ICYMI: The billionaire asked the California legislator if he had approved “hidden state censorship in direct violation of the Constitution of the United States”.

Mr. Schiff was quick to turn things around with the owner of Twitter.

“I can’t stand censorship. Or hate speech. As the (outgoing) CEO of Twitter, how about you? Why not do more to stop slurs against black people, LGBTQ+ people, Jews and others? Do you commit to providing the public with real answers and data, not just tweets? ” he wrote.

ICYMI: Tesla investors would be furious at what they see as a major distraction for Musk. The electric car maker is currently having its biggest stock selloff since its IPO 12 years ago (see chart below), and the CEO’s antics on Twitter are seen as a big factor in that fall. $600 billion.

We heard from Antoine Argouges, founder of ethical investment group Tulipshare:

ICYMI: Elon Musk is “actively looking” for a new Twitter CEO, according to sources cited by CNBC.

It’s unclear who a potential successor might be, despite several prominent figures coming forward with their names – including rapper Snoop Dogg and computer scientist Lex Fridman.

“The question is not finding a CEO, the question is finding a CEO who can keep Twitter alive,” Musk tweeted Sunday night.

Mastodon has seen millions of users flood in since Elon Musk took over Twitter in October, increasing the number of monthly users by eight times.

According to a blog post by platform founder Eugen Rochko, the website saw 2.5 million users between the months of October and November, a big jump from the previous 300,000 users.

In the post addressing Twitter’s now rescinded rules limiting the posting of links to other social media sites and the suspension of journalists, Rochko wrote that “more and more journalists, political figures, writers , actors and organizations” were on the move.

“Understanding that freedom of the press is absolutely essential for a functioning democracy, we are delighted to see Mastodon grow into a household name in newsrooms around the world, and we are committed to continuing to improve our software to make in the face of new challenges that come with rapid growth and increasing demand,” he wrote.

Mastodon is a free, open-source, and self-hosted platform that has grown in popularity lately. However, its user base still remains a fraction of Twitter’s more than 238 million users.

ICYMI: Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has condemned billionaire Elon Musk after the new Twitter chief suspended the accounts of half a dozen journalists who regularly reported on him and the social media platform.

Responding to the billionaire’s blunt ban on journalists, Ms Ocasio-Cortez stressed he should take a ‘hit and dismiss proto-fascism’.

She pointed out that Mr. Musk was an extremely controversial and powerful public figure. “I feel in danger, but descending into abuse of power + erratically banning journalists only increases the intensity around you,” the Democratic lawmaker said.

As someone who has been the victim of real and dangerous conspiracies, I understand. I had no security and experienced many scary incidents,” she added.

“In fact, many of the right-wing outlets you are raising now have posted photos of my house, my car, etc. At some point you have to log out. Maybe try hanging up your phone,” she suggested.

Mr. Musk was quick to reply: “You first lol.”

ICYMI: On Monday night, Mr Musk appeared to fuel a theory that bots were to blame for his loss in the poll asking whether he should remain CEO of Twitter.

Earlier on Monday, an account with the username Wall Street Silver tweeted a side-by-side comparison of the poll on the issue of reinstating former President Donald Trump’s account with the poll on the issue of Mr. Musk on Twitter.

The old poll had around 15 million votes and 836,000 likes, while the latest poll had nearly 15 million votes and only 312,000 likes. This led Wall Street Silver to wonder “Did the bots participate in the Elon poll yesterday?”

Mr Musk replied “Interesting”. It’s unclear why there would be a relationship between voting in a Twitter poll and liking a tweet, two different actions that don’t seem to have a direct relationship.

Elon Musk has admitted deleting accounts for posting links to rival Mastodon was “a mistake” as he searches for a replacement after announcing he is stepping down.

While speaking in a Twitter space on Wednesday, Mr Musk was asked about suspending accounts, such as that of venture capitalist Paul Graham, for posting links to Mastodon.

“Yeah, that one was a mistake,” Musk said when asked if any users had been banned for mentioning Mastodon.

““I agree, it was a mistake,” the Tesla billionaire said again after learning that arguments could be made to suspend Kanye West and ElonJet.

He was then asked to clarify if people can post the link to Mastodon now.

“Yeah fucking post Mastodon all fucking day I don’t care,” he added.

Read the full story here:

ICYMI: Even if Elon Musk leaves the head of Twitter, choosing a successor may not be so simple.

“No one wants work that can actually keep Twitter alive,” he tweeted overnight. “There is no successor.”

One of those who have come forward to offer their services is Lex Fridman, a popular artificial intelligence researcher, computer scientist and podcast host.

“Let me run a bit on Twitter,” he tweeted at Musk. “No salary. Focus on great engineering and increase the amount of love in the world. Just offering my help in the unlikely event that it helps.

Musk replied, “You must love pain a lot. One catch: You have to invest all your savings in Twitter, and it’s been on the fast track to bankruptcy since May. Do you still want the job?

ICYMI: Officials in Brussels have warned Elon Musk that Twitter could face “sanctions, soon” after expelling a series of journalists from its platform.

EU Commissioner Vera Jourova said the suspensions were “worrying” and that EU law protects media freedom. “The news about the arbitrary suspension of journalists on Twitter is disturbing,” Ms. Jourova said.

The Commissioner, who is the European Commission’s Vice-President for Values ​​and Transparency, said: “The EU Digital Services Act requires respect for media freedom and fundamental rights. This is reinforced by our #MediaFreedomAct.

“Elon Musk should be aware of this. There are red lines. And sanctions, soon.

ICYMI: John Besey previews Mr Musk’s announcement on Monday night that only paying Twitter subscribers will be able to vote on future policy-related issues.

The announcement came shortly after a majority of Twitter users voted for Mr Musk to step down from his role at the company in a poll opened on Sunday.