Howard Kurtz: Media thinks Elon Musk's free speech approach is going to ruin Twitter
'Media Buzz' host Howard Kurtz gives his take on Elon Musk's Twitter takeover on 'The Story.'
The New York Times on Friday devoted eight reporters and 2,598 words to investigating Elon Musk’s first few weeks after buying Twitter. The big takeaway? Twice, the paper told readers that the billionaire’s moves resulted in vomit.
Writers Kate Conger, Mike Isaac, Ryan Mac and Tiffany Hsu (with additional interviews by Kevin Roose, Lauren Hirsch, Kitty Bennett and David McCabe) authored a largely negative piece, noting the throw-up early in the story. They explained, "One engineering manager, upon being told to cut hundreds of workers, vomited into a trash can. Others slept in the office as they worked grueling schedules to meet Mr. Musk’s orders."
Returning to this point later in the article, the journalists repeated, "One engineering manager was approached by Mr. Musk’s advisers — or ‘goons,’ as Twitter employees called them — with a list of hundreds of people he had to let go. He vomited into a trash can near his feet."
Many on the left are sounding the alarm about Elon Musk’s potential Twitter takeover. (FOX)
Promising an exhaustive deep dive into the social media company, they described the impact of Musk’s purchase: "The fallout has often been excruciating, according to 36 current and former Twitter employees and people close to the company, as well as internal documents and workplace chat logs."
Regarding potential layoffs, Conger, Isaac, Mac and Hsu noted that the tech executive refused to factor "diversity and inclusion" into his actions: "Twitter executives also suggested assessing the lists for diversity and inclusion issues so the cuts would not hit people of color disproportionately and to avoid legal trouble. Mr. Musk’s team brushed aside the suggestion, two people said."
The Times recounted how the layoff plan developed: "On Oct. 28, hours after completing his $44 billion buyout of Twitter the night before, Mr. Musk gathered several human-resource executives in a ‘war room’ in the company’s offices in San Francisco. Prepare for widespread layoffs, he told them, six people with knowledge of the discussion said. Twitter’s work force needed to be slashed immediately, he said."
Ultimately, Musk let go of 50 percent of the staff.
CAN MUSK MILK TWITTER USERS FOR CASH WHILE BANNING ‘HATE AND HARASSMENT’?
The New York Times recently sounded the alarm with a warning that a red wave could be on the horizon, and things could quickly become "dire" for Democrats. (DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)
The writers also explained that lunch at the company would no longer be free: "Mr. Musk plans to begin making employees pay for lunch — which had been free — at the company cafeteria, two people said."
Bringing politics into the story, the reporters said of the recent midterm elections: "Misinformation proliferated on the platform during Tuesday’s midterm elections." In 2020, Twitter famously censored the New York Post’s laptop expose on Hunter Biden. The executive behind that move, Yoel Roth, resigned on Thursday. Conger, Isaac, Mac and Hsu noted his departure, but there was no mention of his censorship efforts.
Twitter has put up fact checks on government tweets in recent days. ((AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
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Highlighting outside corporate pressure, the Times journalists said, "Brands including Volkswagen Group, General Motors and United Airlines have said they will pause advertising on Twitter as they evaluate Mr. Musk’s ownership of the platform."
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