier,” says Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, who adds that this is “a good thing given how easy it can be to violate arcane immigration rules.”

    Under Trump, though, several experts pointed out, the government did far more to denaturalize citizens than it had previously. As Frost wrote in 2019, in the first year and a half of the Trump administration, USCIS opened an office dedicated to denaturalization, investigated thousands of citizens, and reported 95 to the Department of Justice with a recommendation for deportation. (From 1990 to 2017, there was an average of just 11 denaturalization cases per year.)

    Even if USCIS had solid evidence that Musk had broken the law, it would, experts say, not handle the matter administratively, but rather could refer it to a US attorney’s office. Prosecutors, who have broad discretion to take up or decline cases, could then proceed, or not, as they saw fit.

    Many of the open questions here could be cleared up by Musk authorizing the release of his immigration records under the Freedom of Information Act. His lawyer, Spiro, did not respond to a question asking whether he would do so.

    Tim Marchman

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  • Elon Musk’s America PAC Has Created an Election Denial Cesspool on X

    Elon Musk’s America PAC Has Created an Election Denial Cesspool on X

    For months, billionaire and X owner Elon Musk has used his platform to share election conspiracy theories that could undermine faith in the outcome of the 2024 election. Last week, the political action committee (PAC) Musk backs took it a step further, launching a group on X called the Election Integrity Community. The group has nearly 50,000 members and says that it is meant to be a place where users can “share potential incidents of voter fraud or irregularities you see while voting in the 2024 election.”

    In practice, it is a cesspool of election conspiracy theories, alleging everything from unauthorized immigrants voting to misspelled candidate names on ballots. “It’s just an election denier jamboree,” says Paul Barrett, deputy director of the Center for Business and Human Rights at New York University, who authored a recent report on how social media facilitates political violence.

    Since endorsing former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump following the first assassination attempt against him in July, Musk has become one of Trump’s most important financial backers, pouring more than $100 million into the America PAC since July. The PAC has also been a pillar of the Trump campaign’s ground game in swing states. WIRED reporting found that Blitz Canvassing, a contractor for the PAC, was threatening canvassers in Michigan, and transporting them in U-Hauls.

    Earlier in October, Musk appeared at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he repeated false claims that Democrats would allow undocumented immigrants to vote illegally, and encouraged Trump’s supporters to vote.

    In January 2021, the company then known as Twitter banned Trump’s account for incitement to violence during the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. But since taking over and rebranding it as X, Musk has fired many of the people on the teams that worked to keep mis- and disinformation off the platform. Last year, X fired much of what remained of its elections integrity team. After the news broke, Musk posted on X, saying, “Oh you mean the ‘Election Integrity’ Team that was undermining election integrity? Yeah, they’re gone.”

    Barrett says that the America PAC’s Election Integrity Community group augments the work of other election-denying groups, like former Trump adviser Cleta Mitchell’s Election Integrity Network. “This is a parallel anti-election, anti-democracy campaign designed to sow confusion and lay the groundwork for baseless objections to elections after Election Day. This is going on all across the country, and it’s extremely dangerous,” says Barrett. “And we’re going to see the results of it almost immediately when the polls close on November 5th.”

    Vittoria Elliott

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  • X Marks Their Final (?) Houston Spot At White Oak Music Hall

    X Marks Their Final (?) Houston Spot At White Oak Music Hall

    X
    White Oak Music Hall
    October 21, 2024

    What more can you say about X? As venerable an institution as exists in punk rock music — or hell, punk rock … or hell, *music*. The celebrated Los Angeles punk outfit returned to Houston with their original lineup — John Doe, Exene Cervenka, Billy Zoom, and D.J. Bonebrake — and their fiercely independent aesthetic for the third time in five years.

    When your debut album (1977’s Los Angeles) is still regarded as one of the greatest records of the 20th century, one could rightly expect some aloofness, but they still play shows to a few hundred folks, like last night at White Oak Music Hall (hell, Zoom still comes out and sets up his own pedal rig). Because that’s what they do.

    Or did, because to hear Doe tell it, this tour, supporting their latest release (Smoke & Fiction), will be last of its kind. Already tagged as the band’s final studio album, S&F also marks the end of X’s grueling schedule playing to (mostly) clubs and dragging their asses around in vans 75-80 times a year.

    But don’t take my word for it, just read Glady Fuentes’s excellent interview with Doe from last week. And while it’s true for many groups (Kiss, Mötley Crüe, The Eagles, Kiss again, Mötley Crüe again), we have no reason not to believe him. 47 years for any band, even one occasionally derided for being “too poetic” for punk, is a hell of run.

    Seen live, they’re a band of few words, ripping through opening numbers that pulled from all over their catalog (but leaning heavily on 1981’s Wild Gift (“Adult Books,” “White Girl,” “In The House That I Call Home”) with no chit chat. The first words I recall were offered when Cervenka introduced “Ruby Church.”

    click to enlarge

    Still Zoomin’.

    Photo by Violeta Alvarez

    Those new songs, like “Church” and “Sweet Til the Bitter End,” are classic X: hard-driving guitars, thundering drums, and Cervenka and Doe wailing with their distinctive harmonies. On the other hand, “Flipside” recalls the melodic efforts of See How We Are.

    Cervenka eschewed her usual sundress for patched jeans and an X hoodie, while Doe will always look like a gas station attendant from a Jim Jarmusch movie. Bonebrake sported a porkpie hat like your hipster uncle, and Zoom’s sartorial transition into Colonel James from Boogie Nights is almost complete.

    The banter increased some as the show rolled on. Doe and Exene reminisced about their first Houston appearance — at Numbers, as it turns out. Doe asked who in the crowd had heard of Numbers, which … come on (!). Apparently the marquee read “X Featuring Exene,” which led to supposition that they were performing at a strip club.

    Hardly a rare sight in Houston in 1981.

    It was a short set, owing as much to the breakneck nature of their songs (Smoke & Fiction clocks in at 28 minutes in its entirety) as to the band’s advancing age. Zoom, as in other recent gigs, played while seated, and Exene exited the stage a couple times; once during “The Hungry Wolf,” which was a good place for a Bonebrake drum solo. Not to be confused with his vibraphone solo during the encore, or the Billy Zoom sax solos (“Come Back To Me” and “I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts”).

    But the high point for me was Exene and Doe coming out to perform (after some brief mic issues) “See How We Are.” The title track of a 1987 album that — frankly — didn’t get a lot of love, thanks to its emphasis on American over aggro. It’s poignant, direct, and has always meant a lot to me.

    If this does turn out to be X’s last pass through Houston, they’ve done all right by us. Recent years have demonstrated pretty brutally that there’s no permanence in anything, and those things we cling to — music, art, friends and family — fall away in time. We’re lucky to have as many memories of Mme. Cervenka et MM. Doe, Zoom, and Bonebrake as we do.

    And if they swing back through here in 2026, forget I said anything.

    click to enlarge

    Doe!

    Photo by Violeta Alvarez

    Personal Bias: Despite possessing several “X” T-shirts, I was not That Guy last night.

    The Crowd: Punk’s not dead, but it definitely has a curfew.

    Overheard in The Crowd: “I was at that Numbers show.” “No you weren’t.”

    Random Notebook Dump: “Nausea” still has the desired(?) effect of making me queasy.

    SET LIST
    Your Phone’s Off the Hook, But You’re Not
    In This House That I Call Home
    Because I Do
    I’m Coming Over
    Adult Books
    Water & Wine
    Sweet Til the Bitter End
    White Girl
    Beyond and Back
    Ruby Church
    The New World
    The Hungry Wolf
    Smoke & Fiction
    Flipside
    Breathless (Otis Blackwell cover)
    Los Angeles
    Nausea
    Johny Hit and Run Paulene
    Motel Room in My Bed
    Soul Kitchen (Doors cover)

    ENCORE
    See How We Are (Exene and John Doe acoustic)
    Come Back to Me
    I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts

    Pete Vonder Haar

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  • Elon Musk’s PAC Is Buying Ads for Donald Trump on Elon Musk’s X

    Elon Musk’s PAC Is Buying Ads for Donald Trump on Elon Musk’s X

    The Elon Musk–backed America PAC has spent thousands of dollars advertising on the Elon Musk–owned social media platform X to support former president Donald Trump’s campaign. According to X’s political ad disclosure data, between July 8 and October 1 the America PAC ran 59 ads, costing more than $166,000 and yielding, per X’s metrics, 32,058,424 impressions. All of the ads targeted swing states: Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, and Wisconsin.

    Musk first endorsed Trump immediately following the attempted assassination against the former president in July in Butler, Pennsylvania. Since then, Musk has said he is “all in” on his support for Trump, and appeared at a second rally in Butler earlier this month. “This election is the most important election of our lifetime,” said Musk at the time. “This is no ordinary election.” It was one part of Musk’s—and the America PAC’s—efforts to turn out voters for Trump in swing states.

    The America PAC has been a driving force behind voter mobilization for the Trump campaign, developing an app to help canvassers target likely voters. (The effectiveness of this strategy remains to be seen, with canvassers reportedly faking voter contacts at scale.) The PAC has offered $47 to any swing state voters who would agree to sign a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments. Musk has also said he will give out $1 million a day to voters who sign the petition, in a move election law expert Rick Hasen described as “clearly illegal.”

    Federal Election Commission filings released last week revealed that Musk has funneled $75 million into the PAC since July, dwarfing other Silicon Valley donors who back the former president. Musk has also donated to the Building America’s Future PAC, which has run anti–Kamala Harris ads aiming to dissuade Black and Muslim voters, particularly in swing states.

    Musk has also used his ownership of X to further promote Trump. In August, Musk sat down with Trump for an interview hosted on X Spaces. He has also promoted and reshared conspiracy theories pedaled by the Trump campaign, including by alleging that the Democratic Party would allow undocumented immigrants to vote in order to win the election.

    In one ad that ran between September 27 and October 1, the post read, “Georgia is filling up with illegal immigrants: In just 3 years, Kamala released more illegal immigrants into our country than almost 3x the population of Atlanta. End Kamala’s Border Chaos and request your ballot for President Trump today.” The ad links to the website votesafe.org, which is paid for by the America PAC and where voters can look up their voter registration status and request ballots.

    All of the PAC’s ads are linked to the @theamericapac X account, which links to the PAC’s website. Before his appearance at Trump’s October rally in Butler, Musk had appropriated the @america handle for the America PAC.

    The America PAC has also invested heavily in ads on Meta’s platforms, Facebook and Instagram, running more than 250 ads in October alone.

    A representative from X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Vittoria Elliott

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  • Will Elon Musk Tip the Election for Trump?

    Will Elon Musk Tip the Election for Trump?

    Leah Feiger: So Trump brings Musk out, he calls him a truly incredible guy. Musk literally jumps into the air on stage, in what was captured in honestly one of the cringiest photos that I’ve seen online maybe this year, and then Musk talks to the crowd for a couple of minutes. What does he say? Talk us through that.

    Vittoria Elliott: It’s such a turn from 2020 when there’s all this suspicion around mail-in ballots, around early voting. Now suddenly we’re hearing, “Make sure you’re registered to vote, vote early, do this, do that, get everyone you know to vote.” There’s this really, really big get out the vote push, and that is what Elon was on. When the assassin’s bullet grazed Trump’s ear, he got up and said, “Fight, fight, fight.” And Musk very consciously said, “Vote, vote, vote.” And everyone in the crowd immediately saw that parallel that-

    Leah Feiger: I mean, he drew it. Yeah.

    Vittoria Elliott: People were very into that, and one of the things that Musk said that got a lot of reaction from the people that I was directly around was he said, “The Second-“

    Elon Musk [Archival audio]: The Second Amendment is there to ensure that we have the First Amendment.

    Vittoria Elliott: He was there to whip up the troops, to really speak to the true believers, to push, push, push for voter turnout, because I think my sense with the way that the MAGA movement is right now is that they understand what the Biden team understood in 2020 where it’s not about converting new people, it’s about getting the people that are already on your team mobilized. He said, “This election is the most important election of our lifetime.” Quite normal. I think I’ve heard every politician say that for the last 20 years, but then he says, “You have to bring everyone you know to vote. If they don’t, this will be-“

    Elon Musk [Archival audio]: This will be the last election. That’s my prediction. Nothing’s more important, nothing’s more important.

    Vittoria Elliott: I even had some people repeat that to me on the way out of the rally, and that is also something he has been very public about saying on X, even before coming to this rally. A lot of times when Musk is speaking publicly or when he’s interviewed, he will tamp back some of the rhetoric that he spreads online. If we think back to the Don Lemon interview, where he was confronted about the great replacement theory, he hedged a little bit on that.

    Leah Feiger

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  • Elon Musk Spoke at a Trump Rally, Referenced ‘Dark MAGA,’ and Urged Supporters to Vote

    Elon Musk Spoke at a Trump Rally, Referenced ‘Dark MAGA,’ and Urged Supporters to Vote

    In Butler, Pennsylvania, a billboard read “In Musk We Trust.” A Tesla Cybertruck parked on the side of the road sported a TRUMP 2024 flag.

    With a month left in the presidential campaign, former president Donald Trump returned to Butler for a rally less than three months after the assassination attempt on Trump’s life that resulted in the death of one rally attendee. This time, Trump was joined by X owner Elon Musk and vice presidential candidate JD Vance.

    “Welcome Back to Butler, Mr. President,” read a message in Trump’s walk-on video.

    When Trump started speaking, the same chart about illegal immigration he was referring to in the moments before the attempted assassination appeared on screen. “And as I was saying,” Trump said. He’d timed this moment so that it took place at precisely 6:11 pm, which was when he was shot in the ear on July 13. He also held a “moment of silence” honoring those who were injured or killed during the assassination attempt in July. Opera singer Christopher Macchio sang Ave Maria, and people in the crowd removed their hats, wiped their eyes, and some even took a knee as Trump looked on solemnly.

    “Over the past eight years, those who want to stop us from achieving this future have slandered me, impeached me, indicted me, tried to throw me off the ballot, and who knows? Maybe even try to kill me,” said Trump, floating the conspiracy theory that the attempted assassination was orchestrated by his political opponents. “12 weeks ago we all took a bullet for America.”

    Trump later invited Musk on stage. The X owner walked on wearing a black blazer over a shirt saying “Occupy Mars” and a black MAGA hat. “As you can see, I’m not just MAGA,” said Musk. “I’m dark MAGA.” Dark MAGA is a memecoin, a type of cryptocurrency inspired by online trends. The valuation of Dark MAGA soared right around the time that Musk spoke.

    Musk repeatedly implored audience members and viewers to register to vote. “This election is the most important election of our lifetime,” said Musk. “This is no ordinary election.”

    He wrapped up his brief speech with an ominous message: “Get everyone you know, and everyone you don’t know, drag them to register to vote,” he said. “If they don’t, this will be the last election. That’s my prediction.”

    Musk’s appearance at Saturday’s rally marked a major benchmark in his political evolution. Following the assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Musk posted on X that he had decided to “fully endorse” the former president, and shortly after announced the creation of a political action committee (PAC) to support Trump’s campaign. Musk initially said he would donate $45 million per month to the PAC, though he has since changed his tune. Musk also hosted Trump for a glitchy live conversation on X Spaces in August.

    Musk was previously an Obama, Clinton and Biden voter who donated to politicians on both sides of the aisle but touted himself as someone who generally tried to stay out of politics. At a 2015 Vanity Fair event, Musk said he hoped Trump wouldn’t clinch the Republican nomination for president because “that wouldn’t be good” and “would be a bit embarrassing.” He also told CNBC that he didn’t believe Trump had the “sort of character that reflects well on the United States” while voicing support for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s policy platform. In 2017, Musk donated large sums to Republicans, signaling a possible right-ward shift in his political outlook. And in 2020, he bamboozled many of his fans with a cryptic Twitter post: “Take the Red Pill.”

    Vittoria Elliott, Tess Owen

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  • X reportedly paid its Brazil fines to the wrong bank, causing further delay in reinstatement case

    X reportedly paid its Brazil fines to the wrong bank, causing further delay in reinstatement case

    Despite the company’s recent decision to abide by the demands of the Brazilian Supreme Court, X still isn’t back online in Brazil — and according to Reuters, that’s at least in part because it paid its fines to the wrong bank. After weeks being banned in Brazil, X in late September named a legal representative for the country as ordered, and took down accounts the court accused of spreading misinformation and hate speech. Its final hurdle was to pay off the fines that it had racked up, reportedly amounting to roughly $5 million.

    Citing Friday court filings, Reuters reports that X says it’s paid the fines and requested to have services restored. But, Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the funds went to the wrong bank, and the decision will have to wait until they’ve been transferred. X maintains that it paid its fines correctly, according to Reuters. X has been banned in Brazil since the end of August. While the company initially resisted the court’s orders, it recently changed its tune and said it was working with the Brazilian government to get the platform back online in the country.

    Cheyenne MacDonald

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  • Whew! Social Media Reacts After Ari Fletcher Shared THIS Message About Women

    Whew! Social Media Reacts After Ari Fletcher Shared THIS Message About Women

    Social media is weighing in with their opinions after Ari Fletcher recently posted a message sharing her thoughts about women.

    RELATED: Ari Fletcher Says God Is Testing Her For The “Next Level” Amid Her Estranged Friendship With Tuson

    Ari Fletcher Shares THIS Message About Women

    On Monday, September 30, Fletcher took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share a message about herself and an observation she’s made about women.

    “I think was supposed to be a man. Women are too sensitive and unrealistic,” she wrote.

    Social Media Weighs In

    Social media users initially reacted to Fletcher in her comment section on X. Some expressed their disagreement with the mother seemingly finding sensitivity as a negative trait.

    Others shared their agreement with Fletcher.

    Additionally, the conversation continued in The Shade Room’s comment section.

    Instagram user @itsofficialqveen wrote, “I mean I enjoy being a woman ❤️”

    While Instagram user @lovelivesfree added, “Only women who never felt safe enough to be soft and feminine say things like this. They convince themselves they’re so hard when they’ve never been able to be soft. I hope one day she finds a safe place to be a woman who is seen, heard, and in a safe place to be a woman.”

    Instagram user @blxxdsister wrote, “She was definitely supposed to cause men don’t read before posting”

    While Instagram user @iamtiffanylatrice added, “I think you were supposed to be quiet.”

    Instagram user @skyboujee wrote, “What if you was supposed to be the straw ona back of the caprisun”

    While Instagram user @dosesoftia added, “Let’s normalize being a soft strong minded woman instead of wanting to be a 🥷🏽 so bad.”

    Instagram user @m_eazy145 wrote, “Never quite understood the wave of women being Anti-Woman ? What awards are given for that type of labor ?”

    While Instagram user @camdamua added, “saying all women is a reach, there are multiple different types of women out here”

    Ari Fletcher Recently Went Viral

    As The Shade Room previously reported, Fletcher made headlines earlier this month. At the time, the 29-year-old popped out to her celebration event for her brand, Remedy.

    “Forever thankful for this life! Celebrating my 3rd year of my baby @remedybyari,” she wrote on X. 

    At the time, social media users shared various reactions to Fletcher’s celebration ensemble.

    RELATED: Too Much? Social Media Shares Mixed Reactions After Ari Fletcher Wore THIS To Her Recent Brand Event (VIDEOS)

    What Do You Think Roomies?

    Jadriena Solomon

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  • (Media News) Elon Musk’s Stance Against Brazil’s Court Order Proves Costly for X

    (Media News) Elon Musk’s Stance Against Brazil’s Court Order Proves Costly for X

    Elon Musk initially opposed a Brazilian court order, which led to significant financial penalties for X (formerly Twitter). The Brazilian government requested the censorship of accounts promoting false claims that the 2022 election was “stolen.” Musk, who supported ousted President Jair Bolsonaro, resisted the order, claiming it violated free speech. He also criticized Brazilian Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes for making what he described as illegal demands.

    After weeks of being banned in Brazil, X has now complied with the court’s demands and appointed a local representative. However, the company still faces over $5 million in accumulated fines before it can resume operations. The fines include penalties for attempting to bypass the ban.

    While Musk’s stance attempts to demonstrate his commitment to free speech, the financial hit—especially for a company already facing economic challenges—raises questions about whether X should have complied from the start. The situation also prompts broader inquiries about why X selectively complies with government requests from some nations and not others.

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  • X requests it be reinstated in Brazil after complying with judge’s orders, source says

    X requests it be reinstated in Brazil after complying with judge’s orders, source says

    In the high-stakes showdown between the world’s richest man and a Brazilian Supreme Court justice, Elon Musk blinked.Musk’s social media site X has complied with Alexandre de Moraes’ orders and requested its service be reestablished in the country, a source said Thursday.X complied with orders to block certain accounts from the platform, name an official legal representative in Brazil, and pay fines imposed for not complying with earlier court orders, his lawyers said in a petition filed Thursday, according to the source, who is familiar with the document. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.On Saturday, de Moraes ordered the platform to submit additional documentation about its legal representative for court review, which the source said has been done.X was blocked on Aug. 30 in the highly online country of 213 million people, where it was one of X’s biggest markets, with more than 20 million users. De Moraes ordered the shutdown after sparring with Musk for months over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation. The company said at the time that de Moraes’ efforts to block certain accounts were illegal moves to censor “political opponents” and that it would not comply. Musk called the judge an enemy of free speech and a criminal. But de Moraes’ decisions have been repeatedly upheld by his peers — including his nationwide block of X.In a twist, X’s new representative is the same person who held the position before X shuttered its office in Brazil, according to the company’s public filing with the Sao Paulo commercial registry. That happened after de Moraes threatened to arrest the person, Rachel de Oliveira Villa Nova Conceição, if X did not comply with orders to block accounts.In an apparent effort to avoid her getting blamed for potential violations of Brazilian law — and risk arrest — a clause has been written into the representation agreement that any action on the part of X that will result in obligations for her requires prior instruction in writing from the company, according to the company’s filing at the registry.Associated Press emails and calls to her office were not returned. The Supreme Court’s press office has not confirmed receipt of X’s documents, and X did not immediately respond to a request from the AP.An encouraging sign, perhaps motivated by business senseIt’s still early to know whether the feud between X and Brazil’s top court is over, said Bruna Santos, a lawyer and global campaigns manager at nonprofit Digital Action. However, the platform’s decision to appoint a representative indicates the company has entered “a state of good-faith cooperation with Brazilian authorities.”And the fact that Brazilian users migrated in droves to rival platforms BlueSky and Threads may have played into X’s backstep, Santos added.“There must be a genuine concern on the platform that they are losing users, the core users from the early Twitter days, or the loyal ones, who stick around for good,” she said.At a university in Rio de Janeiro, some students told the AP they were heartened by the news.“I used it a lot as a way to search for information and news, and I missed it,” said João Maurício Almeida Raposo, a 19-year-old economics student. He started using Threads, but doesn’t like it.Brazil is not the first country to ban X — far from it — but such a drastic step has generally been limited to authoritarian regimes. The platform and its former incarnation, Twitter, have been banned in Russia, China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Venezuela and Turkmenistan, for instance. Other countries, such as Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt, have also temporarily suspended X before, usually to quell dissent and unrest.X’s dustup with Brazil has some parallels to the company’s dealings with the Indian government three years ago, back when it was still called Twitter and before Musk purchased it for $44 billion. In 2021, India threatened to arrest employees of Twitter (as well as Meta’s Facebook and WhatsApp), for not complying with the government’s requests to take down posts related to farmers’ protests that rocked the country.Speech is more limited in Brazil than in the USUnlike in the U.S., where free speech is baked into the constitution, in Brazil speech is more limited, with restrictions on homophobia and racism, for example, and judges can order sites to remove content. Many of de Moraes’ decisions are sealed from the public and neither he nor X has disclosed the full list of accounts he has ordered blocked, but prominent supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro and far-right activists were among those that X earlier removed from the platform.Some belonged to a network known in Brazil as “digital militias.” They were targeted by a yearslong investigation overseen by de Moraes, initially for allegedly spreading defamatory fake news and threats against Supreme Court justices, and then after Bolsonaro’s 2022 election loss for inciting demonstrations across the country that were seeking to overturn President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s victory.In April, de Moraes included Musk as a target in an ongoing investigation over the dissemination of fake news and opened a separate investigation into the U.S. business executive for alleged obstruction.In that decision, de Moraes noted that Musk began waging a public “disinformation campaign” regarding the top court’s actions, and that Musk continued the following day — most notably with comments that his social media company X would cease to comply with the court’s orders to block certain accounts.Musk, meanwhile, accused de Moraes of suppressing free speech and violating Brazil’s constitution, and noted on X that users could seek to bypass any shutdown of the social media platform by using VPNs. In an unusual move for a democratic country, de Moraes also set exorbitant daily fines for anyone using virtual private networks, or VPNs, to access the platform.X’s defiant stance appears to have softened following the shutdown.On Sept. 18, after X became accessible to some users in Brazil despite the ban, the Government Affairs account posted that this was due to a change in network providers and was “inadvertent and temporary.” But, it added, “we continue efforts to work with the Brazilian government to return very soon for the people of Brazil.”The score is 1-0, but the game isn’t necessarily over, said Carlos Affonso Souza, a lawyer and director of the Institute for Technology and Society, a Rio-based think tank.“The first round ends with a victory for de Moraes, who adopted drastic measures, but which wound up producing the effect of making X do a reversal and comply with orders,” Affonso Souza said.___Ortutay reported from San Francisco. AP videojournalist Mario Lobão contributed from Rio.

    In the high-stakes showdown between the world’s richest man and a Brazilian Supreme Court justice, Elon Musk blinked.

    Musk’s social media site X has complied with Alexandre de Moraes’ orders and requested its service be reestablished in the country, a source said Thursday.

    X complied with orders to block certain accounts from the platform, name an official legal representative in Brazil, and pay fines imposed for not complying with earlier court orders, his lawyers said in a petition filed Thursday, according to the source, who is familiar with the document. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

    On Saturday, de Moraes ordered the platform to submit additional documentation about its legal representative for court review, which the source said has been done.

    X was blocked on Aug. 30 in the highly online country of 213 million people, where it was one of X’s biggest markets, with more than 20 million users. De Moraes ordered the shutdown after sparring with Musk for months over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation. The company said at the time that de Moraes’ efforts to block certain accounts were illegal moves to censor “political opponents” and that it would not comply. Musk called the judge an enemy of free speech and a criminal. But de Moraes’ decisions have been repeatedly upheld by his peers — including his nationwide block of X.

    In a twist, X’s new representative is the same person who held the position before X shuttered its office in Brazil, according to the company’s public filing with the Sao Paulo commercial registry. That happened after de Moraes threatened to arrest the person, Rachel de Oliveira Villa Nova Conceição, if X did not comply with orders to block accounts.

    In an apparent effort to avoid her getting blamed for potential violations of Brazilian law — and risk arrest — a clause has been written into the representation agreement that any action on the part of X that will result in obligations for her requires prior instruction in writing from the company, according to the company’s filing at the registry.

    Associated Press emails and calls to her office were not returned. The Supreme Court’s press office has not confirmed receipt of X’s documents, and X did not immediately respond to a request from the AP.

    An encouraging sign, perhaps motivated by business sense

    It’s still early to know whether the feud between X and Brazil’s top court is over, said Bruna Santos, a lawyer and global campaigns manager at nonprofit Digital Action. However, the platform’s decision to appoint a representative indicates the company has entered “a state of good-faith cooperation with Brazilian authorities.”

    And the fact that Brazilian users migrated in droves to rival platforms BlueSky and Threads may have played into X’s backstep, Santos added.

    “There must be a genuine concern on the platform that they are losing users, the core users from the early Twitter days, or the loyal ones, who stick around for good,” she said.

    At a university in Rio de Janeiro, some students told the AP they were heartened by the news.

    “I used it a lot as a way to search for information and news, and I missed it,” said João Maurício Almeida Raposo, a 19-year-old economics student. He started using Threads, but doesn’t like it.

    Brazil is not the first country to ban X — far from it — but such a drastic step has generally been limited to authoritarian regimes. The platform and its former incarnation, Twitter, have been banned in Russia, China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Venezuela and Turkmenistan, for instance. Other countries, such as Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt, have also temporarily suspended X before, usually to quell dissent and unrest.

    X’s dustup with Brazil has some parallels to the company’s dealings with the Indian government three years ago, back when it was still called Twitter and before Musk purchased it for $44 billion. In 2021, India threatened to arrest employees of Twitter (as well as Meta’s Facebook and WhatsApp), for not complying with the government’s requests to take down posts related to farmers’ protests that rocked the country.

    Speech is more limited in Brazil than in the US

    Unlike in the U.S., where free speech is baked into the constitution, in Brazil speech is more limited, with restrictions on homophobia and racism, for example, and judges can order sites to remove content. Many of de Moraes’ decisions are sealed from the public and neither he nor X has disclosed the full list of accounts he has ordered blocked, but prominent supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro and far-right activists were among those that X earlier removed from the platform.

    Some belonged to a network known in Brazil as “digital militias.” They were targeted by a yearslong investigation overseen by de Moraes, initially for allegedly spreading defamatory fake news and threats against Supreme Court justices, and then after Bolsonaro’s 2022 election loss for inciting demonstrations across the country that were seeking to overturn President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s victory.

    In April, de Moraes included Musk as a target in an ongoing investigation over the dissemination of fake news and opened a separate investigation into the U.S. business executive for alleged obstruction.

    In that decision, de Moraes noted that Musk began waging a public “disinformation campaign” regarding the top court’s actions, and that Musk continued the following day — most notably with comments that his social media company X would cease to comply with the court’s orders to block certain accounts.

    Musk, meanwhile, accused de Moraes of suppressing free speech and violating Brazil’s constitution, and noted on X that users could seek to bypass any shutdown of the social media platform by using VPNs. In an unusual move for a democratic country, de Moraes also set exorbitant daily fines for anyone using virtual private networks, or VPNs, to access the platform.

    X’s defiant stance appears to have softened following the shutdown.

    On Sept. 18, after X became accessible to some users in Brazil despite the ban, the Government Affairs account posted that this was due to a change in network providers and was “inadvertent and temporary.” But, it added, “we continue efforts to work with the Brazilian government to return very soon for the people of Brazil.”

    The score is 1-0, but the game isn’t necessarily over, said Carlos Affonso Souza, a lawyer and director of the Institute for Technology and Society, a Rio-based think tank.

    “The first round ends with a victory for de Moraes, who adopted drastic measures, but which wound up producing the effect of making X do a reversal and comply with orders,” Affonso Souza said.

    ___

    Ortutay reported from San Francisco. AP videojournalist Mario Lobão contributed from Rio.

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  • X’s First Transparency Report Since Elon Musk’s Takeover Is Finally Here

    X’s First Transparency Report Since Elon Musk’s Takeover Is Finally Here

    Today, X released the company’s first transparency report since Elon Musk bought the company, formerly Twitter, in 2022.

    Before Musk’s takeover, Twitter would release transparency reports every six months.These largely covered the same ground as the new X report, giving specific numbers for takedowns, government requests for information, and content removals, as well as data about which content was reported and, in some cases, removed for violating policies. The last transparency report available from Twitter covered the second half of 2021 and was 50 pages long. (X’s is a shorter 15 pages, but requests from governments are also listed elsewhere on the company’s website and have been consistently updated to remain in compliance with various government orders.)

    Comparing the 2021 report to the current X transparency report is a bit difficult, as the way the company measures different things has changed. For instance, in 2021, 11.6 million accounts were reported. Of this 11.6 million, 4.3 million were “actioned” and 1.3 million were suspended. According to the new X report, there were over 224 million reports, of both accounts and pieces of individual content, but the result was 5.2 million accounts being suspended.

    While some numbers remain seemingly consistent across the reports—reports of abuse and harassment are, somewhat predictably, high—in other areas, there’s a stark difference. For instance, in the 2021 report, accounts reported for hateful content accounted for nearly half of all reports, and 1 million of the 4.3 million accounts actioned. (The reports used to be interactive on the website; the current PDF no longer allows users to flip through the data for more granular breakdowns.) In the new X report, the company says it has taken action on only 2,361 accounts for posting hateful content.

    But this may be due to the fact that X’s policies have changed since it was Twitter, which Theodora Skeadas, a former member of Twitter’s public policy team who helped put together its Moderation Research Consortium, says might change the way the numbers look in a transparency report. For instance, last year the company changed its policies on hate speech, which previously covered misgendering and deadnaming, and rolled back its rules around Covid-19 misinformation in November of 2022.

    “As certain policies have been modified, some content is no longer violative. So if you’re looking at changes in the quality of experience, that might be hard to capture in a transparency report,” she says.

    X has also lost users since Musk’s takeover, further complicating what the new reality of the platform might look like. “If you account for changing usage, is it a lower number?” she asks.

    After taking over the company in October of 2022, Musk fired the majority of the company’s trust and safety staff as well as its policy staff, the people who make the platform’s rules and ensure they’re enforced. Under Musk, the company also began charging for its API, making it harder for researchers and nonprofits to access X data to see what was really going on on the platform. This may also account for changes between the two reports.

    Vittoria Elliott

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  • Breathlessness. Unformed facial features. Manipulative. Here’s how to spot a political deepfake

    Breathlessness. Unformed facial features. Manipulative. Here’s how to spot a political deepfake

    You’ve probably seen the word “deepfakes” in the news lately, but are you confident you would be able to spot the difference between real and artificial intelligence-generated content? During the summer, a video of Vice President Kamala Harris saying that she was “the ultimate diversity hire” and “knew nothing about running the country” circulated on social media. Elon Musk, the owner of X, retweeted it. This was, in fact, a deepfake video.By posting it, Musk seemingly ignored X’s own misinformation policies and shared it with his 193 million followers. Although the Federal Communication Commission announced in February that AI-generated audio clips in robocalls are illegal, deepfakes on social media and in campaign advertisements are yet to be subject to a federal ban. A growing number of state legislatures have begun submitting bills to regulate deepfakes as concerns about the spread of misinformation and explicit content heighten on both sides of the aisle. In September, with less than 50 days before the election, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed three bills that target deepfakes directly — one of which takes effect immediately. AB 2839 bans individuals and groups “from knowingly distributing an advertisement or other election material containing deceptive AI-generated or manipulated content.” This ban would take effect 120 days before an election and 60 days after it, an aim at reducing content that may spread misinformation as votes are being counted and certified. “Signing AB 2839 into law is a significant step in continuing to protect the integrity of our democratic process. With fewer than 50 days until the general election, there is an urgent need to protect against misleading, digitally altered content that can interfere with the election,” said Gail Pellerin, the chair of the Assembly Elections Committee.According to Public Citizen, 25 states have now either signed a bill into law that addresses political deepfakes or have a bill that is awaiting the governor’s signature. Do you know how to spot a deepfake?According to cyber news reporter and cybersecurity expert Kerry Tomlinson, “a deepfake is a computer-created image or voice or video of a person, either a person who doesn’t exist but seems real, or a person who does exist, making them do or say something they never actually did or said.”Tomlinson says there are several giveaways to identify a deepfake. Objects and parts of the face, such as earrings, teeth or glasses, may not be fully formed. Pay attention to the breathing. The speaker takes no breaths while speaking. Ask yourself: Is the message potentially harmful or manipulating?Can the information be verified?Ultimately, Tomlinson encourages people to “learn about how attackers are using deepfakes. Learn about how politicians and political parties are using deepfakes. Read about it. It’s as simple as that.”

    You’ve probably seen the word “deepfakes” in the news lately, but are you confident you would be able to spot the difference between real and artificial intelligence-generated content?

    During the summer, a video of Vice President Kamala Harris saying that she was “the ultimate diversity hire” and “knew nothing about running the country” circulated on social media. Elon Musk, the owner of X, retweeted it. This was, in fact, a deepfake video.

    By posting it, Musk seemingly ignored X’s own misinformation policies and shared it with his 193 million followers.

    Although the Federal Communication Commission announced in February that AI-generated audio clips in robocalls are illegal, deepfakes on social media and in campaign advertisements are yet to be subject to a federal ban.

    A growing number of state legislatures have begun submitting bills to regulate deepfakes as concerns about the spread of misinformation and explicit content heighten on both sides of the aisle.

    In September, with less than 50 days before the election, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed three bills that target deepfakes directly — one of which takes effect immediately.

    AB 2839 bans individuals and groups “from knowingly distributing an advertisement or other election material containing deceptive AI-generated or manipulated content.”

    This ban would take effect 120 days before an election and 60 days after it, an aim at reducing content that may spread misinformation as votes are being counted and certified.

    “Signing AB 2839 into law is a significant step in continuing to protect the integrity of our democratic process. With fewer than 50 days until the general election, there is an urgent need to protect against misleading, digitally altered content that can interfere with the election,” said Gail Pellerin, the chair of the Assembly Elections Committee.

    According to Public Citizen, 25 states have now either signed a bill into law that addresses political deepfakes or have a bill that is awaiting the governor’s signature.

    Do you know how to spot a deepfake?

    According to cyber news reporter and cybersecurity expert Kerry Tomlinson, “a deepfake is a computer-created image or voice or video of a person, either a person who doesn’t exist but seems real, or a person who does exist, making them do or say something they never actually did or said.”

    Tomlinson says there are several giveaways to identify a deepfake.

    • Objects and parts of the face, such as earrings, teeth or glasses, may not be fully formed.
    • Pay attention to the breathing. The speaker takes no breaths while speaking.
    • Ask yourself: Is the message potentially harmful or manipulating?
    • Can the information be verified?

    Ultimately, Tomlinson encourages people to “learn about how attackers are using deepfakes. Learn about how politicians and political parties are using deepfakes. Read about it. It’s as simple as that.”

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  • X is nerfing the block button: Blocked users will be able to see your posts

    X is nerfing the block button: Blocked users will be able to see your posts

    The days of the “@[insert username] blocked you” page appear to be over. X owner Elon Musk announced a new change to allowing blocked users to see posts of the accounts that blocked them.

    Blocked accounts still won’t be able to interact with those accounts but they’ll be able to see their posts. A source from X told the new blocked access feature is being implemented because users can already see and interact with accounts that have blocked them by switching to a non-blocked account.

    Musk has wanted to disable the block feature on X for awhile now. More than a year ago, he first expressed (or technically, Twitter) except for direct messages. He wrote that blocking would become “deleted as a ‘feature’” as well as saying “It makes no sense.”

    Last May, announced it would implement the blocked viewer change to the platform without including a solid implementation or rollout date. The post said the change would be implemented to give users with blocked accounts the ability to “identify and report any potential bad content that you previously could not view.”

    Danny Gallagher

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  • Rellana’s Armor Lets You Dress As One Of Shadow Of The Erdtree’s Coolest Bosses

    Rellana’s Armor Lets You Dress As One Of Shadow Of The Erdtree’s Coolest Bosses

    Screenshot: FromSoftware / Kotaku

    Shadow of the Erdtree added a fresh set of armor, Rellana’s Armor Set. This unique armor can only be obtained by defeating one of the DLC’s bosses, and then making a purchase from an NPC, so you’ll need to put in a bit of work if you’d like to sport it for yourself.

    The Most Sought After Elden Ring Sword Has A Storied History

    Billy Givens

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  • Elon Musk Is a National Security Risk

    Elon Musk Is a National Security Risk

    Shortly following reports of an apparent second assassination attempt against former US president and 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, Elon Musk decided to speak up.

    “And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala 🤔,” Musk, X’s owner, wrote in a now deleted post, in response to another person asking, “Why they want to kill Donald Trump?”

    After deleting the post—which could be interpreted as a call to murder President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s Democratic opponent in the US presidential election—Musk indicated that it was merely a joke that fell flat given the context. “Well, one lesson I’ve learned is that just because I say something to a group and they laugh doesn’t mean it’s going to be all that hilarious as a post on 𝕏,” he wrote, adding, “Turns out that jokes are WAY less funny if people don’t know the context and the delivery is plain text.”

    The incident was the latest in a long line of increasingly incendiary political posts from Musk, whose substantial defense contracts with the US government may give him access to highly sensitive information even while he makes potential threats against the sitting commander in chief. And they point to the more pressing risk that Musk’s recent rhetoric has posed: the potential to inspire further political violence.

    While Sunday night’s post is gone, it appears likely that Musk could receive some attention from federal law enforcement, if he hasn’t already.

    The United States Secret Service declined WIRED’s request to comment on Musk’s post. “We can say, however, that the Secret Service investigates all threats related to our protectees,” USSS spokesperson Nate Herring tells WIRED.

    “In my experience, the Secret Service would take such a comment very seriously,” says Michael German, a former FBI special agent and a liberty and national security fellow at NYU School of Law’s Brennan Center for Justice. “Typically, agents would go out and interview the subject to ensure that there wasn’t an existing threat, and to make the subject aware that the agency takes such statements seriously.”

    German notes that it’s possible the FBI could also launch an investigation. However, it’s unlikely that Musk would face any charges for his post. “On its face, the tweet would not meet the ‘true threat’ test, in that it wasn’t a direct threat to do harm to the vice president, so it wouldn’t likely proceed to prosecution,” German says. Still, “it would create a record of the investigations.”

    The FBI declined WIRED’s request to comment on Musk’s post. X did not immediately respond to WIRED’s request for comment.

    Both Biden and Harris have released statements condemning the apparent attempt on Trump’s life and political violence more broadly. In a statement to ABC News, the White House condemned Musk’s post. “Violence should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about,” the statement says. “This rhetoric is irresponsible.”

    Where things get dicier for Musk is his role as a major contractor for the US Department of Defense and NASA. According to Reuters, SpaceX signed a $1.8 billion contract in 2021 with the National Reconnaissance Office, which oversees US spy satellites. The US Space Force also signed a $70 million contract late last year with SpaceX to build out military-grade low-earth-orbit satellite capabilities. Starlink, SpaceX’s commercial satellite internet wing, is providing connectivity to the US Navy.

    Andrew Couts

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