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.
IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
