Gigi Hadid deactivates Twitter account after Elon Musk takeover
What's the story
American supermodel Gigi Hadid has deactivated her Twitter account, speaking against the company's leadership takeover by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk last week. In an Instagram Story, she announced that she was leaving Twitter amid the mass layoffs, including the human rights team, at the company. She apologized to her fans who followed her and connected with her for over a decade on the platform.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Twitter is a household name among netizens. Elon Musk took over the microblogging platform last week and has since been making various changes, including enforcing mass layoffs. Interestingly, while many users have been opposing Musk's acquisition of Twitter since a capitalist running an information dissemination channel can hinder the free flow of information, others argued the Tesla boss could make it a better place.
Details
A 'cesspool' of hate: Hadid
Hadid did not mince words while slamming Twitter's new leadership and called the platform a "cesspool" of hate. She posted, "For a long time, but especially with its new leadership, it's becoming more and more of a cesspool of hate and bigotry, and it's not a place I want to be a part of.." She emphasized that this micro-blogging platform was not safe anymore.
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Musk defends his decision on layoffs
Meanwhile, Musk earlier defended his move to fire thousands of Twitter employees, saying the company was losing $4 million every day and reducing the workforce was the only solution. He also claimed the laid-off employees were offered three months of severance pay, which is 50% more than legally required. Moreover, on Saturday, Twitter began rolling out paid subscriptions charging $8/month for blue tick verification.
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Notable celebs who left Twitter recently
After Musk's takeover, many celebrities started deactivating their Twitter accounts. American producer-writer Shonda Rhimes was one of the first ones to exit the social media platform. Singer Toni Braxton also quit Twitter earlier. She expressed her shock at the exploitation of free speech and posted, "Hate speech under the veil of 'free speech' is unacceptable; therefore, I am choosing to stay off Twitter."