In today’s #vatniksoup, I’ll discuss the current state of Twitter/X. After @elonmusk took over, the site’s gotten rid of most their safety rules & monetized people who agree with Musk’s politics & constantly use lies and deceit to create outrage and increase their audience.

1/19

On 14 Jul 2023, Musk started paying ad share revenue to X’s “creators”. Besides some meme and Musk-fanboy accounts, these creators mostly consisted of accounts that regularly spread disinformation & outright lies.Many of them have also tried to manipulate their follower count.
2/19

Many of these “creators” will shift their narrative as soon as a new trend evolves. Today, they’ll talk about Bud Light, Hunter Biden and Ukraine, but tomorrow it’s going to be something else - something that’s trendy. These people are also experts on absolutely EVERYTHING.
3/19

As the @CommunityNotes on X are generally considered to be a joke, and these outrageous claims garner millions of views, the accounts are good way to collect ad revenue.

So, here are some of the “creators” Elon gave revenue to:

4/19

Jacob Creech AKA @WarClandestine, a far-right QAnon follower who started the “bioweapons labs in Ukraine” narrative that was picked by mainstream media on 24 February 2022. Jacob made around 500 USD a month from spreading lies and conspiracy theories.

5/19

Nick Sortor AKA @nicksortor, a some sort of far-right “citizen journalist” who spreads disinformation and promotes other grifters like @tuckercarlson and the MAGA gang. Nicky made around 750 USD a month from his “journalism”.

6/19

Rogan O’Handley AKA @DC_Draino, a far-right conspiracy theorist and “conservative commentator” who spreads lies and disinformation for engagement. He also seems to be a strong advocate for Putin’s imperialism. O’Handley earned around 1400 USD a month from his lies.

7/19

Ashley St. Clair AKA @stclairashley, apparently a conservative comedian who makes fun of the “woke culture” and shares photos to her thirsty fans. To be fair, some of her jokes aren’t that bad. Apparently she works for the @thebabylonbee. She made 1430 USD a month.

8/19

Benny Johnson AKA @bennyjohnson, a far-right podcaster and Trump supporter, who spreads outrageous lies & disinformation. In his most recent, he insinuated that the Obama’s might have been involved in the death of one of their staff members. He made 1900 USD a month from lying.
9/19

Ian Miles Cheong AKA @stillgray, a Malaysian grifter who will do anything for a quick buck.

Just read the thread:


10/19 https://t.co/MOK63Isxu0

https://x.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1662775521472593920

Andrew Tate AKA @cobratate, a far-right social media personality and alleged serial rapist and human trafficker.

He made around 4000 USD a month on X.

11/19

Brian and Ed Krassenstein AKA @krassenstein and @edkrassen. The “controlled opposition” who challenge Elon’s views, but not really.

They were suspended in 2019 for allegedly operating fake accounts. They became popular as the “Trump reply guys”.

12/19

They allegedly promoted Russian Ponzi schemes on one of their websites, but were never charged for any of it. I recently asked Brian a question regarding X, but he apparently forgot to answer:

They both earned around 4860 USD a month on X.

13/19 https://t.co/nVL0kVxzcs

https://x.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1684231004146343936

The strategy is very simple: Musk is giving money to people who promote his products (Tesla, SpaceX, etc.) or to people he agrees with in politics.

And the list is not comprehensive, and accounts like @catturd2 and @dom_lucre are also in the subscription system.

14/19

When I said that X has gotten rid of their safety rules, I meant it. On 26 Jul 2023, @dom_lucre was suspended for posting “child exploitation pictures”.

@elonmusk himself revealed this, and the account was reinstated on the same day.

15/19 https://t.co/d0W9VHie6k

https://x.com/P_Kallioniemi/status/1680254925220052993

Apparently, if @elonmusk likes your account, posting CSAM content gets you a slap on the wrist.

This is simply absurd, coming from a guy who just month ago considered Instagram’s vast pedophile networks “extremely concerning”.

16/19

X’s new blue checkmark system has also evolved into a huge disinformation promotion tool, and by spending small amounts of money, troll farms can promote and augment any kind of false narratives on the platform. This is why some old, big troll farms have resurfaced again.

17/19

Also, in a recent and desperate measure to collect more ad revenue, X has started forcing brands to spend on advertising in order to keep their “gold checkmark”, or the verification for being an authentic brand, organization or company.

18/19

To battle the disinformation on X, I suggest you follow accounts like @Shayan86 and @hoaxeye.

Oh, and if the profile says anything about being “citizen/independent journalist”, steer clear.

19/19

Now let us watch some of these smaller accounts I mentioned, try and gain more traction and following from the thread, and the bigger ones staying completely silent as they have nothing to gain from it all.