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Twitter handles engaging in impersonation will be permanently suspended
- mikkergp 4y ago1 week in and he’s already pulled out the ban hammer. Welcome to hell is right
- metadat 4y ago> Previously, we issued a warning before suspension, but now that we are rolling out widespread verification, there will be no warning. > This will be clearly identified as a condition for signing up to Twitter Blue. Okay, what's wrong with giving a warning though? Are people supposed to be afraid now? I don't see what this meaningfully changes, except to serve as a demonstration of how heavily the new management relies on authoritarianism as his only source of power and influence.
- TheOsiris 4y agohonestly, after seeing how badly twitter has handled all the crypto attacks any change is a good change at this point. i know people love hating on elon but twitter has always been a terribly run company. they've been a joke for a long time. why not give the guy 3-months and then we can judge?
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- metadat 4y ago> why not give the guy 3-months and then we can judge? We've got no say in the matter :) waiting and watching is the only option on this ride. Up to this point it's been a spectacular and entertaining disaster to observe. I do feel bad for all the Twitter employees, didn't expect he'd really lay so many off, because it's an insane (and monumentally short-sighted) move. People are a hugely valuable resource, the most valuable a company can have!
- pipeline_peak 4y agoI don’t condone the way he laid off his staff, but I believe a lot of these cushy FAANG roles are useless e-mail sending, PowerPoint collaging, pencil pushing. I think those roles are put in place simply because the companies are already successful so they can afford to reap whatever little rewards the jobs provide. Based on SpaceX and Tesla, Elon doesn’t work that way.
- metadat 4y agoWith appropriate management, people are capable of many amazing feats, and can move mountains. Few humans behave this way by default, it's takes more than just capital and org chart hierarchies. It requires having a dedicated and inspired leader who people can relate to and rally behind, and who communicates clear shared goals and vision. It also requires competent middle management and project management to get a smooth operating machine. The art of persuasion (and inspiration) is an effective tool when competently employed. Being a strong / good leader requires self-control and mastery.
- andsoitis 4y agoDoes the Twitter Chief Hotline Operator not have a sense of humor? Parody works because you don’t signal ahead of time.
- version_five 4y agoI think history has shown that twitter had no sense of humor. It seems like the intention here is to prevent deliberate impersonation (which is not parody), though it definitely has not been made clear in the referenced Elon Musk tweet
- andsoitis 4y agoParody is not impersonation and impersonation is not parody.
- ars 4y agoYou don't have to signal the actual tweet, you can just add something to the profile - how many people check the profile for every tweet? And I know you are echoing what The Onion wrote - and guess what, if you go to The Onion about page, it's pretty obvious they are satire.
- Jordrok 4y ago> and guess what, if you go to The Onion about page, it's pretty obvious they are satire. Obvious, yes, but not explicitly called out. That's kind of the point.
- MallocVoidstar 4y agoYou can't even name yourself "Elon Musk (Parody)" - you'll get suspended. https://twitter.com/xor/status/1589402790732128256 https://twitter.com/xor/status/1589402790732128256
- blitzar 4y agoNot very absolute in the freedom to speak whatever twitter handle you desire.
- qull 4y agoThis looks like it applies mostly to the blue checks. Having an unobvious verified parody account does raise issues, but its hard to know exactly where to draw the line.
- someNameIG 4y agoNormally I don't think you'd have many people against this, it's just amusing that he's doing this now with so many making fun of him using this after his comments about comedy and free speech.
- andsoitis 4y agoWhat if you want to parody the blue checks program?
- xcrunner529 4y agoThe $8 program giving the same checkmark has NO verification except a valid credit card. None. Zero. Zilch.
- nocoiner 4y agoOmg, that’s what I interpreted it to mean when I read the most recent Twitter app patch notes, but I thought surely there was no way the implementation could be that stupid because that is quite evidently the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever heard. Yet… here we are.
- Nition 4y agoHere's my pessimistic prediction for the future of Twitter: - Many people don't care enough to pay $8, and with their content downranked, just mostly stop posting. - Even some legitimate users who'd be willing to pay for a checkmark are reluctant, since it acts as something like tacit approval for Musk himself, in a time when public opinion is low. - Spammers on the other hand all have blue checkmarks and are sorted to the top, having bought them from countries where they're dirt cheap[0]. - Remaining users get into the habit of scrolling past blue-checkmark responses altogether, as if they're a series of banner ads before the real content. - Twitter briefly tries to fix the new spam issue by downranking countries where checkmarks are cheap, generating outraged headlines. - Twitter briefly tries to fix the issue by making checkmarks $8 worldwide, generating outraged headlines. - Twitter tries again to fix the issue with some sort of multi-tiered subscription system or something but it doesn't matter because the site is a shell of its former self by now anyway. - Twitter messes with the UI a bunch of times. - Twitter sells for $18.3 million to Automattic. [0] https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1587499283573530625 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1587499283573530625
- Waterluvian 4y agoI need a Twitter bingo card. These plus many other predictions seem completely plausible.
- version_five 4y agoI hope that whatever they decide, they don't flap in the breeze and update their policies based on every bit of media attention. Doing that is worse than making almost any policy / product bet and actually seeing it through
- blitzar 4y agoTotal and utter nonsense, the Onlyfans empire will outbid Automattic paying just under $20 million. > - Even some legitimate users who'd be willing to pay for a checkmark are reluctant, since it acts as something like tacit approval for Musk himself, in a time when public opinion is low. The virtue signalling will go both ways - some will pay $8 in the sad hope that Elon will notice them. Some will refuse for the reasons you outlined above. Nobody sane will actually give a shit.
- robertwalsh0 4y agoI guarantee someone with a checkmark impersonating AOC would be defended by Elon in the name of ‘free speech’
- fragmede 4y ago> Like I always say with content moderation, every social media site owner who is “pro free speech” meets their line eventually. For 4chan, it was anime child porn. For Facebook and YouTube, it was white nationalist terror. For Elon, it was people making fun of him. https://twitter.com/oneunderscore__/status/1589396844131782656 https://twitter.com/oneunderscore__/status/15893968441317826...
- annexrichmond 4y agoWhat a terrible take. How do you equate sharing child porn with speech though? That’s literally complicity in illegal activity. Speech would be more like discussing the merits of such a law and what not. > For Facebook and YouTube, it was white nationalist terror Or you know, colluding with the government to censor facts they don’t like.
- fragmede 4y ago> Speech would be more like discussing the merits of such a law and what not. what a ridiculously narrow view of what constitutes speech! is this message, which isn't discussing the merits of any law, not speech? speech is all encompassing, not just the limited topics you personally approve of.
- annexrichmond 4y ago“more like” as in, it was meant as example, not “all encompassing”.
- superchroma 4y agoThat's fanciful, but I disagree, Chris Poole was getting old and didn't want to be stuck in a career as an admin running a scary hellsite with no path to profitability as it was time consuming so he sold it for profit, did a quick spit-shine of his reputation with a media tour, spun it all as some big free speech experiment and landed a job at google. If he really had a problem with depictions of minors in hentai he would have done something about it a long time ago.
- paxys 4y ago"Comedy is now legal on Twitter" – Elon on 10/28/2022 "Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying “parody” will be permanently suspended" – Elon on 11/6/2022 I don't think he has a good grasp on the concept of comedy and satire.
- MrMan 4y agono I disagree this is comedy, the whole charade
- someNameIG 4y ago> "Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying “parody” will be permanently suspended" – Elon on 11/6/2022 He doesn't even seem to have a good grasp of communication these rules to Twitters moderation team https://twitter.com/xor/status/1589402790732128256?s=20&t=K4UJJWXuW8nMfkQ7Jzxptw https://twitter.com/xor/status/1589402790732128256?s=20&t=K4... Edit: Also appears only for Elon Musk parody accounts https://twitter.com/MuellerSheWrote/status/1589416778920505344?s=20&t=rYX7x4hUttjHDYIlszwMXg https://twitter.com/MuellerSheWrote/status/15894167789205053...
- throwaway27727 4y agoCare to elaborate?
- awb 4y agoParody is a genre of comedy. Most SNL skits are comedians pretending to be real people. There’s no need for SNL to declare that “the following skit is a parody”, it’s obvious. On Twitter, it’s certainly less obvious, but the absurdity of the parody should give it away without having to state “parody ->”, which punctures the whole setup. Plus, there’s all kinds of other comedic speech that’s not parody that can have similar misleading connotations for comedic effect. If those have to be clearly labeled “jokes”, then you’ve neutered comedy.
- adyashakti 4y agoSo much for ‘free speech’, LOL
- perryizgr8 4y agoLet me bring out the same argument people have been using for the last few years while disagreeing voices were silenced on Twitter and elsewhere on the internet: Twitter is a private company. It has no obligation to let you post your opinion on its platform. If you don't like it, go make your own Twitter, or buy it from Elon Musk.
- someNameIG 4y agoBut Elon caller Twitter a de facto public town square, something being public is the opposite of private *https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1507777261654605828?s=20&t=1nd888aiR-FIu3IFgiDYxA https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1507777261654605828?s=20...
- perryizgr8 4y agoIt doesn't matter. It's his company. He's free to change his mind about it. If you don't like it, don't use it.
- rchaud 4y agoleadership you can believe in /s
- someNameIG 4y agoAnd I'm free to call him a hypocrite over it. And all the others fine with this but complained previously when people where banned for ToS violations before Musks takeover.
- bediger4000 4y agoThat would be a valid viewpoint if Musk hadn't bought the Twitter pig in a poke to bring back free speech. I guess the word I'm searching for is a "hypocrisy".
- perryizgr8 4y agoIt's completely valid. Musk is allowed to be a hypocrite when it comes to his company. Anybody who doesn't like it can simply leave.
- smt88 4y ago> "...Musk reiterated his stance that the platform should allow all legal speech..."[1] We all knew Musk wouldn't actually allow all legal speech. He censors Tesla owners trying to show people how "FSD" breaks in alarming ways. He also knows Twitter can't have rampant racism. But now we have to wonder where his arbitrary line really is, since he has no discernible principles. As long as the media keeps treating Twitter like the most important discussion platform, we should be worried about where exactly Musk will draw the line. 1. https://www.npr.org/2022/06/16/1105608659/elon-musk-twitter-employees https://www.npr.org/2022/06/16/1105608659/elon-musk-twitter-...
- night-rider 4y agoWell all the good handles on Mastodon are taken. Currently there's a land rush to register as many accounts on Mastodon as possible and squat on important usernames that should be claimed by those who go under that handle.
- pipeline_peak 4y agoHe said you can still impersonate as long as “parody” is included in the handle. I don’t understand the issue with evading fraudulent accounts. Do you people really think 1000 fake Kanye’s floating around makes Twitter a better place simply because it’s more free?
- rpdillon 4y agoOne of the points I found most interesting in The Onion's Supreme Court amicus brief[0] is the notion that parody loses its power when the reader knows up front that it's all fake. I found the whole brief quite readable, but the paragraph starting at the bottom of page 3 directly discusses this. Interestingly, the case the court is deciding is about a parody police department account on Facebook, which I assume would run afoul of Twitter's rule. [0]: https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-293/242292/20221003125252896_35295545_1-22.10.03%20-%20Novak-Parma%20-%20Onion%20Amicus%20Brief.pdf https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-293/242292/2022...
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- rchaud 4y agofree speech means exactly that. let a thousand fake kanye accts bloom.
- oska 4y agoDoesn't mean that to me. To me, free speech means anyone can say anything they like. Not anyone can pretend to be anyone they like.
- awb 4y agoDepends on your definition of pretend I guess. Actors pretend to be people they’re not. Comedians pretend to be people all the time to make fun of them. Identity theft is using someone else’s identity for the purpose of committing fraud. I think the fraud is the actual crime, not impersonation. For example, there are professional impersonators of famous actors. I don’t think it’s illegal in any way.
- tshaddox 4y agoThis looks like another case of speech that is clearly legal in many jurisdictions (like the US) and yet is being restricted by Twitter.
- wilg 4y agoIt’s always been bonkers that Twitter let verified users change their name while keeping the checkmark. Lots of famous accounts have verified users with the same name and profile pic in the replies shilling crypto crap, clearly hacked from some random journalist or whatever.
- joegibbs 4y agoCharging for verification was a good idea - $8 per month is worth it if you're semi-famous enough to be at risk of impersonation. What's he thinking giving out the checkmarks but not doing verification at all? It removes the incentive and when combined with upranking anyone who buys the subscription turns it into a "I've paid to win" badge.
- aaron695 4y agoThis has always been the case on Twitter. The fact you'd so rarely see parody accounts that looked too real shows they always enforced that. (TikTok could do this better) Musk has clarified the rules now everyone can be a blue check. Obviously they can't verify someone that's ambiguous. > This will be clearly identified as a condition for signing up to Twitter Blue. That fact most comments here can't think this through shows HN could do with some Blue Checks. (And since the comments are of so low quality, I'll clarify for them that was parody) The fact HN defends an era where Julian Assange was not verified despite his requests and next week will support Wikileaks shows a real lowbrow IQ here. Remember the days it was frowned upon to be middlebrow?
- bediger4000 4y agoHe's just pissed because the "Italian Elon Musk" guy didn't get perma-banned.
- nocoiner 4y agoWho could have predicted that Elon Musk’s latest persona would be a less interesting and thinner-skinned reincarnation of Lowtax.
- awb 4y agoIn a related note, the Onion filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court on this specific issue of the necessity of labeling a parody. The argument is that the setup of believing the content is true is essential to parody comedy which then pulls the rug out from underneath the reader with an absurdity, and that an average reader would understand the absurdities to be comedy. But that labeling it as a parody defeats the comedic effect. HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33481989 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33481989 Highly recommend reading the hilarious brief as well: https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-293/242292/20221003125252896_35295545_1-22.10.03%20-%20Novak-Parma%20-%20Onion%20Amicus%20Brief.pdf https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-293/242292/2022...