Twitter’s dictator, Elon Musk, abruptly shut down offices after hundreds of people put down their papers. Employees have refused to work under Elon Musk’s new vision for the social media platform. Mass resignation comes after Elon’s ultimatum asking Twitter staff to commit to a “hardcore” work environment or “accept a buyout”. Now, fans are concerned that Twitter is shutting down forever. Read on to understand the situation better.
Why Has Elon Musk Shut Down Twitter Offices?
Twitter employees have put down their papers a day after Elon Musk issued an ultimatum asking Twitter staff to commit to a “hardcore” work environment or accept a buyout. In retaliation, Elon abruptly shut down Twitter offices on Thursday (Nov. 17).
The existing staff was told by company officials that all buildings were being temporarily closed, “effective immediately” and that “their ability to renter with ID access was being suspended for the time being”. The offices are expected to reopen on Monday. The mass registration has added concerns about Twitter’s future as #RIPTwitter continues to flood social media.
Is Twitter Shutting Down?
The dramatic move to close Twitter officers came about an hour after the Tesla owner’s 5 pm ET deadline for Twitter workers to officially sign on to his new “extremely hardcore” plans for the company. However, it has been reported that less than 50% of the company’s staff (roughly 4,000 people) signed up to work at “Twitter 2.0”, meaning they effectively resigned under the terms Musk offered in a Tuesday ultimatum.
As a result, Mush and his executives personally tried to convince some “critical” personnel to stick with the company, but then some staffers who were video called began to hang up after the 5 p.m. deadline, even though Elon continued speaking. For many, this social media site appears to be on the edge of a mountain while some already have considered it as dead.
As a result of this mass resignation, and subsequent step to temporarily shut down Twitter offices, the hashtag “RIPTwitter” started trending on Twitter where users shared hilarious memes and posts while highlighting that the platform might soon shut down. However, there is no official word on the same.
Me finding out that twitter might shut down soon#RIPTwitter pic.twitter.com/AEZAdnfjY6
— Kojo Darko🇬🇭 (@kojodarkoo) November 18, 2022
Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, many celebrities have already deactivated that account, stating that the present and future of this social media site are in danger. For instance, after Elon Musk fired several employees, celebrities like Gigi Hadid said goodbye to Twitter, referring to Musk’s takeover as a ‘Cesspool of Hate and Bigotry’.
Everyone on Twitter to Elon Musk right now #RIPTwitter #TwitterTakeover pic.twitter.com/m03XswU9QN
— Abhishek Rathore ✿ (@AbhishekSachib) November 18, 2022
Out of the many controversial changes proposed by the world’s richest man, one such policy of “Twitter Blue” has led to many fake accounts seizing on the chaos. The proposal ironically creates more inauthenticity and harms the credibility of Twitter.
Gentlemen, it has been a privilege tweeting with you.#RIPTwitter pic.twitter.com/DIwqFPXGsk
— ᴠᴏʟᴅʏ ᵀʰᵉ ᴮᵒᵐᵇᵃʸ ᴳᵃⁿᵍˢᵗᵉʳ (@VoldyTweetz_) November 18, 2022
A recent example of this chaos is a fake Twitter account impersonating LeBron James recently announced that the basketball star was requesting a trade away from the Lakers. Other victims include athletes like Connor McDavid and Aroldis Chapman. There is another fake Nintendo of America account (with a blue tick), depicting the image of Mario showing his middle finger.
Recently, Jimmy Fallon’s fake death news started circulating on Twitter. Fake accounts and fake news have become a common affair amid Elon’s content moderation. Elon’s vague policies and decisions have certainly hit the credibility of the site, which once was considered “informative” and a platform for “free speech”.
As for Twitter’s future, the social media site isn’t shutting down so do not go with these memes. The company’s statement has mentioned that offices have been temporarily shut down and will open on Monday. But again, if not today, Twitter may see an end tomorrow. Its credibility is hit badly since Elon’s takeover. Do you stand with these employees?
