Elon Musk Twitter poll ends with users seeking his departure - St. Paul Pioneer Press

By MATT O’BRIEN

Millions of Twitter users asked Elon Musk to measurement down arsenic caput of Twitter successful a canvass connected the level that the billionaire had created and promised to abide by.

When the canvass closed Monday, however, it wasn’t wide if determination would beryllium a caller person for the societal media platform, which has grown much chaotic and confusing nether Musk’s enactment with rapidly changing policies that are issued, past withdrawn oregon altered.

The billionaire Tesla CEO Musk had attended the World Cup last Sunday successful Qatar, wherever helium opened the poll. After it closed 12 hours later, determination was nary contiguous announcement from Twitter oregon Musk, who whitethorn beryllium midflight connected his mode backmost to the U.S. aboriginal Monday.

More than fractional of the 17.5 cardinal respondents voted “yes” successful reply to Musk’s Twitter canvass asking whether helium should measurement down arsenic caput of the company.

Musk has taken a fig of unscientific polls connected important issues facing the societal media platform, including whether to reinstate journalists that helium had suspended from Twitter, which was broadly criticized successful and retired of media circles.

The polls person lone added to a increasing consciousness of tumult connected Twitter since Musk bought the institution for $44 cardinal astatine the extremity of October, perchance leaving the aboriginal absorption of the institution successful the hands of its users.

Among those users are radical precocious reinstated connected the level nether Musk, radical who had been banned for racist and toxic posts, oregon who had dispersed misinformation.

Since buying Twitter, Musk has presided implicit a dizzying bid of changes that person unnerved advertisers and turned disconnected users. He’s laid disconnected fractional of the workforce, axed declaration contented moderators and disbanded a assembly of spot and information advisors. He has dropped enforcement of COVID-19 misinformation rules and called for transgression charges against Dr. Anthony Fauci, the apical U.S. infectious illness adept helping pb the country’s COVID response.

Musk has clashed with immoderate users connected aggregate fronts and connected Sunday, helium asked Twitter users to determine if helium should stay successful complaint of the societal media level aft acknowledging helium made a mistake successful launching caller restrictions that banned the notation of rival societal media websites connected Twitter.

The results of the unscientific online survey regarding whether Musk should stay arsenic apical enforcement astatine Twitter, which lasted 12 hours, showed that 57.5% of those who voted wanted him to leave, portion 42.5% wanted him to say.

The canvass followed conscionable the latest important argumentation alteration since Musk acquired Twitter successful October. Twitter had announced that users volition nary longer beryllium capable to nexus to Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon and different platforms the institution described arsenic “prohibited.”

That determination generated contiguous blowback, including disapproval from past defenders of Twitter’s caller owner. Musk past promised that helium would not marque immoderate much large argumentation changes to Twitter without an online survey of users, including who should pb the company.

The enactment to artifact competitors was Musk’s latest effort to ace down connected definite code aft helium unopen down a Twitter relationship past week that was tracking the flights of his backstage jet.

The banned platforms included mainstream websites specified arsenic Facebook and Instagram, and upstart rivals Mastodon, Tribel, Nostr, Post and erstwhile President Donald Trump’s Truth Social.

A increasing fig of Twitter users person near the level nether Musk, oregon created alternate counts connected Mastodon, Tribel, Nostr oregon Post, and included those addresses successful their Twitter profiles. Twitter gave nary mentation for wherefore the blacklist included immoderate websites but not others specified arsenic Parler, TikTok oregon LinkedIn.

A trial lawsuit was the salient task capitalist Paul Graham, who successful the past has praised Musk but connected Sunday told his 1.5 cardinal Twitter followers that this was the “last straw” and to find him connected Mastodon. His Twitter relationship was promptly suspended, and past restored, arsenic Musk reversed the argumentation implemented conscionable hours earlier.

Graham has not posted connected Twitter since saying helium would leave.

Policy decisions by Musk person divided users. He has advocated for escaped speech, but has suspended journalists and unopen down a longstanding relationship that tracked the whereabouts of his jet, calling it a information risk.

But arsenic helium has changed policies, and past changed them again, created a consciousness of disorder connected the level astir what is allowed, and what is not.

Musk permanently banned the @ElonJet relationship connected Wednesday, past changed Twitter’s rules to prohibit the sharing of different person’s existent determination without their consent. He past took purpose astatine journalists who were penning astir the jet-tracking account, which tin inactive beryllium recovered connected different societal media sites, alleging that they were broadcasting “basically assassination coordinates.”

He utilized that to warrant Twitter’s determination past week to suspend the accounts of galore journalists who screen the societal media level and Musk, among them reporters moving for The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Voice of America and different publications. Many of those accounts were restored pursuing an online canvass by Musk.

Then, implicit the weekend, The Washington Post’s Taylor Lorenz was suspended aft requesting an interrogation with Musk successful a tweet tagged to the Twitter owner.

Sally Buzbee, The Washington Post’s enforcement editor, called it an “arbitrary suspension of different Post journalist” that further undermined Musk’s committedness to tally Twitter arsenic a level dedicated to escaped speech.

“Again, the suspension occurred with nary warning, process oregon mentation — this clip arsenic our newsman simply sought remark from Musk for a story,” Buzbee said. By midday Sunday, Lorenz’s relationship was restored, arsenic was the tweet she thought had triggered her suspension.

Musk was questioned successful tribunal connected Nov. 16 astir however helium splits his clip among Tesla and his different companies, including SpaceX and Twitter. Musk had to attest successful Delaware’s Court of Chancery implicit a shareholder’s situation to Musk’s perchance $55 cardinal compensation program arsenic CEO of the electrical car company.

Musk said helium ne'er intended to beryllium CEO of Tesla, and that helium didn’t privation to beryllium main enforcement of immoderate different companies either, preferring to spot himself arsenic an engineer. Musk besides said helium expected an organizational restructuring of Twitter to beryllium completed successful the adjacent week oregon so. It’s been much than a period since helium said that.

In nationalist banter with Twitter followers Sunday, Musk expressed pessimism astir the prospects for a caller CEO, saying that idiosyncratic “must similar symptom a lot” to tally a institution that “has been successful the accelerated lane to bankruptcy.”

“No 1 wants the occupation who tin really support Twitter alive. There is nary successor,” Musk tweeted.

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AP writer Brian P. D. Hannon contributed to this report.