Elon Musk, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Twitter, has implemented adjustments to address significant levels of data scraping and system manipulation on the social media platform.
As part of these changes, verified accounts will now have a daily limit of reading 10,000 posts. Unverified accounts, on the other hand, will be restricted to 1,000 posts per day, while new unverified accounts can only read 500 posts daily.
Initially, Musk had announced lower limits during the temporary restrictions. The initial announcement stated that verified accounts would be limited to 6,000 posts per day, unverified accounts to 600 posts per day, and new unverified accounts to 300 posts per day.
However, this decision faced opposition, prompting Musk to revise the limits. The revised limits then stood at 8,000 posts for verified accounts, 800 posts for unverified accounts, and 400 posts for new unverified accounts.
Despite the adjustments, social media users continued to express their dissatisfaction, leading Musk to further revise the daily limits to their current levels.
Read more tweets from affected users:
dude, i haven't reached my twitter limit since yesterday. is it actually gone or what?
Answered some tweets and already twitter has said I've reached my limit. I can't even look through my timeline because now it won't let me. Elon is obviously lying because no way are the limits imposed on people hundreds of tweet views; I didn't even manage ANY views.
My twitter is working for the moment. I feel like I'm in a car with the gas needle on empty and the next gas station is 50 miles away. I bet when I get to the gas station, they'll be a sign out front that reads, "You've reached your limit try again later."
My twitter is working for the moment. I feel like I'm in a car with the gas needle on empty and the next gas station is 50 miles away. I bet when I get to the gas station, they'll be a sign out front that reads, "You've reached your limit try again later."
Following the murder of Nahel, a French left-wing lawmaker has demanded that France’s gun laws be overturned.
Mathilde Panot, president of the left-wing political party La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), criticises the government for sending anti-terror police into working class areas and says President Emmanuel Macron “knows only repression”.
Writing on Twitter, she adds the government must repeal the law’s “licence to kill” and rebuild the police from the ground up.
The 2017 law, which allows police to shoot if a driver ignores orders to stop under some circumstances, is being widely blamed for the teenager’s death.
Both the Twitter CEO and Facebook founder have agreed to engage in a cage fight, and Musk is wasting no time in his preparations.
Recent reports and accompanying images show Musk actively training with Lex Fridman, a scientist affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Fridman, who is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu Black Belt, took to social media to share two photos of the session.
A noted by talkSPORT, the BJJ Black Belt was impressed by Musk during the session.
“I’m extremely impressed with his strength, power, and skill, on the feet and on the ground. It was epic. It’s really inspiring to see Elon and Mark doing martial arts,” he said.
The South African-born Musk has also accepted an offer from UFC legend, Georges St-Pierre, to train him for the fight against Zuckerberg.
During his childhood, the Space X owner previously trained in Kyokushin karate, taekwondo, judo, and BJJ, while Facebook’s boss has won medals in jiu-jitsu skills at a recent tournament.
UFC Heavyweight champion, Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, has also offered to train Zuckerberg for the fight, which could take place in UFC’s Octagon.
Jon Jones backs Mark Zuckerberg
As Sports Brief reported, Jones has offered Zuckerberg his services ahead of his potential fight against Musk.
A lecturer at the University of Ghana (UG) has allegedly been subjected to severe injuries during an armed robbery incident on Thursday, June 22, 2023.
According to a social media user, Raphael Akavani, the lecturer was attacked close to the office of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) at Legon.
The robbers inflicted cutlass wounds on the hand of the lecturer and other parts of his body as they were trying to rob him.
They managed to steal the lecturer’s laptop, phones and other belongings.
A picture of the victim shared on Twitter showed that his right hand was badly injured.
Hilda Baci’s Guinness World Record achievement for the longest cooking marathon by an individual has shattered records once again, this time on Twitter.
The exhilarating video tweet, shared on the official Guinness World Records’ Twitter page, has surpassed a staggering 25 million views, securing its place as the most-viewed tweet in the account’s history.
With an announcement made on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, the Guinness World Record Team unveiled Hilda’s extraordinary feat, surpassing the previous record held by Indian chef Lata Tondon.
The official account posted, “After reviewing all the footage, we’re delighted to announce that Hilda Baci is the new record holder for the longest cooking marathon (individual) 💫 Watch the video to find out the official time we’ve awarded Hilda and read the full explanation below 👇,” the official account posted.
Hilda, a 26-year-old restauranteur hailing from Lagos, displayed her culinary prowess for an impressive duration, surpassing the previous record of 87 hours and 50 minutes.
yeah, so this is our best performing tweet of all time with nearly 25 million news feeds reached 🤯 https://t.co/iGBDw0qdLK
The news of Hilda’s remarkable achievement quickly spread like wildfire, capturing the imagination and curiosity of people worldwide. Guinness World Records proudly exclaimed on Twitter, “Yeah, so this is our best-performing tweet of all time with nearly 25 million news feeds reached.”
Not only did Hilda’s record-breaking success captivate the Twitterverse, but it also caused a stir on the officialGuinness World Records website. The overwhelming popularity of her ‘cook-a-thon’ caused the website to crash for two days due to an astounding surge in traffic from her devoted fanbase.
Hilda’s journey to claim this monumental record took the social media realm by storm, with millions in Nigeria and beyond fervently following her progress via an engaging Instagram live stream.
Driven by her unwavering passion to showcase the vibrant tapestry of Nigerian culinary traditions, Hilda embarked on this extraordinary mission with a clear objective in mind. “I wanted to put Nigerian cuisine on the map,” she shared with resolute determination. “I also chose to break this record to truly push my limits and test my abilities.”
In an interview with a Ghanaian based media house, the award-winning chef unveiled the numerous challenges she encountered during her awe-inspiring journey to the 100-hour cooking feat.
Hilda revealed that the immense stress of the marathon pushed her to experience her menstrual cycle and accompanying cramps earlier than expected. As a result, she diligently took showers during her breaks to maintain personal hygiene and change accordingly.
Hilda further explained that being on her period reduced the precious time she had for rest, intensifying an already arduous endeavour. “I was on my period the entire time, and I think that sort of made it extra hard. What that meant was it took away from the time I had to rest,” she shared.
As reported by a network of observers located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), at least 46 people—including 23 children—were killed and six others were injured at a displacement camp.
Following a Monday attack by the militia group “Codeco,” the incident, according to the Kivu Security Tracker, took place in the Djugu area.
Following an incursion by #CODECO, “at least 46 civilians were killed and six wounded on Monday, June 12 at the #Lala displaced persons camp (Djugu territory, #Ituri),” Kivu Security said on Twitter.
Kivu Security added that the attack was the deadliest experienced in the area in more than a year. The massacre may have been a reprisal for acts of violence by other armed milita groups, they said.
In a statement on Monday, the UN peacekeeping mission ‘Monusco’ said that they condemn in the “strongest” terms the “despicable attack” that took place in the displacement camp.
“MONUSCO has reinforced its security presence in the area, in liaison with the provincial authorities,” a statement by MONUSCO chief said.
“The Mission will spare no effort to put an end to these attacks and to fight against impunity, in accordance with its mandate.”
The statement added that MONUSCO extends its condolences to the families of the victims and “wishes a speedy recovery” to the injured.
MONUSCO urged the Congolese authorities to expedite an investigation and bring perpetrators to justice.
The DRC continues to grapple with waves of violence that have persisted in its North Kivu province, despite efforts by its armed forces and international peacekeepers to contain it.
The Congolese government also condemned the attack while assuring that its armed forces “remain committed to restoring security in Ituri.”
Activist group LUCHA says the government hasn’t done enough in protecting vulnerable communities from attacks.
In January, at least 12 worshipers were killed and around 50 injured at a church service when a bomb was detonated by the ADF militia group in Kasindi, North Kivu.
The lawmaker for Ningo Prampram, Sam Nartey George has descended on a Nigerian gay pastor who attacked him over his claims on the LGBTQ+ issues in the country.
Rightify Ghana, a human rights organisation, in a long Twitter thread, wrote about the threats and dangers the proposed “Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill” before parliament will pose to the lives of members of the LGBTQ+ community.
The group referred to the lead sponsor of the bill, Sam George as a “liar” for claiming that members of the LGBTQ+ are asking for same-sex marriage in Ghana.
The British-Nigerian gay pastor, Reverend Jide Macaulay referred to Sam George as a failed politician and a national disgrace for allegedly peddling falsehood against the queer community.
The founder and pastor for House of Rainbow CIC in a tweet wrote “Sam George lacks the basic intelligence in understanding human sexuality. He is a failed politician, a national disgrace, a threat to national security and he needed hatred to boost his career. His explanation makes no sense. LGBTQ people are not asking for marriage in Ghana, they are asking for protection from violence, the safety of life, the right to assemble, enjoyment of their lives and highest standard of healthcare.
“Queer Ghanaians are peace lovers.”
The lawmaker in a sharp rebuttal called the pastor a failed human being and asked him to pay attention to his HIV infection which he contracted through homosexuality.
“Look at this failed human being attempting to call me out? Go deal with your HIV infection, which is a result of your homosexuality. Like they say in your home country, Nigeria, you no reach! Off you go!” Sam George tweeted.
The LGBTQ+ Bill before Parliament is titled: “The Promotion of Proper Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill 2021.” It is a Private Members’ Bill sponsored by a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
The eight MPs who sponsored the Bill are Sam Nartey George (MP, Ningo Prampram), Emmanuel Bedzrah (MP, Ho West) Della Adjoa Sowah (MP, Kpando), John Ntim Fordjour (MP, Assin South) – the sole NPP MP sponsoring the Bill.
The remaining sponsors are Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini (MP, Tamale North), Helen Adjoa Ntoso (MP, Krachi West), Rita Naa Odoley Sowah (MP, La Dadekotopon) and Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor (MP, South Dayi).
Following technical glitches during the launch of Ron DeSantis’ US presidential campaign on Twitter, Foad Dabiri, an engineering chief at the company, has announced his departure.
In a tweet, Dabiri stated, “After almost four incredible years at Twitter, I decided to leave the nest yesterday.”
During the DeSantis campaign event, a Twitter livestream encountered malfunctions, causing disruptions. It is unclear whether Dabiri’s departure is directly linked to this incident or if there are other reasons behind his decision.
Despite a BBC request for comment, Dabiri has not provided further details, and Twitter has not issued a statement regarding his exit.
Dabiri, who served as the engineering lead for Twitter’s Growth organization, acknowledged experiencing two distinct eras at the company—before and after its acquisition by billionaire Elon Musk last year.
In another post, Mr Dabiri said the transition into Twitter’s “2.0” was “massive and rapid”.
He added: “To say it was challenging at the outset would be an understatement.”
Image caption,Mr DeSantis’ entry into the 2024 race for the White House had been long anticipated
However, Mr Dabiri said: “Working with @elonmusk has been highly educational, and it was enlightening to see how his principles and vision are shaping the future of this company.”
Issues with a Twitter livestream meant that an event to launch Mr Desantis’ bid for the Republican presidential nomination got under way 20 minutes late.
By the time Wednesday evening’s Twitter talk had begun in earnest, hundreds of thousands of Twitter users had left the platform.
The Florida governor is viewed as former President Donald Trump’s chief rival to be their party’s candidate in the 2024 general election.
Mr Musk, who also runs car maker Tesla and rocket firm SpaceX, bought Twitter for $44bn (£35.4bn) in October.
Speaking to the BBC last month, he said that cutting the workforce from just under 8,000 people at the time he bought the firm to about 1,500 had not been easy.
Since Mr Musk took the reins at Twitter, he has laid off thousands of employees, including engineers responsible for the site’s operations and technical troubleshooting.
Mr DeSantis’ team worked quickly to spin the technical stumbles, writing on Twitter that the announcement had broken “the internet with so much excitement”, and posting a link to the campaign website.
His press secretary Bryan Griffin claimed the online event had raised $1m in an hour.
At one point, the Twitter event drew more than 600,000 listeners, according to Reuters news agency figures, but by its conclusion, there were fewer than 300,000.
Once the livestream began, Mr DeSantis turned the conversation to his conservative credentials and touted his handling of the Covid-19 crisis in his state – an anti-lockdown approach applauded by many Republicans.
Exactly six months after his contentious takeover of the social media business, Elon Musk has selected a new CEO of Twitter.
The billionaire said Linda Yaccarino, the former head of advertising at NBCUniversal, would oversee business operations at the site, which has been struggling to make money.
He said she would start in six weeks.
Mr Musk will remain involved as executive chairman and chief technology officer.
“Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app,” he wrote on Twitter, confirming the decision a day after he had stoked speculation by writing that he had found a new boss without revealing their identity.
Mr Musk – who bought the social media platform last year for $44bn – had been under pressure to find someone else to lead the company and refocus his attention on his other businesses, which include electric carmaker Tesla and rocket firm SpaceX.
With fewer than 10% of Fortune 500 tech companies headed by women, Ms Yaccarino will become that rare example of a woman at the top of a major tech firm, after rising steadily through the ranks of some of America’s biggest media companies.
Ms Yaccarino was raised in an Italian-American family, with a father who was a police officer and a mother who never went to college.
After graduating from Penn State, she worked at Turner Entertainment for 15 years before joining NBCUniversal, where she oversaw roughly 2,000 people, and was involved with the launch of its streaming service.
Her work has been marked by close collaborations with big brands, finding opportunities for product placement and convincing them to advertise alongside television shows – even ones with a reputation for edgy content, such as Sex and the City when it first launched.
She has also built relationships in new media with the likes of Apple News, Snapchat and YouTube.
A 2005 profile in an industry publication portrayed her as a busy, married mother-of-two children, then aged 13 and 9.
“I have absolutely no hobbies,” she said at the time.
Business Insider’s Claire Atkinson has followed Ms Yaccarino’s career for two decades and said her background in advertising could help Twitter, which has seen its ad sales drop sharply since Mr Musk’s takeover.
“If Twitter are looking to monetise better than they have been, then that would be the place to start and Linda would be the ideal person to make that happen,” the chief media correspondent said.
“She’s the kind of person that I can imagine Elon Musk needs,” Ms Atkinson added. “She won’t be rolled over.”
Indeed, her negotiating style within the industry earned her the nickname the “velvet hammer”, according to the Wall Street Journal in 2012.
Ms Yaccarino will face the challenge of running a business that has struggled to be profitable, while facing intense scrutiny over how Twitter handles the spread of misinformation and manages hate speech.
When Mr Musk first started discussing his plans for Twitter last year, he said he wanted to reduce the platform’s reliance on advertising and make changes to the way it moderated content.
He also said he wanted to expand the site’s functions to include payments, encrypted messaging and phone calls, turning it into something he called X.
But Mr Musk courted controversy when he fired thousands of staff upon his takeover, including people who had been tasked with dealing with abusive posts.
He also overhauled the way the service authenticates accounts, charging for blue ticks in a move critics said would facilitate the spread of misinformation.
Some of the changes raised concerns among advertisers, worried about risks to their brands, who subsequently halted spending on the site.
Mr Musk has acknowledged “massive” declines in revenue, though he told the BBC last month that companies were returning.
At an advertising conference last month Ms Yaccarino interviewed Mr Musk and pressed him on what he was doing to reassure firms that their brands would not be exposed to risk.
“The people in this room are your accelerated path to profitability,” she said. “But there’s a decent bit of sceptics in the room.”
There has also been some instant scepticism at Ms Yaccarino’s appointment on social media, where many were looking for clues to her politics, which reportedly lean conservative.
Her work for the World Economic Forum, an organisation viewed negatively as “globalist” by those on the right, has not been well-received in some quarters along with her role in a coronavirus vaccination campaign featuring Pope Francis.
Others on the left have questioned her political involvement in a White House sports, fitness and nutrition council under former President Donald Trump.
Mr Musk, who has also put women in senior positions at SpaceX and Tesla, is known to be a notoriously unpredictable and demanding boss.
Even the announcement unfolded in an unusual manner, after media reports sparked by Mr Musk’s post that identified Ms Yaccarino appeared to catch her bosses at NBCUniversal off guard.
As of mid-Friday in the US, Ms Yaccarino had still not commented publicly on the move.
Industry watchers will be curious to see how the relationship develops between the New Yorker and the until now hands-on Mr Musk.
Ms Atkinson said the two Twitter executives would be facing “difficult conversations” about how to handle moderation, especially with the 2024 presidential election approaching in the US.
“How long Linda can last under these tricky management situations is anyone’s guess,” Ms Atkinson said.
Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of Twitter, revealed that he has appointed a woman to lead the social media site and that he will ‘transition’ to other positions inside the business.
I’m happy to report that I’ve appointed a new CEO for X/Twitter. Musk tweeted on Thursday afternoon that She will be starting in “6 weeks.”
“My role will change to executive chair and CTO, overseeing product, software, and sysops,” the employee stated.
Musk withheld the identity of the incoming CEO for the time being.
Musk purchased Twitter in October for $44billion and has faced criticism for changes he’s made to the social media platform.
Soon after becoming the ‘Chief Twit’, Musk fired some executives and hundreds of employees, saying that it was necessary to make the company healthy financially. The company has slashed about 75% of its 7,500 staff.
Musk reinstated some users who were suspended from Twitter, including former President Donald Trump who was banned after his remarks around the deadly January 6 Capitol riot.
He also implemented the Twitter Blue subscription aimed at supplementing revenue from advertising. The subscription allows users to obtain blue checkmark verification for $8 a month, a status previously given to celebrities, politicians, journalists and some other prominent individuals.
In December, Musk launched a poll asking if he should step down as head of Twitter and pledged to ‘abide by the results’. The final results showed that 57.5% of the more than 17million respondents felt ‘yes’, that Musk should step down.
Musk then vowed to leave his post as Twitter CEO once he found someone ‘foolish enough to take the job’.
Twitter’s company name was recently changed to X Corp, which is what ‘X’ referred to in Musk’s tweet.
Some Tesla shareholders were upset that Musk serving as Twitter boss was taking time away from his work with the automaker. Tesla’s shares jumped 2% after Musk’s announcement, signaling that investors were keen on the development.
Elon Musk has revealed that he has identified a new chief executive to head Twitter.
The announcement was made by Musk on the social media platform, which he acquired last year for $44 billion.
Although he did not disclose the identity of the incoming CEO, Musk stated that “she” would assume the role in six weeks.
But what is known is that this individual is a woman.
If Mr Musk has indeed appointed a female executive, it would make her one of the few women to reach the top of a major technology company.
Women accounted for fewer than 10% of chief executives of tech firms included in America’s 500 biggest companies last year.
Musk himself will transition to the positions of executive chairman and chief technology officer.
The decision to appoint a new leader comes amid mounting pressure on Musk to delegate Twitter’s management responsibilities and concentrate on his other ventures.
Last year, after Twitter users voted for him to step down in an online poll, he said: “No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive.”
However, although Mr Musk had said he would hand over the reins, it was by no means clear when or even if it would happen.
Excited to announce that I’ve hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will be starting in ~6 weeks!
My role will transition to being exec chair & CTO, overseeing product, software & sysops.
Tesla shares rose after the announcement. Mr Musk has previously been accused by shareholders of abandoning Tesla after his takeover of Twitter and damaging the car company’s brand.
“We ultimately view this as a major step forward with Musk finally reading the room that has been around this Twitter nightmare,” Dan Ives from the investment firm Wedbush Securities said.
“Trying to balance Twitter, Tesla and SpaceX as CEOs [is] an impossible task that needed to change,” Mr Ives added.
According to two US media reports, NBCUniversal’s head of advertising Linda Yaccarino was in talks to become the chief executive of Twitter. The Wall Street Journal and Variety cited people familiar with the matter.
Although Mr Musk has talked about paid subscribers to Twitter Blue, it is advertising that brings in the vast majority of revenue at Twitter.
The new boss will no doubt seek to improve relationships with advertisers, and smooth their fears over content moderation.
Mr Musk, a self-proclaimed free speech absolutist, has said he took over Twitter to protect free speech. However, advertisers do not want their content next to misinformation or extremist content.
He purchased Twitter in October only after a lawsuit forced him to go through with the deal. Upon taking charge, Mr Musk controversially fired thousands of staff in a bid to cut costs at the firm, which has struggled to be profitable.
In March, Mr Musk said those efforts had paid off and the platform’s finances were improving.
They then learned that the 69-year-old driver had never passed his test or received a license, meaning he had been operating a vehicle unlawfully for fifty years.
He had been deceiving auto insurance companies into believing he had a license the entire time, and it appears that he had been bragging about his elaborate scheme, which ultimately brought him to justice.
A statement from the unit shared on Twitter said: ‘The driver of this vehicle has never passed a test despite being 69 years old and having been driving for over 50 years.
‘He has systematically provided details to insurance companies indicating that he had a licence but the flaw in his dastardly plan was bragging.
‘His long reign came to an abrupt end once we found out. Vehicle seized and driver reported for numerous offences.’
Paul Farley, of the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, commented: ‘Finally, brought a totally unacceptable reign to an end.
‘The bit he was missing was had he been involved in a collision and we paid out on a claim, we would’ve come back to him for the total cost of that claim.’
The statement has drawn mixed reactions, with some questioning how the driver managed to get away with it for 50 years.
Steve said: ‘It’s not a good look for the system, he’s managed to carry out his entire life without being caught before, even in todays ANPR world he’s evaded the system for years. Sadly, this one may encourage other chancers as odds of being caught are low.’
In contrast, Joe said: ‘Probably a far better driver than many road users, he’s avoided the police for 50 years… the UK would benefit from having more drivers like this on the road!’
Twitter is enraged about the usage of the Asanteman Gold, Black, and Green flag on a brochure promoting the Otumfuo’s attendance at King Charles III’s coronation on May 6.
The flyer, an unofficial one, posted by a Twitter handle called Royal World Thailand, captures a number of royals who attended the event.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and Lady Julia are the first on the flyer but whereas the others had their national flags beneath their portraits, they had the Asanteman flag not the Ghana flag.
The Asanteman flag is always present especially on official cars of the Otumfuo wherever he travels to in the country.
So what is the disagreement about?
At the heart of the back and forth that has since ensued is why the Ghana flag was not used with those demanding so, insisting that Asanteman is within Ghana and the Otumfuo is Ghanaian.
Those against the move are of the view that the Asantehene was invited in his capacity as leader of the Ashanti Kingdom which has strong relations with the British monarchy.
What you need to know: The Asanteman flag
The Asantes (Asante Region/Asante Kingdom) are the only people in Ghana with an official national flag, a symbol of authority which they call the Asanteman Flag.
The flag of the Ashanti Region was adopted by the Ashanti kingdom’s Emperor Asantehene Prempeh II in 1935.
It is based on the Ashanti absolute monarchy throne, the Golden Stool, which has been Ashanti’s symbol of unity and soul since 1701, the early-eighteenth century AD, upon the foundation of the Ashanti Empire.
Yellow, black, and green are the colours that signify the Ashanti flag.
All the elements in the Flag have a meaning, and they have been explained below:
1. The yellow part of the flag represents the riches/wealth of Asanteman.
2. The Black part of the flag represents the symbolic image of the Blackman concerning the Asante Nation and the courage of the Asante Nation in facing the challenges of warfare.
3. The Green colour, represents the refreshingly greener vegetation cover in the forest areas of Asanteman.
4. The symbol in the Black at the centre of the flag is called “Gyemirekutu KYƐ” (Hat) which is made up of animal parts coated with gold-coloured paintings: Elephant Tail, Ɔwam ti (Hornbill Head), The Skin Covering the Elephant Kneebone, The Feathers of the Hornbill, Adwera (PortulacaOleracea Leafs).
Also, the flag is beautifully positioned on the hood emblem on the bonnet of the 80-year-old Rolls Royce of the Asantehene.
You are not serious see them give you different flag you say piawwwwwww— MR DEI (@Rich99thekid) May 6, 2023
The Gold, Black & Green Is The Flag Of Asante Kingdom & Everyone Is Proud Of. So If They (Asantes) Demand Development From Otumfoɔ, Don’t Tell Them (Asantes) To Go To The President Because That’s Where They Pay Tax. https://t.co/WR3YohiJXl— sArge???????????? (@_madlipz__) May 7, 2023
This reads “List of members of Foreign Royal Families attending the Coronation”
He went to represent the people this flag belongs to — Asanteman. He’s not there to represent Ghana.
Don’t be an idiot, The Ghana flag should be there, They didn’t only represent the Ashanti Kingdom they represented us all, These things speak a lot. https://t.co/GhtTuKlrVH— Son of Sadat (@chrisaydat) May 6, 2023
Whoever the protocol officer is did a great job not using the Ghana flag. People would’ve been up in arms (and rightly so) about him not being “king of Ghana”. He went as Asantehene and it is only right the Asante flag was used https://t.co/4l6HFfcao6— Nymphadora Tonks’ Lover (@zaman_ijaz) May 6, 2023
Famous Nollywood actress and politician, Funke Akindelehas revealed why she stayed off Twitter after losing the governorship election in Lagos state.
The multi-talented thespian, who was the deputy governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was forced to ditch her political ambition after losing to the incumbent governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Following her defeat, she deleted all political campaign posts from her social media page, leaving only movie promotion posts. She also kept a low profile on Twitter, only occasionally sharing movie content.
Well, she took to her Twitter handle on Thursday to share a lovely video of herself and it sparked a ton of reactions from fans wondering why she left the platform.
Watch below,
Reacting, a follower wrote, “Madam Funke, I sight you… Longest time.. you run away from us abi wot happen?”
Funke, in her response, disclosed that she left Twitter because the platform is toxic and unhealthy due to excessive insults from trolls.
“Dem too dey insult people on this app, so I stay off,” she wrote.
See below,
A while back, Funke Akindele broke her silence on her defeat in the March 18 gubernatorial elections in Lagos.
A woman has reportedly lost her life while undergoing abortion to please her husband who doesn’t want a daughter.
This sad story was first shared onTwitter by a lady who’s believed to be close to the deceased woman who was forced into getting an abortion by her husband who wanted a son.
@_Mayowa_Sam revealed that the couple had three daughters before the recent pregnancy.
The woman’s husband who doesn’t want another girl child, made her undergo an abortion and she died after the procedure.
It was also gathered that the man has left the woman’s family in the dark since herdeath.
Read the tweets below to know more…
“This man asked his wife to go for an abortion, saying he is sure she’s carrying another baby girl. The wife died on Tuesday after the abortion. They had only 3 girls.
“The ladies family don’t know his whereabout at the moment.”
This man asked his wife to go for an abortion😭, saying he is sure she’s carrying another baby girl. The wife died on Tuesday after the abortion. 😭😭😭😭😭😭— BlackLuna (@_Mayowa_Sam) April 27, 2023
The actor of the Apple TV+ feel-good comedy series, Jason Sudeikis, has explained why his TwitterDMs are open in a new interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper.
“You try to spend as much time and be as present with people,” Sudeikis said of the show’s loyal viewers. “I read everybody’s messages.”
He added that because of the themes of the show, the cast has been met “with such kindness and grace” from viewers. Sudeikis said that he keeps his DMs open because the stories that people share with him are “incredibly moving.”
“People share their stories or explain where they’ve held the ‘Believe’ poster, where they have it. Like, in a parent’s hospital room or in classrooms or where-have-you,” he said.
Optimism, mental health and simply just being kind to one another are just a few of the themes that “Ted Lasso” has tackled. And perhaps the biggest overarching theme, illustrated by a bright yellow poster that hangs in AFC Richmond’s lively locker room, is to just “Believe” that anything is possible.
Sudeikis’s inbox is likely full of an unimaginable amount of messages, but he says that he puts forth a real effort to read what he can.
“I want ‘em to know that, sincerely, that they’re seen, they’re heard, they’re read,” he said, going on to add that the sentiments from viewers that he and those involved in the show read aren’t something they “take lightly or take for granted.”
“Ted Lasso” is set in the UK and follows an American football coach who jumps the pond to coach AFC Richmond, the struggling English Premier League soccer team. The series’ third season, which could be its last, began streaming in March and is chock full of feel-good moments, moving subplots and, of course, biscuits.
The critically acclaimed show became an instant classic when it premiered in 2020 and has since won 11 Emmy Awards, including consecutive best comedy series wins in 2021 and 2022.
Some Twitter accounts with more than one million followers have had their blue tick badges re-instated by Twitter without paying to subscribe.
Beyoncé, Harry Kane, Richard Osman and Victoria Beckham are among those to have their blue tick back.
The BBC News Twitter account also has its gold badge again, but has not paid for it.
Before the platform was bought by Elon Musk, the blue tick was a badge of verification given for free by Twitter.
It was originally used as a tool of authentication, designed to help stop fake accounts and the spread of misinformation.
Now it is a symbol that an account has subscribed to a premium service called Twitter Blue – and there is a verification process attached with making the payment. There are various prices depending on where the subscription is made but it is around $8 per month.
Those with a blue tick from the original verification process, who decided not to pay the subscription fee, began losing their ticks on 20 April.
The broadcaster James O’Brien, who has 1.1m followers, is one of those who has now got his blue tick back after losing it. He confirmed that he had not paid for his account.
He also noted that some accounts with fewer than 1m followers also appeared to have had their blue ticks restored, “anointed entirely at Elon Musk’s discretion”.
Eliot Higgins, who founded the organisation of the investigation Bellingcat, confirmed to me on Friday that his blue tick, and Bellingcat’s verification, had been given to him for free.
Mr Musk has claimed that he paid for the subscriptions himself on behalf of the author Stephen King, the actor William Shatner and the basketball player Lebron James who had all criticised the scheme.
At the time of writing, some celebrities like actor Ryan Reynolds who also owns Wrexham football club, still have no blue tick despite having over 21m followers.
It was reported that the removal of the legacy blue ticks had to be done manually so it is possible that this is also a manual process that will continue over the coming days.
Twitter Blue has had a troubled launch. It was initially delayed after fake accounts sprung up pretending to be official organisations, and in recent weeks both subscribers and formerly verified accounts have looked the same.
Subscribers’ tweets have higher visibility, individual posts can be longer, and they will see fewer ads.
Elon Musk has previously said that the firm’s finances were in dire straits when he took over and that Twitter was operating at a loss of $4m per day.
Twitter has not revealed how many people have chosen to subscribe so far but the app firm Sensor Tower estimated to TechCrunch that the platform had around 386,000 subscribers in March 2023.
This does not include subscriptions made on Twitter’s website rather than within its app but is still a small fraction of its roughly 300 million user-base.
On Thursday, the social media behemoth started deleting the formerly-desired blue tick verification from thousands of accounts.
Elon Musk, the owner, is overhauling the social media company in an effort to make a profit.
Users must spend $84 (£67) per year to subscribe to Twitter Blue in order to keep the check next to their name.
Others kept their ticks while some lost theirs. Despite saying he would not pay to be verified, LeBron James still has a blue tick which is a “complimentary subscription” gifted by Elon Musk.
The billionaire confirmed Stephen King and William Shatner also got the same deal.
Elon Musk reveals he is ‘personally paying’ the Twitter Blue subscriptions of some celebrities to keep their checkmark, such as Lebron James and Stephen King. pic.twitter.com/ulLvwOyLIn
“The fact that we’re even discussing Blue check marks is a Sad moment in society,” he posted.
The company first introduced the verification feature in 2009, after a former professional baseball player sued the social media giant over imposter accounts.
The blue check became a status symbol and a sign of authority. But in the new Twitter-verse, Mr Musk wants users to pay to be verified.
The decision to monetise verification could usher in a massive cultural and power shift on the platform.
In the days before verification, Kanye West, Shaq and Ewan McGregor were among the first celebrities to speak out about being impersonated on Twitter. Now that the badges are gone, a celebrity’s follower count may become the only way to tell the difference between someone famous and an imposter.
Within a few hours of losing verification, an account posing as Hillary Clinton, complete with the same profile picture as the former US Senator, “announced” she would again run for the presidency.
Under Twitter’s new verification scheme, gold, grey and blue badges are meant to provide more context to how an account was verified.
But the lack of verification is already causing confusion. In New York City, a new handle has claimed to be the “authentic Twitter account” representing the government.
Experts warn these are the kind of tweets that could lead to the spread of misinformation.
Mr Musk has tried to frame the decision to do away with verification as a way to democratise content on the site. But critics have argued the move will amplify disinformation as Twitter Blue subscribers will get prioritised rankings – Mr Musk has said that only verified accounts will appear in the site’s prominent For You stream.
Social media monitors and experts fear the rise in paid verification will lead to an amplification of misinformation on the site. If that were to happen, it could scare off yet more advertisers – and undermine any extra revenue Twitter is getting from its verification subscription model.
But Mr Musk said pain is a part of change.
“I feel like we’re headed to a good place,” he told BBC News. “Overall, I think the trend is very good.”
Twitter has stripped notable Nigerian musicians of their Legacy verification tick.
The microblogging platform, on Thursday, removed the verification badges of the Nigerian singers, Burna Boy, Davido, Wizkid and Peter Okoye.
Recall that Twitter owner, Elon Musk, had in March, in a tweet accompanied by links to subscribe to the premium program, hinted at plans to commercialize verification tick.
He said, ”We will begin winding down our legacy verified program and removing legacy verified checkmarks on the 1st of April. To keep your blue checkmark, individuals can sign up for Twitter Blue.”
Announcing the final date for the free Blue badge removal on his verified Twitter handle, Elon Musk wrote: “Final date for removing legacy Blue checks is 4/20.”
The removal of the Legacy Blue Tick of the Nigerian superstars may be connected to the non-payment of their verification subscription fee announced by Musk.
Reacting to his Blue Tick removal, in a tweet on Friday, Peter Okoye said, ”Elon Musk is a businessman period.”
In a separate tweet, in the discussion about the social media platform’s data, Mr Musk said he was “open to ideas”.
“But ripping off the Twitter database, demonetizing it (removing ads) and then selling our data to others isn’t a winning solution,” he added.
In February, Twitter started charging for the data it collects from “hundreds of millions” of users, with a basic plan starting at $100 a month.
The data allows users to “manage and track every aspect of your social media presence”, according to the platform.
Since buyingTwitter for $44bn (£35.4bn) in October, Mr Musk has cut its workforce by around 80% and moved to boost the company’s finances through measures including charging users for “blue tick” verification.
In recent months, major companies including iPhone maker Apple reportedly halted advertising on the platform over concerns about how content was moderated on the site.
In November, Mr Musk said Twitter had seen a “massive” drop in revenue and blamed activists for pressuring advertisers.
Speaking to the BBC last week, he said Twitter had just months left to live when he took over. He also said “almost all advertisers have come back or said they are going to come back” to Twitter.
Mr Musk added that Twitter could be profitable by the second quarter of 2023, and he would be willing to sell the company if the right person came along.
Radio New Zealand says ‘government-funded’ label does not reflect broadcaster’s editorial independence.
New Zealand’s public radio broadcaster has threatened to leave Twitter following Elon Musk’s decision to label certain media accounts as “government-funded”.
Radio New Zealand’s head of content Megan Whelan said on Monday that the label, which Twitter uses to describe outlets that “may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content”, does not reflect the broadcaster’s editorial independence.
“Not only is our editorial independence protected by the law, we guard it vigorously,” Whelan said in a statement posted on Twitter.
“Over the next few days, we will be considering our options, including talking to Twitter to have the label removed or revised, or as other public media around the world have done, leave the platform.”
RNZ’s statement comes after publicly-funded National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service in the United States quit Twitter in protest against what they view as Musk’s efforts to undermine their legitimacy.
Twitter has in recent days added the “government-funded” label to publicly funded outlets, including the UK’s BBC, Canada’s CBC, Voice of America and Al Jazeera, after an earlier decision to apply a “state-affiliated media” tag to NPR drew a backlash.
Before Musk took control of Twitter last year, the “state-affiliated media” had been reserved for government mouthpieces such as China’s Xinhua and Russia’s RT.
Musk later suggested the NPR decision was a mistake, saying it “might not be accurate” to describe the broadcaster as state media.
Ghanaian media personality, Deloris Frimpong Manso, has advised women to consider factors beyond material possessions when selecting a partner.
In a post she shared on Twitter, she noted that while financial stability is undoubtedly crucial, it should not be the sole criterion for choosing a date or a spouse.
She has cautioned against allowing material things to blind women to their soulmates, stating that emotional connection and compatibility should take precedence over material possessions.
“There’re two types of men; the one who can spoil you financially now and the one who can do that in the future. Don’t miss out on your soulmate cos you’re blinded by material things!” she tweeted on April 13, 2023.
The media personality’s tweet got netizens talking, with many sharing their thoughts.
Some users argued that women should prioritize financial stability, while others contend that emotional connection and compatibility are more important.
One social media user asked which option women should select, stating that some ladies require a financially stable man to achieve their goals with just a little push.
“Which should the ladies actually go for? Because some ladies just need a financially stable man now to reach their goals, just a small push,” a user said.
Another person commended Manso for sharing her ideas, ‘Thank you for sharing this with us’ while a third agreed with her statements noting that it was ‘Fact.’
Elon Musk defended his management of Twitter in a rare and in-depth interview with the BBC. James Clayton, the BBC’s technology correspondent, spent close to an hour questioning the second-richest man in the world at the Twitter offices in San Francisco.
Here are six things we learned.
1. He denies hate speech on Twitter has spiked
Mr Musk refused to accept there was more hateful content on the platform since he took over.
Speaking to the BBC earlier this year, some Twitter insiders have argued that the company is no longer able to protect users from trolling, state-coordinated disinformation and child sexual exploitation, following lay-offs and changes under owner Mr Musk.
In March, Twitter said it removed 400,000 accounts in one month alone to help “make Twitter safer”.
In order to assess Mr Musk’s claims fully you’d need two things which we don’t have at present – access to Twitter’s data before and after his takeover and, crucially, a clear understanding of how he defines misinformation and hate speech.
There is no blanket definition of hate speech under American law, which is generally much more permissive than other countries because of the first amendment to the US Constitution.
2. He voted for Joe Biden
Close to half the country voted forMr Trump in the last US election, Mr Musk said, but he added: “I wasn’t one of them. I voted for Biden.”
In another part of the interview, he defended ending a Twitter ban on Mr Trump who had been removed in 2021 when the platform accused him of inciting violence.
3. He says Twitter is beating the bots in war on disinfo
Mr Musk claimed his efforts to delete bots – automated accounts – had decreased misinformation on Twitter after his takeover.
“My experience is there is less misinformation rather than more,” he told our reporter.
Some outside experts disagree. A study from Newsguard which tracks online misinformation – and there are quite a few other studies along the same lines – found that engagement with popular, misinformation-spreading accounts spiked after Mr Musk’s takeover.
In the week following his acquisition of Twitter, the most popular, untrustworthy accounts enjoyed an almost 60% increase in engagement in the form of likes and retweets, according to the survey.
The BBC has also independently analysed more than 1,000 previously-banned accounts that had been let back on Twitter after Mr Musk’s takeover, and found that since being reinstated, over a third of them had spread abuse or misinformation.
This included false anti-vax claims, misogyny and anti-LGBT rhetoric, and the denial of the 2020 US election result.
4. He’s against banning TikTok
Mr Musk says he doesn’t use the most downloaded app in the US but he is against any moves to close it down.
The US is considering a ban due to security concerns over TikTok’s Chinese ownership. Some other countries have banned it from the phones of government employees.
“I’m generally against banning things,” said Mr Musk, although he says a ban would benefit Twitter because it may mean more people spending time on his platform.
5. He would turn down $44bn for Twitter
Mr Musk initially claimed in the interview that if someoneoffered to buy Twitter right now for what he paid for it, he’d refuse.
If he did sell, he said it would be more important to find a buyer who cherishes the “truth” rather than how much they’d pay because, as he says: “I don’t care about the money.”
But is that true? Remember, he desperately tried to back out of the deal.
Mr Musk said Twitter had just months left to live when he took over and was being run like a non-profit.
Twitter’s costs were outstripping the amount of revenue it was generating. In its last full-year results published before Mr Musk took over, total sales hit $5bn in 2021 but costs and expenses reached $5.5bn. In fact, it has only had two profitable years since 2012.
He reckons Twitter is now close to breaking even. No wonder – sacking 6,500 workers does tend to lighten one’s costs.
But he has also been proactive in finding ways to boost sales through things such as changing Twitter users for “blue tick” verification.
So yes, Twitter might be nearing breaking even now because of drastic cost-cutting. But the question is whether it can sustain that path to profitability and make the company worth that $44bn price tag.
6. He will back down on how BBC is labelled
Mr Musk confirmed he would change the BBC Twitter label from “government funded” to “publicly funded” after last week’s row.
The BBC had objected to the original description, stressing the corporation’s independence. It is mainly funded by the British public through a TV licence fee.
In Wednesday’s interview, Mr Musk said: “If we use the same words as the BBC uses to describe itself, that presumably would be OK.”
The licence fee made up about 71% of the BBC’s total income of £5.3bn in 2022 – with the rest coming from its commercial and other activities like grants, royalties and rental income.
The BBC also receives more than £90m per year from the government to support the BBC World Service, which predominantly serves non-UK audiences.
In an interview with the BBC late on Tuesday, Elon Musk said that since taking over Twitter, the firm had let go of more than 6,000 employees.
The social networking site now only has 1,500 employees, down from under 8,000 at the time of his acquisition, according to Musk.
The layoffs represent over 80% of the company’s workforce.
At Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco, the billionaire CEO told the British broadcaster that it’s “not fun at all” and at times “painful.”
The world’s second richest man said that “drastic action” was needed when he came on board, because the company was facing “a $3 billion negative cash flow situation.” That left Twitter (TWTR) with only “four months to live,” he estimated.
“This is not a caring [or] uncaring situation. It’s like, if the whole ship sinks, then nobody’s got a job,” Musk said.
Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion last October.
After initially offering to take over the company in April 2022, he attempted to get out of the deal, citing concerns over how many bot accounts it had. He has since radically overhauled Twitter: firing top executives, slashing jobs and enacting new policies on how user accounts are verified or labeled.
Since then, Twitter is now “roughly” breaking even and advertisers are returning to the platform, he told the BBC.
Musk also pledged to revise the label applied to the British broadcaster, from “government-funded” to “publicly-funded” after the BBC objected.
The designation was added over the weekend. The BBC had protested the move, saying that it “is, and always has been, independent.”
“We are funded by the British public through the licence fee,” it said at the time.
Musk also weighed in on US scrutiny of TikTok, saying that while he was not a user of the Chinese-owned app, he was usually “against banning things.”
“I mean, it would help Twitter, I suppose, if TikTok was banned, because then people would spend more time on Twitter and less on TikTok,” he mused.
“But even though that would help Twitter, I would be generally against banning of things.”
Musk also cracked jokes during the interview, saying that he was “no longer the CEO of Twitter” and had been replaced by his pet dog, a Shiba Inu named Floki.
Elon Musk has revealed that running Twitter has been “quite painful” and “a rollercoaster”, in an interview with the BBC.
The multi-billionaire entrepreneur also said he would sell the company if the right person came along.
The interview, aired live from Twitter HQ, covered the mass lay-offs, misinformation and his work habits.
Mr Musk, who also runs car maker Tesla and rocket firm SpaceX, bought Twitter for $44bn (£35.4bn) in October.
In the conversation – in which Mr Musk tried to do the interviewing as much as the other way around – Mr Musk defended his running of the company.
Asked whether he had any regrets about buying Twitter, the world’s second richest man said the “pain level has been extremely high, this hasn’t been some kind of party”.
Talking about his time at the helm so far, Mr Musk said: “It’s not been boring. It’s been quite a rollercoaster.”
It has been “really quite a stressful situation over the last several months”, he added, but said he still felt that buying the company was the right thing to do.
Things are going “reasonably well”, he said, stating that usage of the site is up and “the site works”.
The workload means that “I sometimes sleep in the office”, he said, adding that he has a spot on a couch in a library “that nobody goes to”.
And he also addressed his sometimes controversial tweets saying: “Have I shot myself in the foot with tweets multiple times? Yes.”
“I think I should not tweet after 3am,” he added.
Asked about the decision to add a label to the BBC’s main Twitter account describing it as “government funded media”, Mr Musk said: “I know the BBC is generally not thrilled about being labelled state media.”
Earlier this week, the corporation contacted the social media giant over the designation on the @BBC account to resolve the issue “as soon as possible”.
“The BBC is, and always has been, independent. We are funded by the British public through the licence fee,” it said.
Mr Musk said Twitter was adjusting the label for the BBC to “publicly-funded”. “We’re trying to be accurate,” he said.
“I actually do have a lot of respect for the BBC,” Mr Musk added, stating that the interview was “a good opportunity to ask some questions” and “to get some feedback on what we should be doing different”.Media caption,
Watch: Elon Musk on labelling the BBC “government funded” on Twitter
Discussing Twitter’s finances, Mr Musk said the company is now “roughly breaking even”, as most of its advertisers have returned.
He also said that cutting the workforce from just under 8,000 at the time he bought the firm to about 1,500 had not been easy.
He admitted he did not fire everybody in person, saying: “It’s not possible to talk with that many people face to face.”
The exit of many of Twitter’s engineers since Mr Musk bought the company has raised concerns about the stability of the platform.
He acknowledged some glitches, including outages on the site but he said the outages have not been for very long and the site was currently working fine.
In the interview – which was broadcast live on Twitter Spaces from San Francisco – Mr Musk was also challenged over misinformation and hate speech on the platform.
He claimed there was less misinformation on Twitter since the takeover, and that his efforts to delete bots – automated accounts – will decrease fake news.
But many outside experts disagree. One study – and there are quite a few others along the same lines – found engagement with popular misinformation-spreading accounts spiked after Mr Musk’s takeover.
He repeatedly questioned whether journalists were fair arbiters of truth and said he had more trust in “ordinary people”.
On the issue of legacy-verified blue ticks on the platform, Mr Musk said they would be removed from accounts by the end of next week.
Former Twitter executive Bruce Daisley – who ran the business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for eight years – said the interview “gave us some insight into the strange life of this billionaire”.
“He confessed today that the only reason he went through with buying Twitter was because he believed a judge would force him to go through with the transaction. He’s never admitted that till now, so it was a very whimsical interview.”
Mr Daisley also suggested the interview showed he was not always consistent in what he says.
Mr Musk has an estimated personal fortune of almost $190bn, making him the world’s second richest person, according to the Forbes billionaires list.
Twitter’s CEO Elon Musk recently revealed that he has parted ways with Twitter’s iconic bird emblem and replacing it with a well-known internet meme.
As of now, when Twitter users open the website, they will be greeted with a new loading screen featuring Kabosu, the Shiba Inu who served as the inspiration for the infamous Doge meme.
Additionally, Twitter’s homepage display picture has been replaced with the same meme. This change has stirred a lot of excitement and buzz among social media users and has left many wondering what this change could mean for the future of Twitter.
It is speculated that this could be an April Fools’ joke that showed up two days late or it could be much bigger than that. With this little stunt, the price of cryptocurrency Dogecoin has gone up by 10 percent. However, it is still lower than its peak price in May 2021.
Notably, Musk is facing a $258 million racketeering lawsuit that accused him of operating a pyramid scheme to promote Dogecoin.
Twitter‘s recognizable blue bird logo was replaced with the trending Doge meme in what appears to be a delayed April Fool’s joke.
Many expressed their astonishment on Twitter on Monday after discovering a Shiba Inu dog on Twitter’s homepage and loading screen in place of the blue bird logo.
In 2010, a picture of a dog became viral and later used as the logo for the well-known cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
Elon Musk, the founder of Twitter, acknowledged the shift by posting a meme.
The reason behind the change is unclear, with some users speculating that it was an April Fool’s Day prank that wasn’t done on time as key employees had been laid off.
The timing of the change is still suspicious as it comes days after Musk petitioned a court in the US to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him by Dogecoin investors for $258 billion over an alleged pyramid scheme.
The change also caused an instant boost the value of the memecoin. In just 30 minutes, Dogecoin prices increased by 30%.
Who or what is Doge?
Doge is a popular internet meme that consists of a picture of Kabosu, a Shiba Inu dog, accompanied by multicoloured text in Comic Sans font.
Last year, Musk was sued for $258 billion (£209 billion) for allegedly running a pyramid scheme to support the cryptocurrency.
In Friday’s hearing, Musk’s lawyers said the investors never explained how Musk intended to defraud anyone or what risks he concealed, and that his statements such as ‘Dogecoin Rulz’ and ‘no highs, no lows, only Doge’ were too vague to support a fraud claim.
‘There is nothing unlawful about tweeting words of support for, or funny pictures about, a legitimate cryptocurrency that continues to hold a market cap of nearly $10 billion,’ Musk’s lawyers said. ‘This court should put a stop to plaintiffs’ fantasy and dismiss the complaint.’
Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, has revealed changes to the social media platform’s premium Twitter Blue service.
Only verified subscribers will be able to vote in polls and recommend posts to other users starting on April 15.
According to the guideline, tweets from non-paying accounts will not appear in the stream labeled “For you.”
The company announced last week that it would delete the verified status from some “legacy” accounts that were created before Mr. Musk acquired the business.
Blue-tick verification is presently $7 (£5.70) per month, and it also gives users access to more features.
Mr Musk said the changes were “the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over. It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle.”
“Voting in polls will require verification for same reason,” he added.
In an earlier post, Mr Musk said paid verification significantly increases the cost of using bots and makes it easier to identify them.
However, the move has been criticised by some social media users.
Elon Musk’s new policy will now essentially preclude non-paying users from taking part in one of those streams.
It means unverified Twitter users will be far less likely to have their tweets liked or retweeted.
An outspoken Twitter user, Falilatt, has opined that it is unnecessary for ‘would-be-couples’ to dress in matching attire for their wedding introduction ceremony.
She argued that the introduction ceremony shouldn’t be a party but a gathering in the parlor where the two families get acquainted, without the couples dressing in matching attire or putting on extraordinary makeup.
She wrote: “My hot take is that, the introduction shouldn’t be a party but rather a parlor meeting with both families officially meeting for the first time with at most two close friends there to support you. other than that I see no reason y’all wear matching outfits for the introduction, hire a makeup artist, buy new clothes or even make it match when y’all just introducing yourselves to your family.”
The tweep’s statement caught many people’s attention as they stated that it is based on the couple’s preference and their ability to afford whatever they want to wear hence @Falilatt’s opinion is invalid.
My hot take is that, introduction shouldn’t be a party rather a parlor meeting with both families officially meeting for the first time with at most two close friends there to support you, other than that I see no reason y’all wearing matching outfits for introduction.
queenjayhair: “Put your opinion inside tea cup and drink it “
db_naturals_: “Anything that satisfies them is fine”
callmedamy: “Why you bothered na your money them take do am”
askddietitan: “Their introduction , their choice”
chynatural_skincare: “Let people do what pleases them..”
pweety_lizzy: “These days I don’t know the difference between introduction and traditional marriage. I have been to an introduction where they used hall and alaga. I was confused, had to ask a friend if it was still introduction or engagement.”
KwesiVirgins: “This generation exaggerates everything and makes simple life really difficult for others.”
It’s taking place. Finally, Twitter is removing the coveted blue ticks from users who obtained them before they could be purchased for £8 a month.
The social media firm declared on Thursday that it would begin “winding down” its heritage verified programme and removing legacy verified checkmarks on April 1. The announcement was made on its official Twitter Verified account.
The news is not unexpected because Elon Musk announced one of the first changes after he paid $44 billion to acquire the business last year: replacing free blue ticks with paid ones.
In November, Musk unveiled a new paid Twitter Blue subscription that would come with a verified blue check mark.
Shortly after Twitter Blue was launched, Musk said that the company was removing the legacy verification checkmarks as far too many ‘corrupt’ ones existed.
The timing is a little suspicious as the removal of blue ticks is due to happen on April Fools Day, making people wonder if it could be an elaborate prank orchestrated by Musk.
Metro.co.co reached out to Twitter and promptly received a poop emoji in response.
Still, this is the man who allegedly wanted to sell Tesla stock at a price of $420 after discovering the number’s ‘significance in marijuana culture’.
Even in his Twitter takeover, he bid to pay $54.20 per share to buy the company.
The announcement follows a global rollout of Twitter Blue that comes with a blue ‘verified’ checkmark, 4,000-character tweets, higher-ranked replies and the ability to edit tweets.
Organizations could also apply to Twitter for grey checkmarks to denote government officials and organizations. Businesses can also apply for gold checkmarks.
Would you pay for a blue tick on Twitter?
No, it’s meaningless now0%
Don’t care, I don’t use Twitter0%
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To get this, applicants will have to submit a government ID or a valid email address, and have to describe their positions and functions.
Musk first hinted at the $8 price back in October, in response to author Stephen King, whose verified account has 6.9 million followers.
‘$20 a month to keep my blue check?’ tweeted King on Monday and included an expletive. ‘They should pay me. If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron’. King said it ‘ain’t the money, it’s the principle of the thing’.
Musk early Tuesday replied: ‘[W]e need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cannot rely entirely on advertisers. How about $8?’
Paul Okoye of the P-Square duo has bemoaned the extreme inefficiency of the nation’s security institutions.
He claims that the police and other security personnel are among Nigeria’s many issues because they are inefficient.
On March 18, 2023, Paul took to Twitter to express his displeasure with the way the elections had so far been conducted.
He wrote, “Until we realize our major problem in Nigeria is the security agencies … someone is threatening some certain tribes in Lagos, and the police came out to say he was just joking.”
He added: “Now look at what is happening in Lagos today!! Oga Police was he really joking? Sha*eless people.”
Until we realize our major problem in Nigeria is the security agencies…someone is threatening some certain tribes in lagos , and the police came out to say he was just joking. Now look at what is happening in lagos today!! Oga Police was he really joking? Sh*meless people🤮
South African police have taken down a video from Twitter that appears to urge violence against people who choose not to participate in protest marches planned for March 20.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), an opposition party, have organized statewide marches to protest the nation’s electricity shortage and have demanded that President Cyril Ramaphosa step down.
The Film and Publication Board (FPB) issued a statement in which it said that the video warns that teachers, police officers, and students who are wearing school uniforms during the protests will all be physically assaulted.
The video was posted by a person claiming to be a member of EFF, it said.
“Internally, the FPB shall monitor the take-down by Twitter to ensure that no further dissemination or distribution by the public occurs,” the board said.
Members of the public have been advised not to share, re-post or distribute the said video and offenders could face prosecution for disseminating or distributing prohibited content.
Police have said they will be on high alert to avert any violence as the Julius Malema-led EFF party vowed to “shut down” the entire country on Monday.
Mr Malema insists the protests are not illegal and has warned that anyone who attempts to stop them would “meet their maker”, News24 reported.
After disclosing that the company is seeing a “huge decline in income,” Elon Musk reportedly let go at least 200 employees at Twitter.
The New York Times (NYT) reported late on Sunday that the job losses over the weekend represent about 10% of Twitter Inc.’s personnel and are the most recent round of layoffs since Elon Musk assumed control of the social media platform in October.
According to the NYT investigation, which relied on people with knowledge of the situation, those fired on Saturday night included product managers, data scientists, and engineers.
Mr Musk last month said the company has a headcount of about 2,300 active employees.
The latest round of cuts comes after mass layoffs in early November, which saw Twitter let go around 3,700 employees in a cost-cutting measure by Mr Musk, who had acquired the company for $44 billion.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Mr Musk said in November that the service was experiencing a “massive drop in revenue” as advertisers pulled spending amid concerns about content moderation.
Twitter recently started sharing revenue from advertisements with some of its content creators.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, claims to have donated approximately $1.95 billion (£1.6 billion) worth of company shares to charity last year.
In a filing with US regulators, the donation of 11.6 million shares was referred to as “a bona fide gift.”
The donation’s recipient or recipients were not identified in the filing.
Also on Wednesday, Mr. Musk stated that it would be “good time” to find a replacement for him as Twitter’s CEO towards the end of the year.
The document submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission states that the donation was made between August and December of last year.
A BBC request for comment has received no immediate response from Tesla.
It is not the first time Mr. Musk has given Tesla stock to charity. He donated around $5.74 billion worth of shares in 2021, according to a regulatory filing.
He also said on Twitter that year, that he planned to donate $20m to schools in Cameron County and $10m to the Brownsville city in Texas, US for “downtown revitalization”.
Mr Musk has also hinted that he plans to find his successor as chief executive of Twitter by the end of 2023.
“I’m guessing probably towards the end of this year would be good timing to find someone else to run the company, because I think it should be in a stable position around, you know, at the end of this year,” he said.
“I think I need to stabilise the organisation and just make sure it’s in a financially healthy place and that the product roadmap is clearly laid out,” he said on a video link at the World Government Summit in Dubai.
The multibillionaire businessman bought the social media platform last year for $44 billion. He has since said the company was close to bankruptcy.
However, he has been criticised by some Tesla investors for spending too much of his time focussing on trying to turn around Twitter.
In November, addressing the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, Mr Musk said he is working too much as he juggles his responsibilities as Twitter, Tesla, and his rocket company SpaceX.
“My workload has recently increased quite a lot,” Mr Musk said. “I have too much work on my plate, that is for sure,” he added.
Authorities met with Twitter to “remind Twitter of its obligations on content takedowns and disinformation,” according to Netblocks, and this led to the restoration.
Without offering an official justification, Turkish authorities expressed concern about online misinformation.
The observatory first reported restrictions on the social media platform on Wednesday. Twitter’s ownerElon Musk subsequently said Turkey had indicated it would restore access to the platform soon.
ℹ️ Update: Metrics confirm access to Twitter is being restored in #Turkey following hours of filtering. The restoration comes after authorities held a meeting with Twitter to "remind Twitter of its obligations" on content takedowns and disinformation.
Twitter appears to have more goodies for its users as it has announced a new package for Blue subscribers.
In a tweet CEO Elon Musk noted that effective February 4, 2023, “Twitter will share ad revenue with creators for ads that appear in their reply threads.”
“To be eligible, the account must be a subscriber to Twitter Blue Verified,” he added.
The billionaire tech mogul announced on Friday that the platform would start sharing ad revenue with eligible users. Musk said those who are subscribed to Twitter Blue Verified will receive a cut of the revenue from ads that appear in their reply threads, but failed to provide additional information on how the program would work.
Twitter currently offers a few monetisation options, including its Super Follows and Tips features.
Initially disclosing the new fee was social media expert Matt Navarra, who also purportedly provided photos of Twitter staff members reportedly charging the fee to companies wishing to become “Verified Organizations.”
The Information corroborated the news on Friday and said that it is presently unknown when the move would go into effect and when businesses that don’t pay will lose their gold check.
In addition to the $1,000 per month for a business account, Twitter plans to charge $50 each for the affiliated accounts, according to The Information’s Erin Woo.
According to the screenshots shared by Navarra, the program is called Verified Organizations, which the Twitter Business account first advertised in January, along with an application for early access.
In addition to the gold check, the program will also include “Tweet Boosting, which will increase the reach and distribution for your organization and its affiliates whenever you tweet,” the message reported by Navarra states.
The new plan is the latest payment option added to Twitter since the release of the embattled Twitter Blue subscription service, which was suspended shortly after its debut due to the rise of impersonator accounts that came with the new $8 per month blue checks.
The plan was relaunched in December, when the gold checks were first introduced as an added layer of distinction between verified businesses and individuals who had just paid $8 for the blue check. Last month, Musk also advertised a yet-to-be-released subscription service for Twitter that would allow users to access the site without ads.
It has been an eventful week for other Twitter services, as Musk tweeted ideas to charge the operators of automated accounts at least $100 per month to remove the influence of “bad bots”
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Musk responded on Friday to a question about verification, claiming that the current “legacy” verification tag given to accounts which were verified before Twitter Blue’s introduction will be removed in the coming months.
Poland will send an additional 60 tanks to Ukraine on top of the 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks it has already pledged, the Polish prime minister said in an interview with Canadian television.
Warsaw, which has positioned itself as one of Kyiv’s staunchest allies, had pressed hard for Germany to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and to allow other countries to do so as well, a demand which Berlin agreed on Wednesday.
Zelenskyy thanked the Polish prime minister on Twitter; in Polish, he wrote, “Thank you, Andrzej Duda, Mateusz Morawiecki, Mariusz Blaszczak, Jacek Siewiera, and the nation of Poland for such important decisions to hand over 60 Polish tanks to Ukraine, 30 of which are the famous PT-91 Twardy and 14 Leopard-2 tanks. Like 160 years ago, we are together, but this time the enemy doesn’t stand a chance. Together, we will win!”
Elon Musk testified in court that, at the time he sent out the contentious tweet, he thought he had the support necessary to take Tesla private.
After investors claimed the 2018 tweet cost them millions of dollars when a deal fell through, the CEO of the electric car company is currently on trial.
According to Mr. Musk, a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund told him they would support a deal during their meeting.
He added that if he needed money, he would have sold his shares in the rocket company SpaceX.
Mr Musk is accused of defrauding investors after he tweeted on 7 August 2018 that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private at $420 per share, and that “investor support is confirmed”.
Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.
The tweet sent shares in Tesla soaring, but weeks later they fell back when Mr Musk said the plan was no longer going ahead, causing a significant backlash for the billionaire.
He was forced by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US regulator, to step down as Tesla’s chairman and had to have any tweets related to Tesla vetted by an independent committee.
He and Tesla were also fined $20m each to settle a claim by the SEC that he had committed securities fraud.
On Monday, Mr Musk told a court in San Francisco that he had met with people from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund on 31 July, 2018.
He said that while a price for taking Tesla private was not discussed, he claimed that the representatives from the fund made it clear they backed a deal.
Mr Musk claimed Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the fund’s governor, then appeared to backpedal on the pledge.
“I was very upset because he had been unequivocal in his support for taking Tesla private when we met and now he appeared to be backpedaling,” he said.
‘Not a joke’
Mr Musk was also questioned about how he decided on a price of $420 a share and whether it was a reference to marijuana.
But, according to the SEC’s legal documents: “He rounded the price up to $420 because he had recently learned about the number’s significance in marijuana culture and thought his girlfriend ‘would find it funny, which admittedly is not a great reason to pick a price’.”
In American counterculture, 20 April is a day when thousands of people gather to celebrate marijuana. In the US, dates are written with number of the month first, then the day – in this case 4/20.
In court, Mr Musk said: “420 was not chosen because of a joke; it was chosen because there was a 20% premium over the stock price.
He added that there was “some karma around 420”, though “I should question whether that is good or bad karma at this point.”
A new video showing what many have described as an embarrassing moment for some personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has emerged online.
In the video, which has also been shared by GhOne TV on Twitter, the firefighters are seen frantically trying to get their fire tender to shoot out water towards a car that was nearly fully up in flames, just on the other side of the road.
One of the personnel of the GNFS is then seen trying to manually start a generator, so as to get the fire tender working.
All the while, bystanders are heard in the background, expressing how disappointed they are, while others try to explain what led to the car catching fire.
The GNFS is yet to officially respond to the video, as well as confirm whether this is actually a recent video or not.
Online viewers pointed out that some of the pre-owned items weren’t a deal because they were going for prices higher than retail.
The most expensive item ever sold was a statue of the iconic bird logo from Twitter, which sold for $100,000 (£81,000).
Online viewers pointed out that some of the pre-owned items weren’t a deal because they were going for prices higher than retail.
Following his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter last year, owner Elon Musk is cutting expenses at the company with the sale.
Since taking over in late October, Musk has laid off around half of the company’s 7,500 staff. He has also ended many of Twitter’s perks, such as free meals.
Heritage Global Partners, the auction’s administrator, did not publish the auction’s final results, but the BBC has collected several prices just before closing.
A 190cm (6ft) planter in the shape of an @ symbol finished near $15,000 (£12,160).
A planter shaped like the @ symbol
There was also a custom reclaimed wood conference room table that closed near $10,500 (£8,510).
Wooden table in Twitter office
From its former coffee bar, Twitter sold a high-end La Marzocco Strada 3 espresso machine, retail $30,000 (24,300), for around $13,500 (£10,940).
A high-end La Marzocco espresso machine
On the lower end, Polycom conference call speaker phones were going for about $300.
Polycom phone
A still-in-box ergonomic standing desk kit was looking to fetch about the same with two hours left to bid.
But some items seemed to sell for more than their street value – a moulded plywood Eames chair from designer Herman Miller that normally retails for $1195 went for at least $1400.
Musk tweeted in November that the company had seen a “massive drop in revenue” following the departure of several advertisers.
Nick Dove, a representative of Heritage Global Partners, the company administering the auction, told Fortune magazine the sale had nothing to do with recouping costs for the $44bn purchase, however.
“If anyone genuinely thinks that the revenue from selling a couple computers and chairs will pay for the mountain there, then they’re a moron,” he said.
Hours after Elon Musk shared a poll on Twitter asking if he should step down as head of the company, Snoop Dogg hopped on the platform to ask his followers the same question.
“Should I run Twitter?” Snoop tweeted. The poll, which was posted Sunday night, has since received nearly three million responses, with 81 percent of the Twitter users voting “Yes.”
Whether joking or not, Snoop has received far more backing than Musk, whose poll received over 17.5 million responses, with 57.5 percent of the votes calling for him to step down.
Musk, who claims he will “abide” by the results of the poll, later tweeted, “As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it.”
“Those who want power are the ones who least deserve it,” Musk added in a subsequent tweet.
Meanwhile, in other news regarding Snoop, the Long Beach rapper has joined forces with Ice Cube, Too Short, and E-40, to form Mount Westmore, a new hip-hop supergroup which recently released its official debut album Snoop Cube 40 $hort.
“You bring the legends of the West Coast together; something great will always happen,” Snoop told HotNewHipHop after announcing the group. “Cube, 40, Short, and I have been running the game for years. This is the perfect time because each of us brings authentic and new ideas to the table. All four together? That’s magic.”
Stream Mount Westmore’s full-length project now on all major platforms.
Andrew Garfield couldn’t help but flex his charm at the 2023 Golden Globes.
The actor had a way with words during his red carpet interview with Amelia Dimoldenberg in Beverly Hills. The clip of the conversation has gone viral on social media, with nearly 30 million views on Twitter.
“Be normal!” the 28-year-old host/comedian/fellow Brit jokingly warned the Amazing Spider-Man star after he compared her reaction to seeing him to a “capybara in the wild.”
“I only ever want to see you,” Garfield told Dimoldenberg, before providing further explanation. “I only ever want to see you in these kind of sort of situations.” The Hot Air star appeared to be referencing the fact that the host first interviewed him at the British GQ Men of the Year ceremony last November.
British-American Influencer, Andrew Tate, had several high-end vehicles seized from his Bucharest home.
Last month, Mr. Tate and his brother Tristan were taken into custody as part of a probe into allegations of rape and human trafficking, both of which they deny.
According to Reuters, vehicles including a Rolls-Royce, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz were taken from the property on Saturday.
The attorney for Mr. Tate was unavailable to comment right away.
On Tuesday, Mr Tate lost a bid to end his detention in Romania after a court rejected his appeal and said he should remain in custody.
Mr Tate was seen carrying what appeared to be a copy of the Quran as he walked into Bucharest Appeal Court handcuffed to his brother.
After the arrests on 29 December, police said they had identified six people who were allegedly “sexually exploited” by what it called an “organised criminal group”.
Police alleged the victims were “recruited” by the British citizens, who they said misrepresented their intention to enter into a relationship with the victims – which they called “the loverboy method”.
They were later forced to perform in pornographic content under threat of violence, a statement alleged.
The Tates’ lawyer, Eugen Vidineac, has said his clients rejected all the allegations.
Born in the US before moving to the UK, Mr Tate went on to have a successful career as a kickboxer.
In 2016, he was removed fromBritish TV show Big Brother over a video which appeared to show him attacking a woman. He then set up a “webcam business”, which he described as “adult entertainment”.
He went on to gain global notoriety, with Twitter banning him for saying women should “bear responsibility” for being sexually assaulted. He has since been reinstated.
Socialite and US-trained nursing assistant, Efia Odo, has listed her top four influencers on micro-blogging platform – Twitter.
In a one-on-one interview with Tiktok influencer-turned radio presenter, Felicia Osei, Efia Odo explained that, relatively, she is not active on the bird app compared to other social media platforms like Snapchat.
However, she has some influencers on Twitter that she admires their productivity and consumes their content.
The socialite describes these Twitter influencers as her favourites on the micro-blogging app.
According to her, Kalyjay, Mp3asem president, Sikaofficial and Kwadwo Sheldon are her most preferred influencers.
Efia Odo was quick to add that, although she has had banter with Kwadwo Sheldon, she respects his hustle.
She said, “My favorites are, Kalyjay, Memp3asem president, Sikaofficial and Kwadwo Sheldon. Although sometimes I have issues with some especially Sheldon, I think he is good at what he does and I am proud of how far he’s come.”
Efia Odo also confirmed her fall out with musician, Kwesi Arthur.
According to her, although she still loves Kwesi Arthur’s music and she is a fan, she is no longer his biggest fan as she used to be.
She said ” I was a fan but now I’m not a fan anymore. The problem is not his current music releases. His music is still good but everything has its time. Nothing lasts forever except the Word of God.”
Asked if it is the Tema rapper’s personality she has fallen out of love with, Efia after a long pause said, “sometimes, some people can do things that can turn you off and then it’s like, ‘Okay, I can’t really be a fan of this guy anymore”.’
In three tweets posted on January 9, 2023; American rapper Meek Mill explained the circumstances around which he filmed footage in and around the Jubilee House.
Government had been under incessant pressure to address how the rapper filmed footage when he visited President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in December 2022 when he was in town for the Afro Nation concert.
Mill apologized to Ghanaians and to the presidency for the manner in which a music video promo he had put together had generated controversy and heavy social media backlash.
He posted the video on his Instagram reel but switched to Twitter to render his apology.
“To the people of Ghana no video I drop is ever meant to disrespect the people of Ghana …. The fastest way to make connection is thru music and I wanted to do that with displaying art … im in my 30’s from America and didn’t know much about the lifestyle here,” his first apology tweet read.
He followed it up with another apology, again to the Ghanaian people but also the presidency:
“My apologies to the people if any disrespect! We still gonna push to make the connection between black people in America and Africa … what I’m trying to do is more than a video and you should see coming soon! My apologies to the the office also!” it read.
When a Ghanaian blogger tweeted that the outrage was not targeted at him per se but at the presidency, he explained how he procured the footage.
“I don’t think they knew it was video footage when we asked to shoot its a small camera and one kid … in America we didn’t know this existed and was excited to show because they don’t show Ghana on our media much! So I’ll take responsibility for my mistake! Not intentional,” he added.
An American influencer, Stacy Thiru has alleged a bloody assault on her by bouncers at an Accra-based night club.
The Boston-based lady posted some content of the assault on her social media pages – specifically on Instagram and Twitter.
Starting January 8, she posted a daytime photo of a bloodied tissue paper with the caption: “got beat up by a bouncer last night t***t night club in ghana.”
24 hours later, she posted a video, ostensibly from the incident the previous night. She had blood oozing from her nose as she spoke in almost sobbing voice.
She captioned the post thus: “this is so embarrassing but it is what it is, don’t go to T***t night club is Ghana.
“It’s not fun and the bouncers are extremely abusive. this isn’t the first time i’ve experienced it at that club but it’s definitely my last,” she added.
Whiles GhanaWeb cannot independently verify why Stacy is in Ghana, it is likely that she is in town to enjoy the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Who is Stacy Thiru
An entertainment website describes her as: Model and social media star who is best recognized for her stacythiru TikTok account.
She is very popular on her verified stacythiru Instagram account where she shares modeling pictures. She is a vlogger who shares content to her Stacy Thiru YouTube channel.
Born on November 7, 1999, Stacy Thiru hails from Boston, United States.
Some followers on social media have been commiserating with her on her predicament.
An investigation into a fatal fire that occurred at a hotel in Perth has been started by police and fire personnel.
Early on Monday morning, a fire at the New County Hotelclaimed the lives of three people.
At its peak, there were nine fire appliances, 21 ambulance crews, and 60 firefighters on the scene after the alarm was raised at approximately 05:10.
Two residents of nearby apartments and hotel guests were evacuated.
Eleven people were treated at the scene by the Scottish Ambulance Service.
The fire was extinguished at about 06:30 and three bodies were discovered in a subsequent search.
A dog also died in the blaze, according to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).
Police Scotland said officers were conducting a joint investigation with the fire service.
Ch Supt Phil Davison added: “Our thoughts are very much with the families and loved ones of those who have died at what is a very difficult time for everyone.”
Police confirmed that three people died at the scene of the fire.
Jason Sharp, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service area commander for Perth, Kinross, Angus and Dundee, described it as a “very complex incident”.
“Our firefighters worked extremely hard in a very complex and challenging environment to prevent the further spread of fire and damage where possible,” he said on Monday afternoon.
“At its height, we had nine fire appliances in attendance with over 60 firefighters.
“We’re currently still in attendance to make sure the scene is safe. I would like to thank our crews and our other emergency partners and local authority for their support.”
Image caption,The emergency services were called to the scene shortly after 05:00
Residents of the city center street spoke of a sense of shock that such a tragedy could have happened on the second day of the new year.
“We were wakened at 05:00 when the alarms went off and the lights were flashing in my room,” one resident told BBC Scotland.
“Obviously as we were watching it unfold, police incident units were arriving.” The fire brigade and 21 ambulances were outside.
“It was pretty horrendous to watch. It was frightening. When I saw the private ambulance, I knew it only meant one thing. Then I realized it was major.”
Deputy First Minister John Swinney, who is the local MSP, paid tribute to the work of the emergency services.
“The news of the major fire at the New County Hotel in Perth and the loss of life that has been associated with that has been an absolutely tragic start to 2023 in the city of Perth,” he said.
“I extend my deepest sympathies to everybody who has been involved in this tragedy and affected by this tragedy.
“There has been a huge effort by the emergency services to try to avoid the loss of life and address the very serious fire that has emerged, and a whole host of support work has been put in place to assist those who have been affected, and I’m grateful to everybody for their efforts in these very sad circumstances.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described it as a “sad and shocking incident”.
In a post onTwitter,she added: “My deepest condolences are with the bereaved and my thoughts are with all those involved.
“I am also hugely grateful to the firefighters who responded and to our other emergency services.”
