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Musk’s Plans Around Verification, Moderation, and Payments on Twitter are Slowly Becoming Clear

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Musk Will Seek Evidence from Twitter’s Former Product Chief as He Looks to Exit His Takeover Deal

As we head into Thanksgiving, the various controversies and developments around Twitter continue to evolve, with new boss Elon Musk still throwing around ideas and making sweeping changes at the app.

And while there is still a question around whether Twitter will even remain online, due to reduced oversight of its systems, if it does, the next steps will see major shifts in direction at the app.

Catching you up, here’s a look at all the latest key developments at Twitter HQ, which could impact the platform moving forward.

Delayed verification

Musk’s first major move at Twitter, his $8 verification for all plan, has been delayed once again, with Musk noting that they need to establish better systems to combat impersonation before moving ahead.

The controversial program was launched to some users earlier this month, before being shut down after a couple of days due to confusion caused by impersonators in the app. Last week, Musk set a new target date of November 29th for a re-launch of the program, but now, that date seems to be off the cards too, as Twitter explores the potential ramifications of the checkmark-for-sale process.

Look, this is a confusing, misguided initiative – and that’s not to say that Musk is wrong about everything or to question his grand plan for the app (calm down, Elon fanfolk). Musk may well be able to get Twitter on a path to growth, and I would bet on his team eventually getting things together. But an $8 monthly fee for blue checkmarks isn’t it.

I suspect that Musk will eventually see this – with the concession of gray ‘Official’ ticks already a tacit acknowledgment of the flaws in this approach.

The vectors for potential manipulation are far too high – though I do think the alternative color options for checkmarks of different kinds could be a better approach towards verifying actual humans in the app, if Twitter also incorporates a form of ID checking into the process.

As I noted at the first suggestion of Musk’s checkmark/verification program, rather than selling blue ticks, Musk would be better off giving these new verified users a different color of checkmark, which would clarify that they are a real person, while also leaving the existing and established verification markers as is, limiting confusion in the app.

The problem is, people won’t pay $8 for these alternative markers – but I suspect that most users aren’t going to pay $8 for blue ticks either.

But maybe, with an improved Twitter Blue package, Elon can still make this into a more appealing offering.

We’ll find out when it eventually gets re-launched.

Content Moderation – Musk Style

Musk’s communicated vision of a Content Moderation Council, which would be made up of academics, civil rights leaders and other experts, and would rule on content decisions in the app, now appears to be in tatters – or at least, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to have the influence or power over Twitter’s moderation process as Musk implied when he first floated the concept a few weeks back.

As noted, within days of taking over at the app, and in an effort to reassure advertisers that he wasn’t going to let Twitter become a ‘free-for-all hellscape’, Musk said that Twitter would formulate a moderation council to oversee its biggest decisions.

Note the specific comment about reinstatements – with users calling on Musk to reinstate former President Donald Trump’s account, Musk tried to placate them with this stance, which meant that he no longer had to make a quick decision on the Trump case specifically.

Except, then he did.

Over the weekend, Musk decided to let the people decide, by holding a Twitter poll on whether Trump should be allowed back on the app. The poll, which garnered more than 15 million votes, narrowly went in favor of allowing the former President to return – and in contradiction of his previous stance, Musk then reactivated Trump’s account.

Which, apparently, caught Twitter’s sales team off-guard, who had been working to reassure ad partners that Musk wouldn’t just arbitrarily make such decisions.

Turns out, he will – while Musk has also now stated that the Content Moderation Council, if and when it is established, won’t have the final say over any major decisions.

As reported by The Verge’s Alex Heath, Musk has explained to Twitter staff that:

“This is an advisory council. I will hear what they have to say and I will either agree with it or I won’t.”

So it’s really Elon making the calls. If there was any confusion around who’s in charge, and who, ultimately, will decide what is and is not allowed, this is the answer

Which is probably not what ad partners wanted to hear.

Musk has also stated that Alex Jones will not be allowed back on the app, because of his personal views on Jones’ past actions.

So again, if there were any question, it’s Elon who’s writing the rules. No one else.  

Staff changes

After cutting Twitter’s staff headcount by over 64% (some reports have suggested even more), Musk has now laid down a new set of regulations for Twitter’s remaining employees, which includes the proviso that they now need to send Musk himself weekly updates of what they’re working on, along with examples of code for engineers.

The approach is emblematic of Musk’s Twitter management strategy – Musk has already told all staff that they’ll be expected to work ‘long hours at high intensity’ in order to get the app back on track, with this additional micro-management approach adding extra impetus and pressure, in order to keep things progressing.

Which may seem extreme – but then again, when you’re on the line for $44 billion, you’d imagine that there would be a strong desire for oversight.

Musk has also cut staff benefits, in order to reduce costs, though he has also reassured those remaining that the staff cuts are done for now, with the company actively hiring new engineering and sales staff.

On that front, Musk has also tasked his team with setting up engineering teams in lower cost markets, like Indonesia, which could be another way to maintain momentum, and get the app back on track.

Crypto payments

Another aspect of Musk’s Twitter takeover which is far less clear at this stage, but potentially far more significant, is his push to facilitate payments via tweet.

Musk, who co-founded PayPal back in 2000, has a long-held interest in improving the ACH transfer process, while Musk has also been a big supporter of certain crypto projects, including his favored Dogecoin currency.

Some have speculated that, given Musk’s history, and the fact that Binance is an equity investor in Musk’s Twitter, Musk will be looking to build streamlined payments into Twitter, in order to convert the platform into a key transfer portal, and then expand that into in-stream shopping, bill payments, remittance, etc.

Again, it’s still early, but this week, Musk reportedly informed Twitter employees that he is indeed looking to build crypto payments into the app, and that he expects payments to eventually be ‘more valuable than all the rest of Twitter combined’.

This is a difficult area, and one which all social platforms have explored at different times. Meta’s likely best-placed to make payments work, and it’s been trying to integrate Meta Pay into developing markets, like India and Indonesia, for years, in order to establish Facebook and WhatsApp as the equivalent of China’s WeChat in those regions.

WeChat, of course, has become a key utility in China, and is used by over a billion people to do everything online, from buying train tickets, to grocery shopping, to booking doctors appointments.

In the past, Meta’s also attempted to convert Messenger into the western version of WeChat, with the integration of various expanded functionalities, but it’s never caught on in the same way, but in developing regions, there is still a chance that WhatsApp, for example, could act as its equivalent platform in India.

But getting local approval for payments has proven challenging, and it’s taking time to expand habitual behaviors in the app.

Interestingly, Musk has also flagged his intent to build his own, western version of WeChat, with an app concept that he calls ‘X’, which, in his view, will be ‘the everything app’. Musk has said that he views Twitter as ‘an accelerant to X’, and while the full blueprint is not yet clear, it does seem that introducing payments on Twitter would be a key step towards that broader goal.  

But again, western audiences haven’t shown any real interest in a localized version of WeChat, so he will have a task ahead of him. But big-picture thinking is what he does, so…

There’s a lot going on at Twitter HQ, and most of it is still in flux, but over time, we’re starting to get some more solid frameworks emerging as to where Musk and his new team will be headed with the app.

All of this will take time to develop, especially with such a significant reduction in headcount, but I do expect that Twitter will stabilize at some point, as Musk settles onto some more viable, concrete directions for the app.

So long as it doesn’t crash entirely before then.



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Elon Musk reinstates far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on X

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Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been reinstated on X, formerly known as Twitter, by company owner Elon Musk

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been reinstated on X, formerly known as Twitter, by company owner Elon Musk – Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File Joe Buglewicz

Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, on Sunday reinstated far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on the social media platform, a year after vowing never to let him return.

Jones, who claimed that a December 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut that killed 20 children and six educators was a hoax, was banned from the platform — then still known as Twitter — in 2018 for violating its “abusive behavior policy.”

He was also sued by families of the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting and ordered by a judge in the case to pay up more than a billion dollars in damages last year.

Musk had himself promised never to let the Infowars host back on the social media platform, which he bought last year for $44 billion.

But following a poll Musk conducted on X asking whether Jones should be reinstated, to which some two million users responded, he flipped that decision.

“I vehemently disagree with what he said about Sandy Hook, but are we a platform that believes in freedom of speech or are we not?” the SpaceX founder said on X.

But Shannon Watts, founder of the group Moms Demand Action group which pushes for tighter gun laws, said that “defamation is not free speech.”

Musk’s decision comes the same week that the Sandy Hook families commemorate the 11th anniversary of the December 14 shooting, which Jones alleged was staged to allow the government to crack down on gun rights.

Jones’ followers harassed the bereaved families for years, accusing parents of murdered children of being “crisis actors” whose children had never existed.

It also came a week after Musk had responded to advertisers pulling out of X because of far-right posts and hate speech, including an apparent endorsement by Musk himself of an anti-Semitic tweet.

Asked whether he would respond to the advertising exodus, Musk said in an interview with journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin that the advertisers could “go f*** yourself.”

Jones, who has a million followers on X, returned to the site with his first post re-tweeting Andrew Tate, the controversial former kickboxer facing rape and human trafficking charges in Romania, in which he hailed Jones’ “triumphant return”

US media reported that as of Sunday, the account of Jones’ controversial show Infowars was still banned.

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Instagram Launches New ‘Close Friends Only’ Podcast to Showcase Celebrity Users

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Instagram Launches New ‘Close Friends Only’ Podcast to Showcase Celebrity Users

Not sure if this will be a valuable addition, or another stream that’ll fade out pretty quick, as Meta stops paying attention to it.

Today, Instagram has launched a new podcast called “Close Friends Only”, which it says will present “the latest on culture – from memes and icks, to fashion and friendship – all from your favorite celebrities.

And they’ve gone big out of the gate, with the first episode featuring Ice Spice in conversation with Doja Cat.

The conversation sees the two stars discuss their favorite memes, their favorite animals, celebrity crushes, experiences in flirting on IG, their juiciest DMs, and more.

Which will no doubt get a heap of attention, and will help make Instagram a bigger focus for youngsters seeking to replicate their idols. But in terms of practical advice or tips, yeah, there might not be a heap there.

But it could be worth tuning in anyway, in order to get the lowdown on the latest trends, from some of the people that are leading the way on cultural shifts.

But then again, as noted, it’ll be interesting to see how IG follows this first episode up, and whether they keep running regular episodes of the podcast with more celebrities.

Either way, it’s an interesting promotional vehicle for IG, especially given that it’s focusing on musicians, as TikTok becomes an even more critical platform for music promotion.

Maybe, then, this will be Instagram’s counter to that, but again, we’ll have to wait and see whether more episodes arrive.

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Who is HRH Collection founder and YouTuber, Alexandra Peirce?

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Who is HRH Collection founder and YouTuber, Alexandra Peirce?

ALEXANDRA Peirce proves there’s no such thing as bad publicity, garnering more fans and subscribers every time she posts one of her infamous video rants.

Peirce, known better by her social media pseudonym HRH Collection, has been an internet mainstay for years, and her fame only continues to grow after sharing more of her contentious takes online.

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HRH Collection founder and YouTuber, Alexandra Peirce, poses for a photo on her Instagram showcasing pieces from her jewelry lineCredit: Instagram/ therealhrhcollection

Who is Alexandra Peirce?

Alexandra Peirce is a social media personality, influencer, and jewelry designer.

Peirce was born on May 13, 1984, in the US.

She currently resides near Los Angeles, California.

Before launching her famous YouTube channel, Peirce graduated from college in 2007 with a degree in political science.

In 2009, she earned a master’s degree in international business.

While in graduate school, Peirce studied abroad in Shanghai, China, where she says she “fell in love with all things Asian.”

Peirce returned to the US during the peak of the 2008 economic recession, forcing her to move in with her parents.

Despite applying for countless jobs, she couldn’t land a position, leading her to create her YouTube channel.

Peirce post her first video, a “What’s in my bag” vlog where she walked viewers through everyday items she carried in her purse.

Peirce kept the channel going even after landing a job in accounting, posting videos and designing jewelry pieces during lunch breaks and after hours.

Fueled by her growing subscriber count, her design hobby would eventually turn into a full-fledged company, HRH Collection.

While Peirce now runs her jewelry line full-time, she is even better known on the internet for her viral videos, which typically show Peirce sitting in her car, ranting about anything from current events and pop culture trends to hairstyles and holidays.

Her videos are often cut up and reposted on TikTok, where select sound clips go viral.

Some of Peirce’s most well-known tirades include her take on beachy waves – “it’s not the vibe, stop!” – and her controversial views on Women’s Day – ““I think it’s stupid. I really do.”

Nevertheless, Peirce has amassed a legion of hardcore fans and haters who can’t help but watch her scream and shout her opinion on just about everything.

Peirce’s controversial videos (and views) have been compared to other un-cancellable influencers, like Trisha Paytas and Theo Von.

Who else could get away with yelling: “Shut up! Stop being fat! Stop being ugly!” at her viewers, who keep coming back for more?

It seems like no matter what she posts, or how many people disagree with her, viewers can’t help but leave her videos wanting more.

One TikTok user commented: “This woman is actually problematic but my brain is itched by the way she complains because it’s exactly how I think when I’m annoyed.”

Despite – or maybe because of – the controversies, Peirce has continued to grow her social media following.

Her Instagram account boasts 118,000 followers, despite several of her past accounts being banned or deleted.

Peirce’s X account is currently suspended, but that hasn’t stopped the internet icon from sharing her views online.

Her YouTube channel, which hosts over 600 videos, has 449,000 subscribers.

The hashtag #hrhcollection has also garnered nearly 1 billion views on TikTok, from reposted videos to sound bites.

Peirce has also garnered fame via interviews with BuzzFeed News and Interview Magazine, and appeared on podcasts like The Spillover With Alex Clark.

What is HRH Collection?

HRH Collection is a jewelry line created by Alexandra Peirce.

Besides rings, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets, the website also sells bag chains, keychains, ankle socks, t-shirts, and a windbreaker.

On the company’s about page, Peirce explains that the e-commerce site “started as a hobby and has now grown into a company that I’m so proud to call my own.”

Peirce first designed “a Japanese style frosting cupcake ring and key fob,” sharing the pieces on her YouTube channel.

Viewers were interested in purchasing the items, leading Peirce to create La Lumiere, mixing chain metals with assorted crystals to create bracelets and necklaces.

Peirce wore her jewelry to work and showcased her pieces on her social media, leading to steady stream of customers and orders.

From there, Peirce launched an Etsy shop, juggling her full time job alongside designing new pieces and fulfilling online orders.

Peirce states that she is “so thankful” for everyone who helped her along the way, but also offers some practical advice for anyone who hopes to turn their hobby into a viable career, saying she was “strategic” in developing HRH.

She writes: “Many of you guys ask me if you should quit your jobs to pursue YouTube or your other hobbies.”

“To be completely honest, I do not think you should quit your job for any hobby, until you have grown your company into one that can reasonably replace your job – this is very important.”

HRH collection features hundreds of items, with most priced between $50 and $150.

Shoppers can also select items from “Alex’s Musts,” which includes products like a $190 sterling silver tennis necklace, a trio of mixed metal rings for $87, and $59 diet soda hoops, resembling soda can tops.

Consumers looking for unique pieces are in luck, as there is a limited amount of inventory available per item, with many pieces already sold out.

Alexandra Peirce poses with her husband, Jason Locke, and her dog, Ming, for a photo on Instagram

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Alexandra Peirce poses with her husband, Jason Locke, and her dog, Ming, for a photo on InstagramCredit: Instagram/ therealhrhcollection

Is Alexandra Peirce married?

Peirce came under fire from both her fans and haters after getting married on June 16, 2023, to her second husband, Jason Locke.

The influencer was mocked for her dress, venue, food, and overall wedding aesthetic.

She was also trolled on social media for live-streaming the event, charging users $25 to watch the party.

Peirce chose to wear a short, white, recycled Zara dress for the reception, while the groom chose to don a camouflaged Trump/Pence hat.

After a small ceremony at Bethania Lutheran Church, a reception was held in the parking lot of the Hitching Post, a BBQ joint in Buellton, California.

The eatery’s website says it is known for its wines and West Coast barbecue, and guests dined on veggies, garlic bread, and quesadillas, among other items.

Decorations were minimal, with few flowers adorning the white tent erected in the parking lot.

Each table did come with a cherry-scented ashtray candle, personalized with ‘Mr. & Mrs. Locke’ in a gothic font.

Peirce then changed into yoga pants before heading off to a local casino with her new beau and a few close friends, keeping the party going well into the morning hours.

Many users took to X to share their thoughts.

Some users called the wedding trashy, while others lamented the party’s seemingly low budget.

One user tweeted: “You had a trailer park wedding” along with a crying and skull emojis.

Another wrote: “how can hrh collection talk about anyone when her dress looks like it came out of a Zara clearance section?”

One influencer even branded the event as “the tackiest wedding ever.”

Peirce fought back, going after her online haters and critics in another one of her infamous video rants.

In a video titled Addressing The Devils, Peirce asks her viewers: “Do you think I didn’t know what my wedding was gonna be like? Like, I didn’t plan my wedding?”

“I don’t like big to-dos. I’m the least to-do person ever.”

She added: “B***h, I could fly to the f**king Maldives with every damn f**king person in my damn family and pay for everyone and not have it impact me at all, you f**king idiots.”

Peirce then stressed that her and Locke wanted to keep the wedding “casual and mellow.”

She said: “I did exactly what I wanted to do for my wedding and I would do it all exactly over again.”

Peirce ended the video by saying: “I’m happy, I’m in a really loving relationship. I basically have everything I want.”

“I have my own business, a beautiful house, I have a husband. I’m really happy right now and you guys are so vicious and mean.”

Then, in her signature fashion, she addressed her haters head-on, explaining: “I get it, because you’re miserable and ugly.”

“And you’re a loser, I understand. Life isn’t fair.”



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