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Several moments in the American sitcom The Simpsons have manifested in real life, including its predictions on Trump's presidency and Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl performance. Now, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has pointed out how Fox's show correctly predicted his Twitter takeover back in 2015.Elon Musk shared a photo from the 12th episode of the 26th season – The Musk Who Fell to Earth – that seemed to allude to his purchase of Twitter."Simpson's predicts I buy Twitter S26E12," tweeted Musk. According to New York Post, the episode's opening scene features Lisa Simpson feeding birds in a birdhouse with the sign, "Home Tweet Home." While she was feeding the birds, a bald eagle catches and kills some of them. That's when Musk enters the scene in his rocket ship as the eagle – a cherished American symbol – soars out into the distance. The eagle is destroyed by the aircraft's fire."Brace yourselves, family. We are about to meet a being with intelligence far beyond ours," Homer Simpson says before directing Bart to grab his baseball bat.Musk takes off his space helmet and identifies himself: "Hello, I'm Elon Musk."The bat is thrown at his head by Homer. Lisa yells, "Dad, no! Elon

Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images/Gotham/GC Images Stephen King is back at it again calling out Elon Musk. In his latest tweet, the “King of Horror” is taking jabs at the Tesla and Twitter owner. “I think Elon Musk is a visionary. Almost singlehandedly, he’s changed the way Americans think about automobiles. I have a Tesla and love it,” King said before delivering a blow to Musk. “That said, he’s been a terrible fit for Twitter. He appears to be making it up as he goes along.” I think Elon Musk is a visionary. Almost singlehandedly, he’s changed the way Americans think about automobiles. I have a Tesla and love it. That said, he’s been a terrible fit for Twitter. He appears to be making it up as he goes along.— Stephen King (@StephenKing) November 26, 2022 Musk replied to King by tweeting, “Suggestions are welcome Mr. (crown emoji).” In a second reply, Musk added, “The goal is a trusted digital town square, where a wide range of views are tolerated, provided people don’t break the law or spam. For example, any incitement to violence will result in account suspension.” The goal is a trusted digital town square, where a wide range of

LONDON — Elon Musk said Friday that Twitter plans to relaunch its premium service that will offer different colored check marks to accounts next week, in a fresh move to revamp the service after a previous attempt backfired.It’s the latest change to the social media platform that the billionaire Tesla CEO bought last month for $44 billion, coming a day after Musk said he would grant “amnesty” for suspended accounts and causing yet more uncertainty for users.Twitter previously suspended the premium service, which under Musk granted blue-check labels to anyone paying $8 a month, because of a wave of imposter accounts. Originally, the blue check was given to government entities, corporations, celebrities and journalists verified by the platform to prevent impersonation.In the latest version, companies will get a gold check, governments will get a gray check, and individuals who pay for the service, whether or not they’re celebrities, will get a blue check, Musk said Friday.“All verified accounts will be manually authenticated before check activates,” he said, adding it was “Painful, but necessary” and promising a “longer explanation” next week. He said the service was “tentatively launching” Dec. 2.Twitter had put the revamped premium service on hold days after its

Photo: Aly Song (Reuters)Tesla is an electric car company. But in the last few months, it has become something else as well: a bellwether for Elon Musk’s popularity with investors. As shareholders worried about Musk, Tesla’s CEO, being distracted by his high-profile, tumultuous acquisition of Twitter, Tesla’s share price began to reflect their unease. Its board has expressed concerns about him spreading himself too thin. From the start of 2022 to its year-to-date low earlier this week, Tesla stock lost a massive 58% of its value. In the four weeks since Oct. 27, when Musk actually took over Twitter, Tesla stock is down over 18%. And that includes a slight rally in the last few days, when analysts began to upgrade the shares slightly—a sign they believe the stock is beginning to be undervalued. Musk has said that he will appoint someone to take his place at the head of Twitter, although he hasn’t said when. As the bumps in the graph above show, though, Musk’s Twitter play isn’t the only thing on the market’s mind. Tesla stock fell in the first quarter, and rose again, before the Twitter deal was on the cards. So what else is driving it? Not

Elon Musk gestures during a February event near Boca Chica Village, Texas. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty ImagesElon Musk announced Thursday a "general amnesty" for suspended Twitter accounts from next week, "provided that they have not broken the law" or engaged in "egregious spam."Why it matters: Online monitoring groups have reported a rise in racism, anti-Semitism and other hate speech on Twitter since free speech advocate Musk completed his $44 billion acquisition of the social media company last month, though the billionaire said Thursday it has declined.Photo: Elon Musk/TwitterActivists warn the situation would get much worse if people like former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke were welcomed back following permanent bans for hate speech.Driving the news: Musk tweeted his decision after 72.4% of over 3.1 million voters backed the amnesty in an online poll, which AP notes is an unscientific method that's vulnerable to the influence of bots.It comes days after Musk reinstated the Twitter accounts of prominent users including former President Trump, who was banned in 2021 following the U.S. Capitol riot, and Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, whose page was restricted last month due to antisemitic tweets.What they're saying: "Superspreaders of hate, abuse and harassment will be

By James ClaytonBBC North America technology reporterDonald Trump loves Twitter. In 2017, he said he wouldn't have become president without it. "Twitter is a wonderful thing for me, because I get the word out… I might not be here talking to you right now as president if I didn't have an honest way of getting the word out," he said. After Twitter's new owner Elon Musk reversed Mr Trump's permanent suspension, you might have thought the former president would jump at the chance to come back. But so far, he hasn't taken up that offer. Well, only Donald Trump knows the answer to that question for sure.But what we do know is he has a lot of money to lose from tweeting. "The simplest explanation is the most likely - it's about money," says Josh Tucker, professor of politics at New York University (NYU). After Donald Trump was kicked off Twitter, he created his own social media platform called Truth Social - that looks an awful lot like Twitter. To understand the financial bind Donald Trump is in, you have to understand the complex nature of Truth Social's business set up. Last year, the private company that owns Truth Social

Yes, Twitter is useful, but it really isn’t as essential and irreplaceable as all that. The panic-mongers, who pretend to be speaking for the masses, are really speaking for a small minority (including the press, which tends to exaggerate the service’s usefulness) who have grown overly dependent on the service. Twitter is great, even in its current ragged and inconsistently moderated form, but if Musk chokes the life out of it, we’ll be fine. Troubles suffered by any $44 billion companies should be news. But it’s an easy argument to make that the Twitter drama has dominated coverage since last spring in part because journalists remain so devoted to it. Nieman Lab made this apparent several days ago in a piece listing the 11 (and counting) ways journalism would suffer if Musk snuffed Twitter. Gone would be real-time feedback, criticism and perspectives on stories. Gone would be a universal venue for breaking news. Gone would be screenshots of the best bits from stories. Gone would be the easy access to sources and experts and interviews conducted by DM. Gone would be the real-time coverage from trials and events and crime scenes that tweet-streams make possible. All true! But where is

As she followed reports of the chaos within Twitter, OnlyFans creator and artist Stephanie Michelle fretted over what losing Twitter would mean for her livelihood. She had already faced suspensions and content strikes on other platforms for sharing her artwork, much of which features abstract depictions of naked women. “Starting from scratch is so demoralizing and so humiliating,” said Stephanie Michelle, who only wanted to be referred to by her stage name out of concern for her safety. “You feel like all of these platforms are laughing at us, like, ‘Haha, you think that what you have earned is worthy. Well, we can take that away from you in a flash.’”OnlyFans allows creators to directly interact with paying subscribers, but creators note that it isn’t a platform for sex workers to build community because it’s a subscription service, not a social media site.Twitter is one of the few platforms that allows explicit content. In recent years, it has become the center of a flourishing community of sex workers who connect with fans, advertise their content and educate other “Not Safe For Work” creators. But with Twitter’s future in question after Elon Musk’s takeover, sex workers who spoke with NBC News said they

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New York CNN Business  —  Much of Twitter’s ad sales team has been fired or pushed out. Large companies from General Mills to Macy’s have paused advertising on the platform, with more potentially following suit after new owner Elon Musk’s decision to restore the account of former President Donald Trump and other controversial figures. And any cursory scroll of the platform will likely show you fewer big brand ads. That would all seem like horrible news for a business that generates the lion’s share of its revenue from advertising. But Musk may not care. The Tesla CEO has previously said he “hates advertising” and, as Twitter’s owner, professed a desire to make the company more reliant on subscription revenue than advertising dollars. Twitter has always struggled to turn its outsized influence in media, politics, and culture into a highly successful advertising business. And without needing to please advertisers, the billionaire would be freer to implement his “free speech” vision for Twitter. “I’ve always thought that a move to a subscription business would make sense for Twitter … it’s never been a great advertising platform,” said Larry Vincent, associate professor of marketing at USC’s Marshall School of Business. Twitter’s advertising business