https://arab.news/4r4jq
SAN FRANCISCO: Donald Trump’s notorious Twitter account was reinstated Saturday after the platform’s new owner Elon Musk ran a poll in which a narrow majority of voters supported the move, days after the former US president announced another White House bid.
Trump’s account was banned from the platform early last year for his role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by a mob of his supporters seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
“The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated,” Musk tweeted, shortly after the 24-hour Twitter poll on his account ended.
“Vox Populi, Vox Dei,” he added, repeating a Latin adage he also posted Friday, meaning “The voice of the people is the voice of God.”
Reinstate former President Trump
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 19, 2022
Ultimately, more than 15 million people — out of 237 million daily Twitter users — voted on whether to reinstate the controversial profile, with 51.8 percent in favor and 48.2 percent against.
Trump, who had more than 88 million users when his accounted was suspended, reveled in using Twitter as a mouthpiece during his presidency, posting policy announcements, attacking political rivals and communicating with supporters.
On Saturday, several of his political allies were highlighting his return.
“Welcome back, @realdonaldtrump!” tweeted House Republican Paul Gosar.
He’s back.@realDonaldTrump https://t.co/SSKqE5MHF5 pic.twitter.com/H5IfdEzzBc
— Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar) November 20, 2022
Musk’s poll asked for a simple “yes” or “no” response to the statement “Reinstate former President Trump,” which the billionaire Twitter boss posted Friday.
“Fascinating to watch Twitter Trump poll!” Musk mused Saturday morning in a blast of tweets from the controversial and hard-charging new owner of the one-to-many messaging platform.
He has posed similar polls in the past, asking followers last year if he should sell stock in his electric car company Tesla. Following that poll, he sold more than $1 billion in shares.
No reason to return
Trump has said he will not return to the popular platform but would instead remain on his own network, Truth Social, launched after he was banned from Twitter.
Appearing via video Saturday at a gathering of the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas, Trump said he welcomed Musk’s poll, and was a fan of the man himself, but appeared to reject any return.
“I do like him… you know, he’s a character and again, I like characters,” he said.
“He did put up a poll and it was very overwhelming… but I have something called… Truth Social.”
As to whether he would return to the platform, he said: “I don’t see it because I don’t see any reason for it.”
Musk, also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has come under fire for radical changes at California-based Twitter, which he bought less than a month ago for $44 billion.
Since then, he fired half of Twitter’s 7,500 staff, scrapped a work-from-home policy and imposed long hours, all while his attempts to overhaul the company faced backlash and delays.
His stumbling attempts to revamp user verification with a controversial subscription service led to a slew of fake accounts and pranks, and prompted major advertisers to step away from the platform.
On Friday, Musk appeared to be pressing on with his plans and reinstated previously banned accounts, including that of comedian Kathy Griffin, which had been taken down after she impersonated him on the site.
The company’s offices were locked down Friday and hundreds of employees quit rather than yield to Musk’s demands that they resign themselves to working long, grueling days at the new Twitter.
Advertisers’ concerns
A no-show by Trump could reduce concerns among major advertisers, who are already rattled by Musk’s drastic reshaping of Twitter.
He has halved the workforce and severely cut the company’s trust and safety team, which is responsible for preventing the spread of misinformation and harmful content.
These actions and Musk’s tweeting have pushed major companies to halt advertising on the site as they monitor how the platform handles hate speech.
On Saturday, Bloomberg reported Twitter could fire more employees in its sales and partnership divisions, citing unnamed sources, just days after a mass resignation of engineers.
If Trump returned to Twitter, the move would raise questions about his commitment to Truth Social, which launched on Apple’s App Store in February and Google’s Play Store in October. Trump has some 4.57 million followers on Truth Social.
Truth Social has been Trump’s main source of direct communication with his followers since he began posting on the app regularly in May. He has used Truth Social to promote his allies, criticize opponents and defend his reputation amid legal scrutiny from state, congressional and federal investigators.
His agreement with the company, however, opens the door for Trump to engage extensively on other platforms. Trump is obligated to give Truth Social a six-hour exclusive on any post – but is free to post “political messaging, political fundraising or get-out-the vote efforts” on any site, at any time, according to a May SEC filing.
SAN FRANCISCO: Elon Musk expressed excitement Saturday as he watched votes pour in on a Twitter poll he has posted on whether to readmit Donald Trump to the messaging platform.
“Reinstate former President Trump,” the billionaire Twitter owner posted Friday, with a chance to vote either yes or no.
As of 2200 GMT Saturday, 51.8 percent of the more than 14 million responses were in favor of a return of the former president, who was banned from Twitter for his role in last year’s attack on the US Capitol by a mob of his followers seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Musk said the poll was drawing one million answers per hour.
“Fascinating to watch Twitter Trump poll!” Musk said Saturday morning in a blast of tweets from the controversial and hard-charging new owner of the one-to-many messaging platform.
There was no indication that the mercurial boss of Space-X and Tesla would adhere to the results of the ad hoc poll.
But on Friday, Musk also posted a Latin adage suggesting that the decision would be up to Twitter users: “Vox Populi, Vox Dei” (“The voice of the people is the voice of God“).
He has done similar polls in the past, asking followers last year if he should sell stock in his electric car company Tesla. Following that poll, he sold more than $1 billion in shares.
Trump, who reveled in using Twitter as a mouthpiece, was followed by more than 88 million users.
He has said he will not return to the popular platform but would instead remain on his own network, Truth Social, launched after he was banned from Twitter.
Appearing via video Saturday at a gathering of the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas, Trump said he welcomed Musk’s poll, and was a fan of the man himself, but appeared to reject any return.
“I do like him… you know, he’s a character and again, I like characters,” he said.
“He did put up a poll and it was very overwhelming… but I have something called… Truth Social.”
As to whether he would return to the platform, he said: “I don’t see it because I don’t see any reason for it.”
Musk, also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has come under fire for radical changes at California-based Twitter, which he bought less than a month ago for $44 billion.
Since then, he fired half of Twitter’s 7,500 staff, scrapped a work-from-home policy and imposed long hours, all while his attempts to overhaul the company faced backlash and delays.
His stumbling attempts to revamp user verification with a controversial subscription service led to a slew of fake accounts and pranks, and prompted major advertisers to step away from the platform.
On Friday, Musk appeared to be pressing on with his plans and reinstated previously banned accounts, including that of comedian Kathy Griffin, which had been taken down after she impersonated him on the site.
The company’s offices were locked down Friday and hundreds of employees quit rather than yield to Musk’s demands that they resign themselves to working long, grueling days at the new Twitter.
DUBAI: Saudi travel platform Almatar has partnered with technology company Snap Inc. as part of its efforts to engage with football fans during the FIFA World Cup, which kicks off in Qatar on Sunday.
Almatar said it will use the Snapchat developer’s augmented reality technology to interact with and reward fans through the use of seven AR lenses, each of which is designed to provide a different experience, from supporting the Saudi national team to experiencing matches virtually. The platform will also host a “predict and win” contest that offers the chance to win prizes during and after the World Cup.
The aim, it said, is to support Saudi Arabia — a country with 20 million Snapchat users — in its efforts to achieve its goals for its rapidly expanding tourism sector.
“Saudi Arabia is home to a large population of football fans, who are huge supporters of their national team and also very passionate about technology, and particularly Snapchat,” said Faisal Alrajhi, president of Almatar.
“By interacting with more than 3 million users on the Almatar app to showcase our support for the Saudi national team, we will be able to raise awareness about marketing messages dedicated to domestic tourism.”
According to Snap, many Snapchat users around the world already use it for sports content. The company said 55 percent share sports-related topics on the platform, while 58 percent engage with such content.
“Being held in Qatar, the historic 2022 FIFA World Cup is an amazing opportunity to engage with our huge Saudi audience through our AR technology,” said Abdulla Alhammadi, regional business lead for the KSA market at Snap.
SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Twitter owner Elon Musk on Friday said he had reinstated certain banned accounts on his site, but said no decision was made on welcoming back former US president Donald Trump.
Musk tweeted that the accounts of comedian Kathy Griffin, psychologist Jordan Peterson and conservative parody site Babylon Bee “have been reinstated,” but that the “Trump decision has not yet been made.”
Twitter users have been watching closely to see whether Musk will reinstate Trump, banned for inciting last year’s attack on the Capitol by a mob seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The announcement was made just moments before US Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed an independent prosecutor to oversee the criminal investigations into Trump, three days after the former president announced a new run for the White House in 2024.
Griffin, who has two million Twitter followers, was the most recently banned account after she switched her username to Elon Musk, taking advantage of the website’s new relaxed rules under the billionaire.
Musk has described himself as a “free speech absolutist,” and the South African billionaire was harangued online for the ban on Griffin and other accounts that impersonated him.
Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson was suspended from Twitter in June, before Musk’s ownership, following a post about transgender actor Elliot Page that broke the site’s rules on hateful conduct.
Peterson had often made comments against the rights of transgender people and was asked by Twitter to remove the post on Page.
Musk made the announcement as he indicated a new direction for content moderation on the site.
“New Twitter policy is freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach,” Musk tweeted on Friday.
While not being totally removed from the site, Musk said that “negative/hate tweets” will be “max deboosted & demonetized, so no ads or other revenue to Twitter.”
“You won’t find the tweet unless you specifically seek it out, which is no different from rest of Internet,” he added.
DUBAI: TikTok announced the winners of its inaugural Creator Hub Awards for the UAE and Egypt at a ceremony in Dubai on Wednesday.
The program, which was launched in September, aims to identify talented creators and connect them with the right mentors and skill-building experts, to support and nurture their skills.
The annual competition required creators to produce a creative content idea around a specific theme. This year’s theme was climate change, inspired by the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference of Parties — COP27 — held in Egypt in November.
It also aligns with TikTok’s launch of the #ClimateAction program in support of COP27 in the MENA region. The campaign encourages TikTok users to join the climate conversation and take actions that have a positive impact on the planet.
“We decided to launch this in Egypt and the UAE because the COP27 will be taking place in both those areas the current and next year,” Tarek Abdalla, regional general manager, TikTok Middle East, Africa, Turkiye, Pakistan and South Asia, told Arab News.
Five winners were chosen for their creative ability to raise awareness of this year’s theme through an informative TikTok video: Anfal Saheb, Aya Shiha, Deema Naser, Kareem Abdel Samad and Rabih Takkoush.
Naser, who loves content creation, said: “To be able to use a platform that I use daily to create positive social change to me was already an honor, but to have created a video that won the MENA Creator Hub Award too was incredible.”
For Takkoush, winning the award gave him “a boost of confidence to create and share more content.”
He added: “Wait till you see us creators collaborating together.”
Similarly, Abdel Samad enjoyed the collaborative experience and meeting other creators. “It was lovely getting to know all their stories and their passions in life, and awesome to see that we all share one common thing, which is the love for creating content and actually making a change through what we do,” he said.
Every year, the TikTok MENA Creator Hub program will draw up a chosen theme for creators to produce a creative content idea around a specific topic. It aims to provide creators with the knowledge needed to inspire and guide them through their professional careers.
“TikTok is a very easy tool to create and spread content and messages; we are pleased to be able to start conversations on important societal topics and be able to include anyone in the conversation,” Abdalla said.
LONDON: Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal this week launched a digital philanthropy center in the metaverse.
The virtual experience comprises exhibitions of Arab science, art and culture curated by some of the world’s top museums and universities in partnership with Alwaleed Philanthropies.
“This is a special initiative offering versatility and accessibility in a new space with the drive to harness tolerance and acceptance,” Princess Lamia bint Majed, the company’s secretary-general, said in a statement.
“Our commitment to mankind is to permanently be on the lookout for innovative approaches as we build connections for better cultural understanding as well as boundless tolerance.”
The launch on Wednesday coincided with International Day for Tolerance, an annual UNESCO event designed to generate public awareness of the dangers of intolerance.
“Alwaleed Philanthropies is committed to deploy collective efforts toward exposing minds and dismantling borders, as we believe in an open world and operate on the concept of creating an impact on people’s lives globally,” Princess Lamia said.
The center’s exhibitions include an exploration of the Astrolabe — an ancient Islamic instrument used for mathematical calculations — and medieval Persian historian Rashid al-Din’s Compendium of Chronicles.
Visitors can also explore the Darzah Room, which features handmade Palestinian products, the Aleppo Room, which depicts the sumptuous interior of a 17th century Syrian mansion, and see traditional handmade Saudi crafts from Mizwara, Alwaleed Philanthropies’ own brand.
The rooms were created in collaboration with Oxford University Museums, Pergamon Museum Berlin, the University of Edinburgh, the Turquoise Mountain Foundation and Palestinian crafts designer Darzah.
Alwaleed Philanthropies said it would expand the space by adding a new partner every quarter.
Princess Lamia said the company cooperated “with a range of philanthropic, governmental and educational organizations to combat poverty, empower women and youth, develop communities, provide disaster relief and create cultural understanding.”
The creation of the digital experience was inspired by the company’s mission to build and nurture tolerance throughout humanity, she added.
“For more than four decades, the team at Alwaleed Philanthropies has acted as an agent of change. We continue creating new dimensions for the progress and advancement of humankind.”