Musk's Twitter takeover: Twitterati in India divided, many hail development, others sound caution
New Delhi (PTI): With billionaire Elon Musk closing the deal to buy Twitter and firing the social media firm's four top executives, twitterati in India on Friday seemed divided with many who were vocal against content moderation on the platform hailing the development while others sounding a note of caution.
Musk has completed his USD 44 billion (one billion=100 crore) takeover of Twitter and fired the social media company's four top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal and legal executive Vijaya Gadde, according to the New York Times.
Musk singled out Gadde, 48, criticising her for her role in content moderation decisions at the company, the report said.
"The bird is freed," Musk, 51, tweeted after closing the deal.
Reacting to the development, filmmaker Ashoke Pandit tweeted, "While wickets are falling in Twitter after Elon Musk takes over Urban Naxals in India must be worried."
Another filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri posted a picture of Gadde with Twitter's ex-CEO Jack Dorsey, holding a placard saying "smash brahminical patriarchy", also in the frame, and said, "They wanted to smash Brahminical Patriarchy but got smashed themselves."
"An example of Brahminical Justice. Thanks Elon Musk," he added.
Shefali Vaidya, who describes herself as a social media influencer, reacted to the development of Musk firing the top executives of Twitter, saying, "Excellent! I was shadow banned and my follower count dropped steadily from the day I welcomed Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter."
"Hopefully, now Twitter India, Twitter Support will actually make it an unbiased platform!" she said.
There were also others who sounded a note of caution over the development.
Sanjay Jha, former Congress leader and author, said Musk firing top Twitter team immediately on acquiring it upends basic leadership principles.
"This man is like Donald Trump on a lower dose of steroids," Jha said.
Swati Chaturvedi, a columnist and journalist, reacted to the development saying, "Belt up folks, this is going to be a crazy ride."
There has also been talk of imminent danger that social media will splinter into far-right wing and far left-wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide society.
K T Lakshmi Kanthan, the head of Tamil Nadu Congress' social media department said, "There are many right-wing supporters in Twitter India and letting fake handles to do their hate propaganda which spreads venom in the society. Elon Musk should look into this, if he really cares for the freedom of the bird."
The New York Times said that Musk, the world's richest man, closed the deal to buy Twitter on Thursday.
According to the NYT report, the Twitter executives who were fired include Agrawal, Gadde, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and General Counsel Sean Edgett.
At least one of the executives who was fired was escorted out of Twitter's office, the report said.
Agrawal, who was appointed Twitter's chief executive last year, had clashed with Musk publicly and privately in recent months about the takeover, the NYT report said.
As the Twitter account of former US President Donald Trump was permanently suspended in January last year, Hyderabad-born Gadde was at the forefront of this dramatic decision undertaken within days of the attempted insurrection by pro-Trump supporters at the US Capitol.
Musk had promised to transform Twitter by loosening the service's content moderation rules, making its algorithm more transparent and nurturing subscription businesses, as well as laying off employees.
In April, Twitter accepted Musk's proposal to buy the social media service and take it private.
However, Musk soon began sowing doubt about his intentions to follow through with the agreement, alleging that the company failed to adequately disclose the number of spam and fake accounts on the service.
When Musk said he was terminating the deal, Twitter sued the billionaire, alleging he refused to honour his obligations to Twitter and its stockholders because the deal he signed no longer serves his personal interests..
the bird is freed
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022
Freed form antinationals , enemies within the country , Urban Naxals , paid agents , Islamic fundamentalist’s.
— Ashoke Pandit (@ashokepandit) October 28, 2022
Thank you for #SwatchTwitterAbhiyaan https://t.co/LyJUxZFV2t
They wanted to smash Brahminical Patriarchy but got smashed themselves. An example of Brahminical Justice. 😆
— Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) October 28, 2022
Thanks @elonmusk. pic.twitter.com/6bMfVQkKzJ
Excellent! I was shadow banned and my follower count dropped steadily from the day I welcomed @elonmusk’s takeover of @Twitter. Hopefully, now @TwitterIndia @TwitterSupport will actually make it an unbiased platform! https://t.co/KrNc4a3cLV
— Shefali Vaidya. 🇮🇳 (@ShefVaidya) October 28, 2022
Elon Musk firing top Twitter team immediately on acquiring it upends basic leadership principles. This man is like Donald Trump on a lower dose of steroids.
— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) October 28, 2022
Belt up folks, this is going to be a crazy ride https://t.co/s0ytwmGrU7
— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) October 28, 2022
There are many right-wing supporters in @TwitterIndia and letting fake handles to do their hate propaganda which spreads venom in the society. @elonmusk should look in to this., if he really cares for the freedom of the bird. https://t.co/2R7DqCcgXZ
— KTL (@K_T_L) October 28, 2022
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
