Episode 241: There Is No Twitter, Only X feat. Ryan Broderick

Social media is in flux. The disruption started when Elon Musk acquired Twitter, purged most of the staff, turned the blue checkmark verification system into a pay for play system, and welcomed previously banned extremists and QAnon followers back onto the platform. To add to the chaos, last week Elon announced that Twitter is rebranding as “X.” His stated goal is to turn X into an “everything app,” an all-in-one platform for messaging, voice and video calls, social media posts, payment services, and more. This rebrand included erecting a giant metal flashing X on top of the former Twitter building, much to the discomfort of the building’s neighbors in San Francisco.

On today’s episode we discuss how emboldened conspiracists are using their paid checkmarks to build clout and spread disinformation. This includes a newcomer to disinformation game named Dom Lucre, who was suspended for posting child abuse material before Elon personally restored his account. And General Michael Flynn and former 8kun administrator Ron Watkins working to revive pizzagate ahead of the coming election season.

We also chat with tech journalist Ryan Broderick in an attempt to figure out why Elon Musk is doing all this.

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Music by Pontus Berghe. Editing by Corey Klotz.

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REFERENCES

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/07/27/twitter-csam-dom-lucre-elon-musk/

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/14/opinion/facebook-far-right.html

https://twitter.com/MattBinder/status/1684670401027145728