Musk on a Twitter mission

A burst of drastic actions, including letting go of half the staff and charging users that Musk has taken after he took over Twitter in a $44 billion deal just about a week ago, has delivered some early clues to how the world’s richest person will reshape the platform.

Some advertisements have stretched spending. Musk accused activist groups of pressuring advertisers amid worries regarding its content moderation.

Musk, who also executes electric vehicle company Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) and rocket firm SpaceX, spoke last month Twitter would be creating a content moderation council with “widely diverse viewpoints.”

The self-described free speech absolutist declared that major content decisions or account reinstatements would only occur after that council assembles.

Suspending Accounts

Musk also stated on Sunday that Twitter users contending with impersonation without unquestionably specifying it as a “parody” account would be permanently banned without warning.

He expressed that Twitter previously administered a warning before the suspension, but as Twitter is rolling out overall verification, there will be no notice and “no exceptions.”

Twitter on Saturday updated its app in Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)’s App Store to start charging $8 for sought-after blue check verification marks as it aims to shore up revenue.

The verification service’s benefits would include “half the ads,” the capacity to post longer videos to Twitter, and priority ranking for quality content, Twitter stated.

But earlier on Sunday, the New York Times conveyed Twitter is slowing the rollout of verification check marks to subscribers of its new benefit until after Tuesday’s midterm elections.