July 17: Twitter has lost almost half of its advertising revenue since it was bought by Elon Musk for $44 billion (£33.6bn) last October, its owner has revealed.
He said the company had not seen the increase in sales that had been expected in June, but add
SAN FRANCISCO, May 13: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced on Friday that Linda Yaccarino, formerly NBC Universal's top advertising sales executive, will be Twitter's new CEO.
Musk said in a tweet that Yaccarino will focus on business operations and he will focus on
WASHINGTON, April 20: Twitter chief Elon Musk has threatened to sue Microsoft after the technology giant announced plans to drop his social media company from its advertising platform.
WASHINGTON, April 20: Twitter chief Elon Musk has threatened to sue Microsoft after the technology giant announced plans to drop his social media company from its advertising platform.
Nov 6: In an update for Apple devices, the company said the feature would be open to users in certain countries who sign up to its Twitter Blue service for $7.99 (£7) per month.
The policy change is controversial, amid concerns that the platform could be swamped with fake accounts.
It follows Twitter's takeover by Elon Musk, who on Friday laid off around half of the company's workforce.
The sought-after blue tick was previously only available to high-profile or influential individuals and organisations - who were asked to prove their identity.
It has been used as a sign that a profile is authentic, and is a key tool to help users identify reliable information on the platform.
The policy change may fuel worries that government figures, celebrities, journalists and brands could be impersonated by any user willing to pay a monthly fee.
Mr Musk, the world's richest person, appears to be looking to diversify Twitter's income, following his acquisition of the firm late last month in a $44bn (£39bn) deal.
On Friday, the billionaire said Twitter was losing more than $4m (£3.5m) per day, insisting that this gave him "no choice" over culling around half the company's 7,500-strong workforce.
The cuts - as well as Mr Musk's fierce advocacy of free speech - have caused speculation that Twitter could water down its efforts on content moderation.
However, Mr Musk has insisted that the firm's stance towards harmful material remains "absolutely unchanged".
On Saturday a top United Nations official, Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk, urged Mr Musk to "ensure that human rights are central to the management of Twitter".
The unusual UN intervention pointed to the sacking of Twitter's whole human rights team, saying this was "not an encouraging start" under Mr Musk's ownership.
There was no immediate response from Twitter.
Few details were publicised relating to the change in verification policy, and a Twitter Blue subscription reportedly remained at its old price of £4.99 in the UK following Saturday's announcement.
Twitter's update said the changes would apply only in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand at first.
A flurry of tweets from Mr Musk himself suggested the changes would be rolled out worldwide after they were observed in the initial handful of countries.
It was not clear what would happen to those profiles which already had a blue tick - or if Twitter still planned to "verify" a user other than by charging them a subscription.
Responding to one user who asked what would happen to existing verified profiles, Mr Musk said the timeline for changes to be implemented was a "couple [of] months".
Answering another question about the risk of users pretending to be notable figures, he said Twitter would "suspend the account attempting impersonation and keep the money".
Previewing other upcoming changes, Mr Musk said Twitter would soon allow users to attach long-form text to tweets, "ending [the] absurdity of notepad screenshots".
Earlier on Saturday, Twitter co-founder and ex-CEO Jack Dorsey addressed the mass sackings, saying sorry to employees for what had unfolded at his former firm.
Mr Dorsey - who quit as CEO in November and left the board of directors in May - said he was aware Twitter staff were "angry with me".
His statement continued: "I own the responsibility for why everyone is in this situation: I grew the company size too quickly. I apologise for that."
Mr Dorsey appeared to endorse the need for dismissals. Earlier this year, he expressed support for Mr Musk's takeover.
A host of major brands have halted advertising spending with Twitter in recent days amid the company's upheaval.
Mr Musk has been looking to decrease the platform's reliance on adverts - and Saturday's update also promised "half the ads". (With inputs from BBC)
Nov 2: As part of changes after a $44bn (£38bn) takeover of the social media site, Mr Musk said it was "essential to defeat spam/scam".
A blue tick mark next to a username - normally for high-profile figures - is currently free.
The move could make it harder to identify reliable sources, say critics.
Mr Musk, the world's richest person, added that paid users would have priority in replies and searches, and half as many advertisements.
"Power to the people! Blue for $8/month," the billionaire said on Twitter, criticising the old method of blue tick verification as a "lords and peasants system".
Twitter's former method of verifying users for a blue tick included a short online application form, and was reserved for those whose identities were targets for impersonation, such as celebrities, politicians and journalists.
The company introduced the system in 2009, after it faced a lawsuit accusing it of not doing enough to prevent imposter accounts.
But Mr Musk is facing a hefty challenge as he works to overhaul Twitter's business, which has not posted a profit in years.
He has said he wants to reduce Twitter's reliance on advertising, even as some companies have grown concerned about advertising on the site under his leadership.
General Motors - a rival of Mr Musk's electric car company Tesla - said last week it was suspending advertising on the site.
Meanwhile, some other major brands have more quietly put a temporary halt to advertising on the platform as they wait to see how Mr Musk's changes play out, a media buyer for a leading advertising firm told the BBC.
On Monday, one of the world's biggest advertising companies, IPG, advised its clients to suspend Twitter adverts for a week, citing a need for more clarity on the Twitter's plans to ensure "trust and safety" on the platform. IPG is given billions of pounds per year, by some of the world's biggest brands, to handle their marketing budgets.
The charge for blue tick privileges drew scepticism after original reports that said the charge could be $20 (£18) monthly.
Many on the platform echoed the statement of author Stephen King, who wrote in response to reports of changes that instead Twitter "should pay me".
Mr Musk wrote to Mr King saying, "We need to pay the bills somehow!"
Oct 29: "To be super clear, we have not yet made any changes to Twitter's content moderation policies," he tweeted.
Earlier he announced the creation of a new council to moderate posts.
He also tweeted that "anyone suspended for minor & dubious reasons" would be "freed from Twitter jail".
"Comedy is now legal on Twitter," he said.
Senior figures at Twitter have announced their exits since Mr Musk took over after long delays to the deal.
Questions are focused on Mr Musk's future plans for the site.
The potential changes have drawn scrutiny from regulators and divided Twitter's own users, some of whom are worried Mr Musk will loosen regulations governing hate speech and misinformation, and some of whom feel the previous management curtailed free speech with overly rigorous rules.
Mr Musk said Twitter would be forming a council with "widely diverse viewpoints".
"No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes," he said, shortly before confirming that Twitter had ended artist Kanye West's suspension from the platform before his acquisition.
Rapper Kanye West, known as Ye, had been suspended from the platform for anti-Semitic comments.
Finance chief Ned Segal was among the senior leaders to announce his exit from the company after Musk's takeover. Chairman of the board Bret Taylor has also left and it was widely reported that Twitter's chief executive Parag Agrawal - a target of Mr Musk's criticism - was among the people fired, although Mr Agrawal still has "ceo @twitter" on his Twitter profile.
General Motors - the largest US carmaker and a rival to Mr Musk's Tesla - says it has temporarily halted paid advertising on Twitter. GM said it was "engaging with Twitter to understand the direction of the platform under their new ownership".
"The bird is free," Mr Musk wrote on the platform late on Thursday, while assuring advertisers in a public note that he did not want Twitter to become a "free-for-all hellscape".
He has signalled he wants widespread change at Twitter. A self-styled "free speech absolutist", he has said he sees the platform as a forum for public debate and is willing to reverse bans on controversial users, including former President Donald Trump.
Ex-finance chief Segal tweeted that his time at the company was the "most fulfilling of my career" and reflected on the strain caused by the uncertainty of the last six months.
"You learn so much when times are challenging and unpredictable, when we are tired or feel our integrity questioned," Mr Segal said, alluding to Mr Musk's public criticism of the company's leadership.
"I have great hope for Twitter," he added.
In Europe, the commissioner in charge of overseeing the EU's digital market, Thierry Breton, tweeted: "In Europe, the bird will fly by our EU rules" - suggesting regulators will take a tough stance against any relaxation of Twitter's policies.
In the US, Stop the Deal, a coalition of left-wing activist groups including Fair Vote UK and Media Matters for America, said Mr Musk had a "thirst for chaos" and his potential plans would make Twitter "an even more hate-filled cesspool, leading to irreparable real-world harm".
Mr Trump, who was banned from Twitter last year following the Capitol riot in January 2021, said he was happy Twitter was now in "sane hands" while stating his "love" for his own Twitter-like service, Truth Social.
Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's former president and current deputy head of the Security Council, also welcomed the new ownership.
"Good luck @elonmusk in overcoming political bias and ideological dictatorship on Twitter," tweeted Mr Medvedev.
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