title: Personal pronoun

text: Other syntactic types of pronouns which may adopt distinct forms are disjunctive pronouns, used in isolation and in certain distinct positions (such as after a conjunction like "and"), and prepositional pronouns, used as the complement of a preposition.


title: Personal pronoun

text: Some languages have strong and weak forms of personal pronouns, the former being used in positions with greater stress. Some authors further distinguish weak pronouns from clitic pronouns, which are phonetically less independent.


title: Personal pronoun

text: Examples are found in Polish, where the masculine third-person singular accusative and dative forms are "jego" and "jemu" (strong) and "go" and "mu" (weak). English has strong and weak pronunciations for some pronouns, such as "them" (pronounced when strong, but , , or even when weak).


title: Personal pronoun

text: Some languages—for instance, most Australian Aboriginal languages—have distinct classes of free and bound pronouns. These are distinguished by their morphological independence/dependence on other words respectively. In Australian languages, it is common for free pronouns to be reserved exclusively for human (and sometimes other animate) referents. Examples of languages with animacy restrictions on free pronouns include Wanyjirra, Bilinarra, Warrongo, Guugu Yimidhirr and many others. Bound pronouns can take a variety of forms, including verbal prefixes (these are usually subject markers—see Bardi—but can mark objects as well—see Guniyandi), verbal enclitics (including possessive markers) and auxiliary morphemes. These various forms are exemplified below:


title: Personal pronoun

text: Languages may also have reflexive pronouns (and sometimes reciprocal pronouns) closely linked to the personal pronouns. English has the reflexive forms "myself", "yourself", "himself", "herself", "themself", "theirself", "itself", "ourselves", "yourselves", "theirselves", "themselves" (there is also "oneself", from the indefinite pronoun "one"). These are used mainly to replace the oblique form when referring to the same entity as the subject of the clause; they are also used as intensive pronoun (as in "I did it myself").


title: Personal pronoun

text: Personal pronouns are also often associated with possessive forms. English has two sets of such forms: the possessive determiners (also called possessive adjectives) "my", "your", "his", "her", "its", "our" and "their", and the possessive pronouns "mine", "yours", "his", "hers", "its" (rare), "ours", "theirs" (for more details see English possessive). In informal usage both types of words may be called "possessive pronouns", even though the former kind do not function in place of nouns, but qualify a noun, and thus do not themselves function grammatically as pronouns.


title: Personal pronoun

text: Some languages, such as the Slavic languages, also have reflexive possessives (meaning "my own", "his own", etc.). These can be used to make a distinction from ordinary third-person possessives. For example, in Slovene:


title: Personal pronoun

text: The same phenomenon occurs in the North Germanic languages, for example Danish, which can produce the sentences "Anna gav Maria sin bog" and "Anna gav Maria hendes bog", the distinction being analogous to that in the Slovene example above.


title: Personal pronoun

text: Third-person personal pronouns, and sometimes others, often have an explicit antecedent – a noun phrase which refers to the same person or thing as the pronoun (see anaphora). The antecedent usually precedes the pronoun, either in the same sentence or in a previous sentence (although in some cases the pronoun may come before the antecedent). The pronoun may then be said to "replace" or "stand for" the antecedent, and to be used so as to avoid repeating the antecedent. Some examples:


title: Personal pronoun

text: Sometimes pronouns, even third-person ones, are used without specific antecedent, and the referent has to be deduced from the context. In other cases there may be ambiguity as to what the intended antecedent is:


title: Personal pronoun

text: In some languages, subject or object pronouns can be dropped in certain situations (see Pro-drop language). In particular, in a null-subject language, it is permissible for the subject of a verb to be omitted. Information about the grammatical person (and possibly gender) of the subject may then be provided by the form of the verb. In such languages it is common for personal pronouns to appear in subject position only if they are needed to resolve ambiguity or if they are stressed.


title: Personal pronoun

text: In some cases pronouns are used purely because they are required by the rules of syntax, even though they do not refer to anything; they are then called dummy pronouns. This can be seen in English with the pronoun "it" in such sentences as "it is raining" and "it is nice to relax". (This is less likely in pro-drop languages, since such pronouns would probably be omitted.)


title: Personal pronoun

text: Personal pronouns are not normally capitalized, except in particular cases. In English the first-person subject pronoun "I" is always capitalized, and in some Christian texts the personal pronouns referring to Jesus or God are capitalized ("He", "Thou", etc.).


title: Personal pronoun

text: In many European languages, but not English, the second-person pronouns are often capitalized for politeness when they refer to the person one is writing to (such as in a letter).


title: Personal pronoun

text: <nowiki>*</nowiki>Words like "her", "your" and "his" are sometimes called (possessive) pronouns; other terms are possessive determiner or possessive adjective.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Business magnate Elon Musk initiated the acquisition of American social media company Twitter, Inc. on April 14, 2022, and concluded it on October 27, 2022. Musk began buying Twitter shares in January 2022, eventually becoming the company's largest shareholder by April with a 9.1 percent ownership stake. Twitter invited Musk to join its board of directors, an offer Musk initially accepted before declining. On April 14, he made an unsolicited offer to purchase the company; Twitter's board initially responded with a "poison pill" strategy to resist a hostile takeover, but unanimously accepted Musk's buyout offer of $44 billion on April 25. Musk stated that he planned to introduce new features to the platform, make its algorithms open-sourced, combat spambot accounts, and promote free speech.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: In July, Musk announced his intention to terminate the agreement, asserting that Twitter had breached their agreement by refusing to crack down on spambot accounts. The company filed a lawsuit against Musk in the Delaware Court of Chancery shortly thereafter, with a trial scheduled for the week of October 17. Weeks before the trial was set to begin, Musk reversed course, announcing that he would move forward with the acquisition. The deal was closed on October 27, with Musk immediately becoming Twitter's new owner and CEO, and Twitter was taken private. Upon acquiring Twitter, Musk promptly fired several top executives, including previous CEO Parag Agrawal. Musk has since proposed several reforms to Twitter and laid off half of the company's workforce. Hundreds of employees then resigned from the company after Musk issued an ultimatum demanding they commit to "extremely hardcore" work.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Reception to the buyout has been mixed, with praise for Musk's planned reforms and vision for the company, particularly his calls for greater free speech, but criticism over fears of a potential rise in misinformation, disinformation, harassment, and hate speech on the platform. Conservatives have largely been in support of the acquisition, while many liberals and former Twitter employees have voiced concerns about Musk's intentions. Since becoming owner, Musk has faced backlash for his handling of the company and his heavy-handed approach to content moderation.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Business magnate Elon Musk published his first tweet on his personal Twitter account in June 2010, and had more than 80 million followers by April 2022. In 2017, in response to a tweet suggesting that he buy Twitter Inc., Musk replied, "How much is it?" On March 24, 2022, Musk began tweeting criticisms of Twitter, polling his followers on whether the company adhered to the principle that "free speech is essential to a functioning democracy". Days later, he discussed the future of social media with Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey and explored the possibility of joining Twitter's board of directors with private equity firm Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban. He relayed this idea to Twitter board chair Bret Taylor and CEO Parag Agrawal, proposing to either take the company private or start a rival social media platform. Dorsey responded to Musk with a text message, saying he hoped Twitter could become open-sourced and that he had unsuccessfully pushed for Musk's induction into Twitter's board a year earlier, a move that prompted his departure from his role as CEO.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Musk began purchasing Twitter stock on January 31, 2022. On April 4, he announced that he had acquired 9.2 percent of the company's shares totalling $2.64 billion, making him the company's largest shareholder. Following the announcement, Twitter's stock experienced its largest intraday surge since the company's initial public offering (IPO) in 2013, rising by as much as 27 percent. The next day, Twitter invited Musk to join the company's board, which Musk accepted. This had been recommended to the board by Twitter's Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee three days earlier, with some board members expressing concern about potential "adverse impacts on stockholder value". The position would have prohibited Musk from going beyond a 14.9 percent ownership stake and limited his ability to speak publicly about the company. That day, Musk phoned Dorsey, who declined Musk's suggestion for him to remain on the board.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: On April 11, after publishing several tweets critical of the company, Musk decided not to join the board. Instead, he informed Twitter that he intended to make an offer to take the company private. On April 12, Twitter's board met with lawyers and financial advisors to deliberate over the ramifications of such a deal as well as their options, while company shareholder Marc Bain Rasella sued Musk for allegedly manipulating the company's stock price and violating Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: On April 14, Musk made an unsolicited and non-binding offer to purchase the company for $43 billion, or $54.20 per share, and take it private. The bid was described as a hostile takeover attempt, with the board responding that it would "carefully review the proposal". In a TED interview, Musk said he aimed to make Twitter a "platform for free speech around the globe", hailing free speech a "societal imperative for a functioning democracy" and insisting that he had not made the offer to increase his wealth. Critics noted that he showed more interest in altering Twitter's moderation policies than in fighting government censorship. The price of $54.20 per share is believed to be a reference to 420, a slang term in cannabis culture for marijuana consumption.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: On April 15, Twitter's board of directors announced a "poison pill" strategy, which would allow shareholders to purchase additional stock in the event of a hostile takeover; the plan will expire on April 14, 2023. On April 17, Taylor was urged by Twitter's largest institutional shareholders to "seriously consider" the offer. On April 20, Musk disclosed that he had secured financing provided by a group of banks led by Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Barclays, MUFG, Société Générale, Mizuho Bank, and BNP Paribas, for a potential tender offer to acquire the company. The funding included $7 billion of senior secured bank loans; $6 billion in subordinated debt; $6.25 billion in bank loans to Musk personally, secured by $62.5 billion of his Tesla stock; $20 billion in cash equity from Musk, to be provided by sales of Tesla stock and other assets; and $7.1 billion in equity from 19 independent investors.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: The initially proposed $13 billion in money borrowed by Twitter is equivalent to seven times the company's 2022 projected operating cash flow; some banks found that multiple too risky and opted to participate only in the $12.5 billion margin loan to Musk. The debt is estimated to cost Twitter approximately $1 billion in annual interest and fees. Two days after announcing his bid, Musk registered three holding companies under the name "X Holdings" in preparation for his takeover. Tesla shares fell 12 percent on the day after the acquisition was announced, amid smaller declines in the broader markets. Musk incurred a $21 billion paper loss that day. Within three days after Twitter agreed to be acquired, Musk had sold $8.5 billion of his Tesla shares.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: On April 23, Musk informed Taylor that his offer was "best and final", urging him to accept in a letter sent the following day. Multiple outlets subsequently reported that Twitter was in final negotiations to accept Musk's offer, with a deal expected to be reached by the next day, though Reuters cautioned that the deal could still fall apart. On April 25, Twitter shares rose by 5 percent following reports that Twitter was poised to accept Musk's offer. Twitter advisors Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase both approved of the deal, deeming it fair from a financial perspective. Twitter's board publicly and unanimously accepted the buyout offer for $44 billion, and Twitter was to become a private company once the transaction was completed sometime in 2022. Negotiations with Musk were led by the board's transaction committee, composed of Taylor, Martha Lane Fox, and Patrick Pichette. The deal would require shareholder and regulatory approval before it could be finalized, though analysts believed it was unlikely to be challenged by regulators. Musk was barred from disparaging the company or its employees when tweeting about the acquisition before the transaction closed. The agreement also stipulated that if Musk failed to close the acquisition, he would be required to pay Twitter a $1 billion breakup fee. Agrawal was set to receive $39 million from the buyout, while Dorsey would receive $978 million. Musk had privately selected a new CEO to replace Agrawal upon completion of the acquisition, though he was expected to serve as interim CEO in the months after its completion. Tesla's stock sank by more than $125 billion the next market day, causing Musk to lose about $30 billion of his net worth.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: After the acceptance was announced, Musk said that his first goal would be to make the algorithm that ranks tweets in the content feed open-sourced, in an effort to increase transparency. He has also stated that he intended to remove spambots and "authenticate all real humans", suggesting that he might convert Twitter's San Francisco headquarters into a homeless shelter. Musk said he lacked confidence in Twitter's corporate management, telling banks that he had considered reducing executive and board pay. He published tweets critical of decisions made by Twitter executives such as Vijaya Gadde, who was subsequently harassed by Twitter users using racist and sexist language. On April 28, Twitter told advertising agencies that their work would not be seen next to offensive material. Musk also discussed with bankers with the ideas of cutting jobs and costs, encouraging influencers to be creative, and adding subscription services to Twitter.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: On May 4, the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom summoned Musk to discuss the effect of his buyout on free speech and "online harms". Musk secured another $7.1 billion in funding the next day, including from Oracle Corporation co-founder Larry Ellison, Saudi prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud, venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, as well as sovereign wealth fund Qatar Holding. The equity infusion reduced his original $12.5 billion personal bank loan to $6.25 billion and his required cash equity contribution from $21 billion to just under $20 billion. On May 11, "The Wall Street Journal" reported that the SEC and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had launched investigations into events leading to the acquisition. The next day, Agrawal fired Twitter general manager Kayvon Beykpour and revenue product lead Bruce Falck.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: On May 13, Musk revealed that he had placed the deal "on hold" in the wake of reports that 5 percent of Twitter's daily active users were spam accounts, causing Twitter shares to drop more than 10 percent. Musk clarified that he remained committed to the acquisition, and Agrawal stated he expected the deal to close. In response to a May 16 Twitter thread in which Agrawal said an external review into the platform's users was impractical, Musk tweeted out a poop emoji. The following day, Musk reiterated that the acquisition could not "move forward" until Twitter could prove the aforementioned reports false, urging the SEC to investigate Twitter's daily user numbers. The same day, Twitter filed new documents with the SEC, including a detailed timeline of Musk's purchase, and affirmed they would "enforce the merger agreement" regardless of Musk's actions. On May 25, Musk abandoned plans to partially fund the deal through margin loans against Tesla stock, instead opting to pledge an additional $6.25 billion in equity financing. Dorsey departed Twitter's board the same day, while Twitter investor William Heresniak filed a class-action lawsuit against Musk, alleging that he had violated corporate laws in California by manipulating the market. The lawsuit further declared that Musk was not permitted by the acquisition contract to place the deal on hold, and that Musk's misleading statements had contributed to declining Twitter stock prices.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: On June 3, the acquisition was cleared by U.S. antitrust review. In an email sent by Musk's attorney to Twitter three days later, Musk threatened to terminate his agreement with Twitter because the company had refused to give him data pertaining to its users. Twitter responded that they would continue to cooperate with Musk to ensure that the transaction was closed in accordance with their agreement. On June 8, Twitter's board complied with Musk's demands, agreeing to provide him with a "firehose" data stream of tweets. A week later, the SEC asked Agrawal to provide information on how Twitter estimated its number of spam accounts, to which the company obliged; the SEC concluded its inquiry on July 27. Musk attended an all-hands meeting on June 16 to answer questions from Twitter employees, discussing Twitter's content moderation policy, freedom of speech, potential layoffs, remote work, and "the cosmic nature of Twitter". Musk also expressed his desire for Twitter to reach one billion active users, and pledged his commitment to advertising as a source of revenue for Twitter.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: In a complaint filed by Whistleblower Aid with the SEC, U.S. Justice Department, and FTC on July 6, former Twitter security officer Peiter Zatko accused several Twitter executives, including Agrawal and certain board members, of making false or misleading statements about privacy, security, and content moderation on the platform in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 and SEC disclosure rules. These included misrepresentations to Musk made during the course of the acquisition bid, with the complaint specifically calling Agrawal's May 16 thread deceptive. In a July 7 conference call, Twitter revealed that over one million spam accounts were removed daily, and reiterated that it was impossible to externally determine the exact number of these accounts as it would involve private user data. That same day, "The Washington Post" reported that the deal was "in peril" amid a slowdown in discussions on funding.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: On July 8, Musk announced his intention to terminate the proposed acquisition, claiming in a regulatory filing that Twitter was in "material breach" of several parts of the agreement by refusing to comply with Musk's requests for spambot account data and dismissing high-ranking employees. In response, Taylor pledged to pursue legal action against Musk at the Delaware Court of Chancery with the goal of completing the acquisition, with the ensuing lawsuit once again overseen by the Twitter board's transaction committee. Twitter's stock sank by 7 percent after the news, dropping by a further 11 percent the next day. On July 10, Twitter hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to represent its case, including "key lawyers" William Savitt and Leo Strine, along with Potter Anderson & Corroon, Ballard Spahr, Kobre & Kim, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Musk again employed the services of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan after previously doing so for "Unsworth v. Musk" and "SEC v. Musk", including his personal lawyer Alex Spiro, as well as Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Twitter formally launched its lawsuit against Musk at the Delaware Court of Chancery on July 12, with Musk tweeting in response, "Oh the irony lol". Twitter requested that the trial be held from September 19 through September 22, before the deal's originally scheduled "drop dead" date on October 24. Musk's legal team rejected this, asking for the trial to be held from February 13 through February 22, 2023. On July 19, judge Kathaleen McCormick ruled that the trial would last for five days in October, with Twitter seeking an October 10 start date. During its quarterly earnings investor call on July 22, Twitter cited the "chaos" caused by the proposal as the primary factor for its decline in revenue. In a letter to McCormick on July 26, Musk's lawyers complained that Twitter had hindered them from commencing the discovery process and requested an October 17 start date, which McCormick granted three days later with a duration of five days.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: In a tweet on August 6, Musk challenged Agrawal to a public debate on Twitter's spambot accounts, before polling his followers on whether they believed that less than 5 percent of Twitter accounts were "fake/spam". On August 10, Musk sold 7.92 million Tesla shares worth a total of $6.9 billion as backup should he lose the lawsuit, despite previously stating he would no longer sell Tesla stock. The next week, McCormick ordered Twitter to produce documents from Beykpour, which Musk's team had requested along with files from 22 other Twitter employees and 41 "custodians". Shortly thereafter, Musk subpoenaed Dorsey. Other businessmen and investors subpoenaed include Marc Andreessen, Ellison, David Sacks, and Joe Lonsdale, while Twitter and Musk also subpoenaed Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Salesforce, Mastercard, and more. Sacks and Lonsdale were both irritated that they were being subpoenaed, with the former filing a failed motion to dismiss the subpoena. In total, lawyers for Twitter issued over 84 subpoenas, while Musk's lawyers issued more than 36.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Facing increasing pressure from Musk, Twitter announced that it would combine its health team, tasked with preventing non-consensual nudity and child sexual exploitation on the platform, with its anti-spam team. McCormick rejected much of Musk's team's "absurdly broad" request for data pertaining to all of Twitter's users, but ordered the company to produce data from 9,000 accounts it previously audit sampled. Musk filed a "termination letter" with the SEC on August 29, citing Zatko's claims as evidence Twitter breached their contract, before asking McCormick to delay the trial by a few weeks. McCormick rejected the request, and Musk's team sent a third termination letter to Twitter. On September 13, Zatko testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, while Twitter shareholders voted in favor of the acquisition. Musk privately offered to purchase Twitter at the reduced prices of $31 billion and $39.6 billion, both of which the company rejected.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: On October 3, Musk's legal team informed Twitter that Musk had changed his mind and decided to move forward with his proposed acquisition at the originally agreed-upon price of $54.20 per share, on the condition that Twitter drop its lawsuit. The reason for this reversal was attributed to concerns from Musk's team that they would not be able to prove that there was a material adverse effect justifying a break from contract. Musk and Agrawal's depositions were originally scheduled for October 6 and 10, respectively. Musk stated that his purchase of Twitter was part of his ambition to create an "everything app" called X, which would offer many different services. In response, McCormick asked both sides to propose to her how they should proceed. Twitter shares surged by 23 percent as a result of Musk's announcement. Neither Twitter nor Musk responded to McCormick's request, prompting her to announce that the trial would go forward as planned.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: On October 6, McCormick agreed to a request by Musk to postpone the trial to October 28 so Musk could finalize his debt financing for the acquisition, adding that the trial would be rescheduled to November if the deal did not close by then. A week later, it was revealed that Musk was being investigated by the U.S. government for his conduct in the proposed buyout. Musk later stated that he believed Twitter's long-term value would exceed the price of $54.20 per share, which he considered an overpayment. On October 20, "The Washington Post" reported that Musk intended to terminate 75 percent of Twitter's staff, and that Twitter executives were keen on selling the company to Musk so they could mitigate their planned payroll and infrastructure cuts. In an open letter, Twitter employees condemned Musk's intentions and warned of negative consequences on the future of Twitter. Bloomberg News and the "Post" further reported that officials in the U.S. Biden administration were considering a national security review of Musk's proposed acquisition and other ventures via the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS), with the possibility of President Joe Biden blocking the purchase if need be. The White House has refuted those reports as well.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: By October 21, both parties' bankers and lawyers were set to complete the paperwork for the acquisition by the end of the month, with the deal expected to close by then. The banks funding the acquisition were to hold the $13 billion worth of debt incurred as opposed to selling it. In a video call with banks who helped Musk fund the acquisition, Musk assured them he would complete the buyout by the deadline. Musk made a trip to Twitter's headquarters on October 26, tweeting a video of him carrying a kitchen sink at the site's lobby and changing his Twitter bio to "Chief Twit". Musk also told Twitter employees that while layoffs were still likely to happen, he did not intend to do so at the scale the "Post" had previously reported. The next day, Musk wrote in an open letter to advertisers that Twitter would not become a "free-for-all hellscape", reiterating that his motives for the purchase were not based on greed but rather a desire to create "a common digital town square". He then asked Tesla engineers to meet with Twitter's product managers in order to assess the platform's codebase, which was frozen until November 1.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: In the afternoon of October 27, Musk and Twitter closed the deal, with Musk tweeting "the bird is freed". Musk immediately became Twitter's new owner, promptly firing Agrawal, Gadde, chief financial officer Ned Segal, and general counsel Sean Edgett, with the executives escorted out of the company's headquarters by security. Agrawal, Segal, and Gadde were set to receive "golden parachute" sums of $38.7 million, $25.4 million, and $12.5 million, respectively, but Musk circumvented the agreement by asserting the executives were dismissed "for cause" and that the company had been mismanaged. Dorsey retained his $1 billion ownership stake, and several other executives departed Twitter in the ensuing days.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Musk assumed the position of CEO, merging the company with X Holdings and dissolving Twitter's board of directors. Musk uses the title "Chief Twit" to refer to his position as CEO. A "war room" was established at Twitter, with Musk meeting with Spiro, Sacks, and others to discuss his next steps. According to "The New York Times", the group's two primary objectives were to reduce the size of Twitter's workforce and overhaul the platform's mobile app. Twitter employees were not formally informed of the change in management, with Musk originally said to be planning a town hall meeting with employees but ultimately not doing so. The next day, Twitter shares ceased trading in accordance with Musk's pledge to take the company private; the company's stock ticker was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on November 8.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: On October 27, Musk announced that a "content moderation council" with diversified viewpoints would be established to inform the platform's content policy, and declared a moratorium in "major content decisions or account reinstatements" until then. The council was never formed, with Musk claiming that it was part of a deal he made with activists which they allegedly dishonored. He also signaled his intention to do away with lifetime account suspensions and unban those suspended for "minor [or] dubious reasons". On October 30, technology newsletter "Platformer" reported that Twitter would require users to purchase a Twitter Blue subscription in order to retain their blue checkmarks indicating they were "verified" on the platform, which was later confirmed by Musk as a measure to combat spambot accounts. The feature began rolling out on November 5, but was then delayed until after the U.S. midterm elections due to concerns of potential election interference. Twitter's trust and safety team opposed the change. Musk ordered Twitter employees to revamp multiple aspects of the program by the end of the week, enlisting employees from his other companies such as Tesla, the Boring Company, and Neuralink, as well as investors Jason Calacanis and Sriram Krishnan. To meet these deadlines, many Twitter staff members were directed to extend their working hours. Musk later stated that he would not alter Twitter's content policies or restore banned accounts until after the midterms.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: On November 9, one day after Election Day, Twitter launched its revamped verification program on iOS devices, with all users now able to obtain a blue checkmark by purchasing Twitter Blue. To distinguish between those who had been verified before the change and those who received the checkmark via Twitter Blue, secondary gray checkmarks labeled "official" were briefly added to the former's profiles before Musk overruled the feature hours later. Instead, a pop-up message indicating which of the two groups a verified user belonged to was also added to the blue checkmark. The gray checkmarks were inexplicably restored the next day, and then Twitter halted new verifications via Twitter Blue amid a spike in impersonator accounts. The program relaunched on December 12, with Musk introducing gold checkmarks for businesses and gray checkmarks for government accounts. Musk also met with advertisers via Twitter Spaces to outline his plans to fulfill his pre-acquisition pledges, previewing forthcoming features and allaying fears of a rise in disinformation and hate speech. He also named Community Notes, a fact-checking tool formerly known as Birdwatch, as a prospective substitute for Twitter's current approaches to content moderation.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: On November 4, Musk and Twitter began laying off a substantial portion of the company's workforce and Twitter temporarily closed its offices, with "The New York Times" estimating that roughly half of employees had been let go. The night before the layoffs, five Twitter employees based in San Francisco and Cambridge, Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that mass layoffs would violate federal and California WARN Acts. Musk explained that the layoffs were a cost-cutting measure and stated that the company had been losing over $4 million a day, criticizing activist groups who had called on advertisers to cease doing business with the company. The "Times" described the layoffs as "haphazard", with employees learning of their firings through a variety of means. Workers in Dublin and Tokyo received emails regarding the layoffs, while those in Ireland and Britain remained in their offices at night to await official word on their employment status. Others learned that they had been laid off when they found themselves locked out of their work applications. Twitter's internal directory, Birdhouse, was taken offline and Twitter offices worldwide were closed for the weekend. On November 6, Twitter asked some employees who had been laid off to return to the company, either because they had been fired by mistake or because they were belatedly deemed important to the health of the business.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Days after the layoffs, Twitter terminated a large number of its contractors, and Musk fired a series of employees who criticized him publicly or within the company. On November 16, Musk delivered an ultimatum to employees via email: commit to "extremely hardcore" work in order to realize Musk's vision of "Twitter 2.0", or leave. In response, hundreds of Twitter employees resigned the next day, hours before the deadline to respond to Musk's email, rendering many of Twitter's core functions nonviable. "Business Insider" reported that less than 2000 employees remained at the company. Musk and his advisers met with several employees to dissuade them from leaving the company, while Twitter offices were once again closed until November 21. Despite the closures, Musk summoned all Twitter software engineers to Twitter's headquarters on November 18, seeking greater insight into the platform's solution stack. Additional layoffs occurred later that month, and the company resumed hiring.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Musk began unbanning banned accounts in late November, beginning with Jordan Peterson, Kathy Griffin, "The Babylon Bee", and Trump. Multiple anti-fascist accounts were suspended, many of which had been named by far-right figures who urged Musk to take action. Among those banned include a group that provides security to LGBTQ+ events and several accounts parodying Musk. Twitter also announced it would no longer enforce its policy prohibiting COVID-19 misinformation, and dissolved its Trust and Safety Council responsible for Twitter's policies on hate speech, child sexual exploitation, and self-harm content. After previously indicating his intention to review Twitter's policy against "misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals", Musk relaxed the platform's hate speech policies, with "Vanity Fair" describing the policy protecting transgender people as "effectively dead".


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: On December 14, Musk suspended ElonJet, a Twitter bot account operated by Jack Sweeney which tracked Musk's private jet in real-time using publicly accessible data, in addition to several of Sweeney's other accounts. He had previously stated, "My commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk." Defending his decision to suspend the accounts, Musk declared a ban on doxxing real-time location data, and Twitter followed suit by updating its policies page. The next day, Twitter banned the accounts of multiple journalists who had been covering the ElonJet incident, as well as the Mastodon account on Twitter, on the grounds that they had violated the new doxxing policy. Some of the suspended journalists joined a Twitter Spaces mass audio call with Musk, where Musk was asked about the their suspensions; Musk quit the call, and the call was abruptly ended before the entire Twitter Spaces service was temporarily taken down. Musk attributed the shutdown to a software bug, while a Twitter senior software engineer acknowledged that Twitter Spaces had been "taken offline". By December 17, Twitter was blocking some links to Mastodon as being "potentially harmful" or "malware". On December 18, Twitter announced a new policy barring users from promoting certain social media platforms including Mastodon, but rescinded it within a day following significant backlash. Musk apologized and pledged to poll users before enacting "major policy changes" going forward.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Musk has previously stated that he planned to eventually appoint a new CEO to oversee Twitter. On December 18, amid growing public discontent surrounding the ElonJet and social media promotion controversies, Musk conducted a Twitter poll asking whether he should resign from his position as Twitter CEO, claiming that he would "abide by the results". The poll resolved to "yes" after 57.5 percent of a total of 17.5 million users voted in favor of him stepping down. , Musk has yet to formally announce his resignation or successor, although he commented on an offer by computer scientist Lex Fridman for the position. However, on December 20, Musk accused bots of manipulating the results and announced that Twitter Blue paid subscribers would only be able to vote on polls regarding policy changes afterwards.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Following Musk's induction to Twitter's board of directors on April 5, Agrawal wrote that he believed Musk's appointment would bring long-term value to the company, while Dorsey wrote that Musk "cares deeply about our world and Twitter's role in it". Dorsey privately relayed his appreciation to Musk for his commitment, texting that he trusted Musk. On April 11, Agrawal stated that he believed Musk's withdrawal from the board was "for the best", noting that the company would "remain open to his input".


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Musk's offer to take over Twitter was met with both praise and criticism. On April 14, Twitter employees expressed concern with Musk's views on free speech. Media outlets expressed concerns that his proposed changes to Twitter would result in an increase in disinformation and online harassment. Jim Cramer of CNBC opined that the Twitter board would have "no choice" but to reject Musk's offer due to potential personal liability faced by the board members. On April 19, the National Urban League urged Twitter to turn down Musk's takeover bid, warning of potentially negative consequences on users' civil rights.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Conservative and Republican commentators and politicians in the U.S. who believed Twitter discriminated against right-wing speech expressed enthusiasm for Musk's proposed changes. On April 22, U.S. House Republicans demanded that Twitter's board preserve all records pertaining to Musk's takeover proposal, which sets the stage for a potential congressional probe following the 2022 midterms. Jimmy Patronis, the Chief Financial Officer of Florida, praised Musk's offer and was critical of Twitter's "poison pill" strategy. According to a poll conducted by Harvard University's Center for American Political Studies (CAPS) and the Harris Poll, 57 percent of American voters approved of Musk's purchase of Twitter.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Agrawal applauded the purchase and assured employees that no layoffs were planned at that time, adding he was proud of Twitter employees "despite the noise" around the company. He also led an all-hands meeting on April 29 to address concerns raised by employees. Dorsey endorsed the sale, saying that "taking [Twitter] back from Wall Street is the correct first step" and that he trusted Musk to be the owner of the company. Former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo denounced Musk's criticism of the company. Twitter general counsel Vijaya Gadde allegedly cried during a meeting about the announcement and was subjected to online trolling. Musk's June 17 meeting with employees was generally negatively received by participants, who found Musk's statements "incoherent" and "uninspiring". Musk was repeatedly derided and mocked by Twitter employees on their internal Slack channels after the deal was brokered.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Republican lawmakers in the U.S. Congress such as Jim Jordan, Yvette Herrell, Marsha Blackburn, and Ted Cruz praised the deal, calling it a restoration of free speech. Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers such as Pramila Jayapal, Jesús García, Marie Newman, Mark Pocan, and Elizabeth Warren criticized Musk and the buyout. In June, Texas attorney general Ken Paxton launched an investigation into whether Twitter had misled authorities on its number of spambot accounts, alluding to prior claims made by Musk. Former U.S. President Donald Trump expressed approval with the deal but stated that he would not rejoin the platform, even if he is unbanned, due to his preference for his own social media platform, Truth Social; Musk later indicated his intention to reverse Twitter's ban on Trump. Mexican President Lopez Obrador stated that he hoped Musk would rid Twitter of "the corruption that's there, manipulation with bots". Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner Brendan Carr responded to calls for the agency to block the purchase by saying that it has no authority to do so, calling such requests "absurd". Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, emphasized that "any company operating in Europe needs to comply with [their] rules", while the European Union (EU) announced that new online rules would "overhaul" the digital market and Tech Giants.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: By April 27, 30,000 new users had joined the decentralized network of servers running open-source Mastodon software. Conservative Twitter accounts experienced a significant increase in followers, while liberal ones experienced a slight decrease; additionally, thousands of left-leaning users deactivated their accounts following the buyout. LGBTQ+ users and activists expressed apprehension about the deal based on tweets by Musk mocking transgender people, fearing that the re-platforming of suspended Twitter accounts would lead to a rise in online harassment and hate speech. On June 3, a group of political advocacy groups which included the Center for Countering Digital Hate, GLAAD, and MediaJustice initiated a campaign to block the proposal by calling for a review of the deal by the government and a boycott of the platform by advertisers.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Henrik Fisker, co-founder of electric vehicle maker Fisker Inc. and a rival of Musk's, left Twitter shortly after the acquisition announcement. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos questioned whether Tesla's business interest in China would give the Chinese government leverage over Twitter via Musk, before answering that it would "probably not". Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates questioned if Musk would allow the spread of public health misinformation, including vaccine misinformation. Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales speculated that Twitter could either thrive or fall within five years under Musk's supervision. Bitcoin investor Roger Ver and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong welcomed the buyout, citing the potential for reduction of perceived censorship on Twitter. Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said that he hoped Twitter would improve over time due to its importance to society, while Facebook and Meta Platforms founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed confusion and uncertainty over the proposed buyout.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Edgett instructed employees not to share commentary on the purported cancellation; nonetheless, several Twitter employees posted humorous messages making light of the situation. Tesla shares rose 2.11 percent in the hours after Musk's announcement. Trump criticized Musk and called the acquisition "rotten", which led to a protracted feud between the two. With the exception of Trump, most conservatives sided with Musk, with former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon attacking Twitter for allegedly lying about the prevalence of its spambot accounts and Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk musing that Musk may have been seeking to "expose" Twitter the whole time. In an email sent to Twitter's employees in response to Zatko's complaint, Agrawal sharply rejected the claims and called them a "false narrative".


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Former US president and Republican Party member Donald Trump responded approvingly of the purchase after the deal was closed, saying that he was pleased Twitter was "in sane hands", rather than what he termed "radical left lunatics". Other Republican politicians, including Dan Crenshaw, Darrell Issa, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Marsha Blackburn, Anthony Sabatini, Amy Kremer, Lauren Boebert, Dick Black, Cruz, and Jordan applauded the purchase as well. Democrat Amy Klobuchar voiced her distrust of Musk and called for tighter government regulation of the platform, while Democrat Chris Murphy advocated for a federal investigation into the role of Saudi Arabia in the purchase. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia and former President of Russia, was pleased with the news, stating that he hoped Twitter would eliminate "political bias and ideological dictatorship". Breton again emphasized that Twitter was bound by the EU's laws, alluding to the recently-passed Digital Services Act.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Internally, Twitter employees expressed concern that Musk would lay off employees before they receive their compensation payments, among other messages criticizing Musk and voicing solidarity with each other. Amid conflicting reports on whether Musk was planning sweeping layoffs, many employees expressed uncertainty and fear on Slack, Discord, and LinkedIn. Women's rights activist Seyi Akiwowo tweeted her disappointment with Gadde's dismissal, while children's rights activist Beeban Kidron said that Musk's newfound power would not result in more free speech. Podcaster Joe Rogan praised Musk for his aspirations, while right-wing Twitter account Libs of TikTok rejoiced over the news of the purchase. Media personality Stew Peters, who had been blocked from Twitter for months, attempted to circumvent the block after the purchase using a new account, which was later suspended. Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled RT broadcasting service, demanded that Musk lift her Twitter suspension. Bin Talal Al Saud congratulated Musk on the purchase, and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon urged Musk to eradicate spambot accounts. Tesla rival General Motors announced it would temporarily stop paid advertising on Twitter. Advertising agencies IPG Mediabrands and Omnicom Media Group recommended their clients temporarily pause advertising on Twitter due to safety and trust concerns over Musk's ownership. A slew of companies proceeded to do so, including Audi, Bentley, the Carlsberg Group, General Mills, Lamborghini, Mondelez International, Porsche, Pfizer, REI, and the Volkswagen Group. Media buying agency GroupM also advised its clients against procuring advertisements from Twitter. Alt-tech social media platform Parler welcomed Musk's purchase, while alt-tech platform Gettr was more skeptical, believing Twitter was "fundamentally broken".


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Online reception to Musk's completion of the purchase was mixed. According to Memetica, a digital investigations company, several far-right figures experienced a significant increase in followers after the deal was finalized, while many progressives experienced a significant decrease, although it is unclear if Musk's takeover drove the changes in followers. Mastodon once again experienced a surge in sign-ups. Multiple celebrities in the entertainment industry announced their departure from the platform, while some left-wing influencers such as John Pavlovitz and Rob Reiner urged fellow leftists to remain on Twitter for the time being. The Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) observed a 500 percent spike in the use of the racial slur "nigger" in the 12 hours after Musk completed the acquisition, while "The Washington Post" noted an increase in pro-Nazi, misogynistic, and anti-LGBTQ+ tweets. Basketball player LeBron James expressed concern over the NCRI's report, condemning "unfit people saying hate speech is free speech". The Center for Countering Digital Hate reported that anti-Black, anti-gay, and anti-transgender slurs had increased since Musk took control of Twitter, while the Anti-Defamation League reported an increase in antisemitic content.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Twitter Head of Safety Yoel Roth responded by saying that the trolling campaign was caused by over 50,000 tweets from 300 "inauthentic" accounts, who were summarily banned from the platform.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Author Stephen King, Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Democrat Ed Markey criticized Musk's decision to charge Twitter users for the blue checkmark. Tweeting in support of Ocasio-Cortez, actor Mark Ruffalo called on Musk to give up ownership of Twitter. Social media platform Tumblr mocked the revamped verification program by selling a pair of functionless blue checkmarks parodying that of Twitter's. Biden expressed concern with Musk's plans for Twitter, saying that it "spews lies all across the world". After the layoffs, employees flooded the anonymous forum service Blind with negative comments about Musk, with Dorsey expressing gratitude toward laid-off employees and apologizing for growing the company too rapidly. The FTC commented that it was closely monitoring developments at Twitter, stressing that Musk must abide by its consent decrees, while EU Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon stated that her office had reached out to Twitter to discuss privacy concerns.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: On November 9, 2022, Biden expressed support for a U.S. government review of the foreign investors backing Musk's purchase, alluding to national security concerns. However, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that she did not see a reason to investigate the acquisition and unaware of any national security concerns. Seven Democratic senators urged the FTC to investigate Musk's rapid changes to Twitter.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly suspended advertising campaigns on Twitter after a tweet from an impersonator account stating went viral and caused a 4% drop in the company's stock price; the impostor had purchased verification via the Twitter Blue subscription service. Former head of consumer product Jeff Seibert expressed disappointment and frustration over Musk's changes to Twitter. In the wake of mass employee resignations on November 17, many Twitter users posted humorous messages on the platform expressing grief and anticipating a possible shutdown of Twitter, with some posting links to their other social media accounts.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Elizabeth Lopatto of "The Verge" predicted that a Musk takeover would lead to a mass employee exodus and a possible reinstatement of Trump's Twitter account. After the acquisition announcement, Alex Werpin of "The Hollywood Reporter" warned of widespread repercussions. Greg Bensinger of "The New York Times" argued that Musk's acquisition was "about controlling a megaphone" rather than free speech, while Elizabeth Dwoskin of "The Washington Post" remarked that Musk's free speech vision for Twitter was considered by technologists to be outdated and impractical. Don Pittis of CBC News noted the controversy associated with the wealthy gaining control of media platforms. Brendan O'Neill of "Spiked" observed that Musk's purchase of Twitter and the resulting backlash represented a "battle for control of the Internet", with "Business Insider" Ben Gilbert calling the purchase the latest "battleground" in the culture war between Democrats and Republicans. Michael Hiltzik of "The Seattle Times" commented that Musk's impact on Twitter would depend on his policies and how he chooses to implement them. David Auerbach of "UnHerd" saw the purchase as indicative of a "major flashpoint" in the transition of society to "a more decentralized, chaotic, and devolved world". Paul R. La Monica of CNN Business suggested that Tesla's declining stock price indicated that Wall Street investors were doubtful on whether Musk's purchase would go through. "CleanTechnica" Matt Pressman believed that Musk's purchase would benefit Tesla because owners of the company's cars often engaged on the platform, and Lindsey Bakes of "Deseret News" wrote that Musk could integrate cryptocurrency within Twitter.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Kevin D. Williamson of American conservative magazine "National Review" likened Musk's purchase of Twitter to the Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign, labeling it a publicity stunt, his colleague Rich Lowry said that liberal politicians' strong reaction to Musk's purchase was an indication that Twitter's existing policies had "political consequences", and the editors of the publication wished Musk well in his quest to promote free speech on Twitter. Bonnie Kristian of evangelical magazine "Christianity Today" felt that the purchase would only "add to the confusion" surrounding the contentious debate on free speech, while Paris Marx of American socialist magazine "Jacobin" dismissed Musk's proclamations that he sought to protect free speech as an "example of his hubris". Corbin K. Barthold of conservative public policy magazine "City Journal" believed it would be difficult but "worth the struggle" to end censorship on Twitter, while Peter van Buren of "The Spectator World" opined that Musk should simply take Twitter offline. Cathy Young of center-right news website "The Bulwark" felt that Musk's planned reforms to Twitter were "unlikely to succeed", further observing that commentators who opposed the purchase viewed it as right-wing backlash against "perceived left-wing social media bias". Robby Soave of American libertarian magazine "Reason" postulated that Musk's purchase would not threaten Twitter or democracy, suggesting that those overstating the importance of the platform were "Musk's critics in progressive and mainstream media", with James McElroy of "The American Conservative" further arguing that many journalists' condemnation of the acquisition was motivated by "professional anxiety". J. Robert McClure III of American conservative magazine "Washington Examiner" and Ben Shapiro of American conservative news website "The Daily Signal" declared that the negative reaction to Musk's purchase was rooted in an opposition to the idea of free speech.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Equity analyst Angelo Zino believed that Twitter's acceptance of Musk's proposal may have stemmed from its realization that alternative bidders would be unlikely to emerge due to social media companies' declining asset prices. Associate professor Brian Quinn of Boston College Law School noted that it would be difficult for Musk to arbitrarily pull out of the deal due to the contractual doctrines of fair dealing and good faith. Kate Klonick, a law professor at St. John's University, argued that to allow "all free speech" to exist on Twitter would open the door to the spread of pornography and hate speech. Similarly, Joan Donovan, research director at Harvard's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, stated that the lack of moderation on Twitter would lead to online harassment. Bill George, a senior fellow at Harvard Business School and former CEO of Medtronic, argued that Musk's purchase of Twitter would harm both society and Musk himself, while analyst Mike Proulx of Forrester Research cautioned that other companies may leave Twitter if Musk loosens its moderation policies. Proprietary trader Dennis Dick opined that Musk's spambot claims were tactics by him to lower the price of the purchase. Analysts noted that the involvement of foreign entities as independent investors could cause the transaction to face national security scrutiny by the CFIUS. Left-leaning media watchdog Media Matters for America and think tank Australian Strategic Policy Institute suggested that China could use its influence to extract political concessions or manipulate Twitter due to Musk's ties to the country. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) executive director Anthony D. Romero warned of the potential danger of Musk wielding excessive power.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Following Musk's announcement that he intended to terminate the agreement, legal experts generally agreed it would be difficult for him to do so. Law professor James Park of the University of California, Los Angeles found Musk's spambot argument weak and doubted it was material, while Case Western Reserve University business law professor Anat Alon-Beck observed that Twitter was compelled to enforce the merger so as to disprove Musk's allegations. Professor Jennifer Grygiel of Syracuse University mused that Musk may reverse course and revisit the deal. Tulane University Law School associate dean for faculty research Ann Lipton and mergers and acquisitions expert Julian Klymochko both expressed doubts that Musk could prove there was a material adverse effect.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Felix Salmon of "Axios" noted that a clause in the contract opened the door for a judge to grant specific performance and order Musk to move forward with the deal. CNBC's Jonathan Vanian described Musk's withdrawal as the product of months of buyer's remorse, while his colleague Alex Sherman observed that paying the stipulated breakup fee would not relieve Musk of compensations or sanctions. Writing for "The Wall Street Journal", Holman W. Jenkins Jr. questioned whether Musk had proposed the acquisition "out of mouth momentum or excessive enjoyment of the limelight or for some mysterious reason that causes an onlooker to throw up his hands". Various news publications believed that Zatko's complaint provided potential evidence in Musk's favor, though Bloomberg News columnist Matt Levine argued that the complaint confirmed Twitter's monetizable daily active users counts do not include spambots.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Greg Varallo of the Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann law firm observed that if Musk fails to secure funding and close the acquisition, he could be barred from claiming that he can terminate the acquisition as per the legal doctrine of judicial estoppel. New York University's Center for Social Media and Politics executive director Zeve Sanderson cautioned that if Musk does lay off 75 percent of Twitter's workforce, it would make it more difficult for the company to moderate its content. Professor David Kaye of the University of California, Irvine School of Law and Professor Eric Goldman of the Santa Clara University School of Law concurred, warning of a potential increase in misinformation and harassment on the platform. However, they noted that the layoffs could still be mitigated through an increase in automated content moderation.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Conservative commentators celebrated the purchase's closure. Fox News host Tucker Carlson argued that Musk's "laissez-faire" approach to moderation on Twitter would reshape American political discourse. Shapiro wrote that he hoped other social media platforms would implement Musk's proposals and called on Musk to reverse Peterson's suspension from Twitter. Political commentator Matt Walsh saw the purchase as an opportunity to rally opposition against the "trans agenda". Political columnist Benny Johnson called on Musk to reverse the suspensions of several prominent conservatives. "Spiked" O'Neill claimed that liberals' negative reaction to the closure reflected their fear of freedom and liberty, while "Washington Examiner" Christopher Tremoglie disapproved of Musk's idea for a moderation council as continued censorship.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Lauren Hirsch of "The New York Times" observed that Musk would face financial challenges in owning Twitter, including the company's difficulty in turning a profit. Richard Waters of the "Financial Times" echoed Hirsch's sentiments, adding that it would difficult for Musk to allow the right amount of free speech on the platform. Kate Ferguson of Deutsche Welle viewed Musk as unreliable and therefore unfit to operate Twitter, and Hamilton Nolan of "The Guardian" felt the purchase was an attempt by Musk to "control the conversation". Barbara Ortutay, Tom Krisher and Matt O'Brien of the Associated Press noted Musk's contradictory and vague messages in the past regarding his vision for Twitter, while Ben Burgis of "Jacobin" criticized liberals' technocratic views and their downplaying of the importance of free speech in response to the purchase, though he remarked that Musk had a history of suppressing his critics. Also writing for "The New York Times", Kate Conger, Ryan Mac, and Tiffany Hsu noted that Musk's meetings with civil rights activists and his plans for a content moderation council were reminiscent of the actions taken by Zuckerberg following backlash on Facebook's handling of the 2016 U.S. elections. "Politico" Jack Shafer noted that media coverage of Musk's purchase foretold "chaos, greater political oversight, and outright failure."


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Edward Niedermeyer, an author and critic of Musk, argued that Twitter may fail due to Musk's hubris. Scholars who study the First Amendment, such as professor Jonathan Turley of the George Washington University Law School, praised Musk's plans to tone down content moderation on Twitter. New York University's Center for Business and Human Rights deputy director Paul M. Barrett speculated that a moderation council under Musk would face skepticism due to Musk's "erratic and imperious" behavior in the past. Alex Stamos of Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation questioned how Musk would respond to foreign governments attempting to influence Twitter's userbase. Those in the cryptocurrency field, such as podcaster Bryce Paul and investor Cathie Wood, expressed excitement at the prospects of Musk's ownership.


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: Media Matters for America president Angela Carusone warned that Musk's leadership would lead to an increase in disinformation, conspiracy theories, and harassment on Twitter. Literary group PEN America opined that the midterm elections in November would serve as a test as to whether Musk would allow disinformation to spread rapidly on the platform, while American left-wing activist coalition Stop the Deal warned of real-world consequences if a rise in hate speech occurs on Twitter. Over 40 civil rights groups signed an open letter to 20 Twitter advertisers urging them to abandon the platform if Musk lifts its content moderation measures. Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said he was "cautiously optimistic" about the purchase, but expressed concerns over a potential rise in hate speech. Fight for the Future director Evan Greer appreciated Musk's idea for a moderation council, but noted that Musk had supreme authority on any decisions made. Eliot Higgins of Bellingcat believed that Musk's attempts to promote free speech would backfire under increased government regulation. LGBTQ+ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign voiced concern at Twitter's new ownership and argued that Twitter has the responsibility to stop its platform from turning into a "dangerous media environment".


title: Acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk

text: The first weeks of Musk's tenure at Twitter have been widely described as chaotic and tumultuous by the media. Harvard professor Sandra Sucher called Musk's mass layoffs "poorly handled". Gerald Hathaway of the Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath law firm argued the opposite, believing that Musk had done what was necessary to curb Twitter's losses, assuming his claims about Twitter's losses were true. Jason Wilson of the Southern Poverty Law Center criticized Musk's perceived disinterest in "policing hate speech", observing an increase in verified white nationalists and other far-right extremists. Branko Marcetic of "Jacobin" accused Twitter of bias after several left-wing accounts were suspended. Experts with the Brookings Institution noted that the importance of Twitter "as a platform for political discourse in the U.S." raised implications for national security, while cybersecurity expert Peter W. Singer detailed multiple cybersecurity concerns stemming from Musk's acquisition.


title: Sage Group

text: The Sage Group plc, commonly known as Sage, is a British multinational enterprise software company based in North Tyneside, England. As of 2017, it is the UK's second largest technology company, the world's third-largest supplier of enterprise resource planning software (behind Oracle and SAP), the largest supplier to small businesses, and has 6.1 million customers worldwide. It has offices in 23 countries. The company is the patron of the Sage Gateshead music venue in Gateshead.


title: Sage Group

text: The Company was founded by David Goldman, Paul Muller, and Graham Wylie in 1981 in Newcastle, to develop estimating and accounting software for small businesses.


title: Sage Group

text: A student at Newcastle University, Graham Wylie, took a summer job with an accountancy firm funded by a government small business grant to write software to help their record keeping. This became the basis for Sage Line 50. Next, hired by David Goldman to write some estimating software for his printing company, Campbell Graphics, Graham used the same accounting software to produce the first version of Sage Accounts. David was so impressed that he hired Graham and academic Paul Muller to form Sage, selling their software first to printing companies, and then to a wider market through a network of resellers.


title: Sage Group

text: In 1984, the Company launched "Sage software", a product for the Amstrad PCW word processor, which used the CP/M operating system. Sage software sales escalated in that year from 30 copies a month to over 300. The Company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1989.


title: Sage Group

text: In 1994, Paul Walker was appointed Chief Executive. In 1998, Sage's Professional Accountants Division was established. In 1999, Sage entered FTSE 100 and launched a dedicated Irish division, based in Dublin as well as its e-business strategy. In that same year the UK acquisition of Tetra saw Sage enter the mid-range business software market.


title: Sage Group

text: In 2000, Sage shares were named 'best performing share of the 90s' in the UK business press. In 2001, Sage acquired Interact Commerce Inc. and entered the CRM/contact management market and in 2002 Sage won 'Business of The Year' in the National Business Awards. Also that year, Sage sponsored the new Music Centre in Gateshead for £6m – now known as Sage Gateshead – the largest ever UK arts/business sponsorship. Sage are one of two technology stocks listed on the FTSE 100 Index, the other being Micro Focus. In 2003, at age 43, Graham Wylie retired with 108.5 million shares in Sage worth £146m. He was rated Britain's 109th richest person in the 2002 "Sunday Times" Rich List.


title: Sage Group

text: On 19 April 2010, Sage announced that its CEO, Paul Walker, had indicated an interest in stepping down from his position, which he had held for 16 years. The "Financial Times" reported that his departure would lead to speculation over Sage's mergers and acquisitions, which have been a key component to the group's growth in the past 20 years.


title: Sage Group

text: Walker was one of the longest serving CEOs of an FTSE100 company. Walker left the company on 1 December 2010.


title: Sage Group

text: On 1 October 2010 Guy Berruyer became CEO of Sage Group; Berruyer had previously been CEO of Sage's Mainland Europe & Asia operations.


title: Sage Group

text: On 15 February 2013, Sage announced that Accel-KKR intended to buy Sage Nonprofit Solutions, its division that produced software designed for nonprofit organisations and governmental agencies.


title: Sage Group

text: In August 2014, Sage announced that Guy Berruyer would retire. Stephen Kelly, the UK government's former chief operating officer, became Group CEO in November 2014. In September 2014 the company announced the acquisition of PayChoice for $157 million.


title: Sage Group

text: In March 2017, Sage Group acquired Compass, an analytics and benchmarking platform. In March 2017, Sage Group also acquired Fairsail, a Human Capital Management (HCM) cloud-based platform. In July 2017, Sage purchased Intacct for $850M.


title: Sage Group

text: On 31 August 2018, Sage announced that Stephen Kelly had stepped down as a director and CEO. On 2 November 2018, Steve Hare was appointed CEO. Hare had been Chief Financial Officer of Sage since 2014 and had been interim COO following the departure of the previous CEO.


title: Sage Group

text: In March 2020, Sage announced that it is offloading its Brazil operations to the president of the local business, Jorge Carneiro, in a deal estimated to be valued at £1 million with an additional deferred consideration of up to £9 million.


title: Sage Group

text: Founded and headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, the company has grown organically, through acquisitions and, more recently, through subscription services.


title: Sage Group

text: In June 1991, Sage Group moved into their first dedicated headquarters building, Sage House, in Benton, Newcastle upon Tyne, having previously been located in the Regent Centre office park. In 2004, the company completed their £50 million headquarters in the Great Park area of Newcastle upon Tyne. In 2021 Sage's Newcastle headquarters moved to Cobalt Park.


title: Sage Group

text: The company's US headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia, the Canadian headquarters are in Richmond, British Columbia, the Africa, Middle East & Australia headquarters are in Johannesburg, South Africa and the French and Continental European headquarters are in Paris, France. Sage has 6.1 million customers and 13,400 employees across the world. Key industry focus includes: Healthcare; HR & Payroll; Construction/ Real-Estate; Transport/ Distribution; Payment Processing; Accountancy; Not-for-Profit; Manufacturing; Retail; Automotive Distribution.


title: Sage Group

text: The Sage Group is a patron of The Sage Gateshead, a Tyneside music venue designed by Sir Norman Foster. The Sage Gateshead was completed in 2004 at a cost of £70 million, and has since become a main sight on the River Tyne. It is primarily used as a concert venue and centre for musical education, but also hosts other events including conferences.


title: Sage Group

text: In 2008, Sage funded the revival of "The Krypton Factor" television series for ITV as a part of the Business Brain Training campaign. Sage were the football shirt sponsor in May 2011 for Whitley Bay F.C.'s FA Vase winning match. Sage had previously been a minor sponsor for Newcastle United F.C.


title: Sage Group

text: For the 2012 Formula One season, Sage were an official supplier for the Marussia F1 team, and for the 2013 and 2014 seasons Sage logos were placed on the car. For the 2017–18 Bristol City F.C. season, Sage has partnered with Bristol City F.C. as minor sponsor through their provision of Sage X3 for Bristol Sport.


title: Sage Group

text: Sage sponsored the Invictus Games in a multi-year partnership starting in 2016. Sage also sponsored the 2019 editions of the Reading Half Marathon and the Blaydon Race. Sage are an official partner of The Hundred cricket tournament.


title: Sage Group

text: Sage are sponsoring the 2023 Rugby World Cup, as well as the Six Nations Championship. Starting in the 2023 season Sage are an official partner of Major League Baseball organization. Additionally, opening 2024, Sage are the named sponsor of the new Newcastle Gateshead Quayside arena and conference centre, named "The Sage".


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: The Imperial Crown of Russia (), also known as the Great Imperial Crown (), was used by the monarchs of Russia from 1762 until the Russian monarchy's abolition in 1917. The Great Imperial Crown was first used in a coronation by Catherine the Great, and it was last worn at the coronation of Nicholas II. It was displayed prominently next to Nicholas II on a cushion at the State Opening of the Russian Duma inside the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg in 1906. It survived the 1917 revolution and is currently on display in Moscow at the Kremlin Armoury's State Diamond Fund.


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: By 1613, when Michael Romanov, the first Tsar of the Romanov Dynasty, was crowned, the Russian regalia included a pectoral cross, a golden chain, a barmas (wide ceremonial collar), the Crown of Monomakh, sceptre, and orb. Over the centuries, various Tsars had fashioned their own private crowns, modeled for the most part after the Crown of Monomakh, but these were for personal use and not for the coronation.


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: In 1719, Tsar Peter the Great founded the earliest version of what is now known as the Russian Federation's State Diamond Fund. Peter had visited other European nations, and introduced many innovations to Russia, one of which was the creation of a permanent fund (фонд) to house a collection of jewels that belonged not to the Romanov family, but to the Russian State. Peter placed all of the regalia in this fund and declared that the state holdings were inviolate and could not be altered, sold, or given away — and he also decreed that each subsequent Emperor or Empress should leave a certain number of pieces acquired during their reign to the State, for the permanent glory of the Russian Empire.


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: From this collection came a new set of regalia, including eventually the Great Imperial Crown, to replace the Crown of Monomakh and other crowns used by earlier Russian Tsars and Grand Princes of Muscovy, as a symbol of the adoption of the new title of Emperor (1721).


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: The court jeweller Ekart and Jérémie Pauzié made the Great Imperial Crown for the coronation of Catherine the Great in 1762. The beautiful crown reflects Pauzié's skilled workmanship. It is adorned with 4936 diamonds arranged in splendid patterns across the entire surface of the crown. Bordering the edges of the "mitre" are a number of fine, large white pearls. The crown is also decorated with one of the seven historic stones of the Russian Diamond Collection: a large precious red spinel weighing 398.72 carats (79.744 g), which was brought to Russia by Nicholas Spafary, the Russian envoy to China from 1675 to 1678. It is believed to be the second largest spinel in the world.


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: In formally adopting the Western term "Emperor" for the ruler of Russia, Peter the Great also adopted Western imperial symbols, including the form of the private crowns ("Hauskrone") used by the Holy Roman Emperors (of which the only surviving example is the Austrian imperial crown of Rudolf II, the Imperial Crown of Austria), in which a circlet with eight fleur-de-lis surrounds a mitre with a high arch extending from the front to the back fleur-de-lis. Already in Austria some baroque representations of this type of crown found on statues of the saints had transformed the two halves of the mitre into two half-spheres, and this is the type of imperial crown used in Russia. Peter’s widow and successor, Catherine I, was the first Russian ruler to wear this form of imperial crown.


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: In the Great Imperial Crown which the court jewellers Pauzié and J. F. Loubierin made for Catherine II in 1762, these hemispheres are in open metalwork resembling basketwork with the edges of both the hemispheres bordered with a row of 37 very fine, large, white pearls. They rest on a circlet of nineteen diamonds, all averaging over in weight, the largest being the large Indian pear-shaped stone of 12⅝ cts in front, set between two bands of diamonds above and below. Posier showed his creative genius by replacing the eight fleur-de-lis with four pairs of crossed palm branches, while the arch between them is made up of oaks leaves and acorns in small diamonds surrounding a number of large diamonds of various shapes and tints running from the front pair of crossed palms to the back pair of crossed palms, while the basketwork pattern of the two hemispheres are divided by two strips of similar oak leaves and acorns from the two side pairs of palm branches stretching up to the rows of large pearls on their borders. At the center and apex of the central arch is a diamond rosette of twelve petals from which rises a large red spinel, weighing 398.72 carats (79.744 grams), one of the seven historic stones of the Russian Diamond Collection, which was brought to Russia by Nicholas Spafary, the Russian envoy to China from 1675 to 1678. It is believed to be the second largest spinel in the world. This spinel, in turn, is surmounted by a cross of five diamonds, representing the Christian faith of the Sovereign, the God-given power of the monarchy and the supremacy of the divine order over earthly power. Except for the two rows of large white pearls the entire surface of the crown is covered with 4936 diamonds and is quite heavy, weighing approximately nine pounds (by contrast, the Crown of Monomakh weighs only two pounds). It was unfinished in time for Catherine's coronation and the original colored stones (e.g., emeralds in the palm branches and laurel leaves) were replaced with diamonds for the coronation of Paul I in 1797. It was used at every subsequent coronation until that of Nicholas II in 1896 and was last in imperial period at the State Opening of the Duma in 1906.


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: There was also a Lesser Imperial Crown, very similar in style and workmanship to the Great Imperial Crown, only smaller and entirely set with diamonds, made for Empress Maria Feodorovna, the consort of Paul I, that was used for the coronation of the Tsarina. At the coronation of Nicholas II in 1896, the smaller crown was worn by Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, as was her right as a crowned Empress. A second identical lesser Imperial Crown was made for the young Empress Alexandra Feodorovna to wear. Dowager Empresses outranked reigning Empress Consorts at the Russian Court.


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: In 1900, the workshop of Peter Carl Fabergé in St. Petersburg made a replica in miniature of the Imperial Regalia (the Great Imperial Crown, the Lesser Imperial Crown, the Imperial Orb and Sceptre) out of silver, gold, diamonds, sapphires, and rubies, the whole set on a marble pedestal. The work is now in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: Following the tradition of the Byzantine Emperors, the Tsar of Russia placed the crown upon his own head. This left no doubt that, in the Russian system, the imperial power came directly from God. The prayer of the Metropolitan, similar to that of the Patriarch of Constantinople for the Byzantine Emperor, confirmed the imperial supremacy.


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: A few days prior to the crowning service itself, the Tsar made a processional entry into Moscow, where coronations were always held (even when the capital was in St. Petersburg). Following this, the Imperial regalia were brought from the Kremlin armory into the Tsar's Kremlin palace, where they would accompany the new emperor on his procession to the Dormition Cathedral on the morning of his coronation. This procession commenced at the Red Porch and ended at the church doors, where the presiding prelate and other bishops blessed the Tsar and his consort with holy water and offered them the Holy Cross to kiss.


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: After the Tsar entered the cathedral, he and his spouse venerated the icons there and took their places on two thrones set up in the center of the cathedral. After the sovereign had recited the Nicene Creed as his profession of faith, and after an invocation of the Holy Ghost and a litany, the emperor assumed the purple chlamys, and the crown was then presented to him. He took it and placed it on his head himself, while the Metropolitan recited:


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: Following this, the new Tsar crowned his consort, first briefly with his own crown (by touching it momentarily to her head before putting it back on his own), then with a smaller crown of her own. Further prayers and litanies were read, then the Emperor was anointed just prior to reception of Holy Communion during the Divine Liturgy. He was invited to enter the altar area through the Royal Doors (normally reserved solely to the clergy) and partake of Communion as a priest would. Further prayers and blessings concluded the service, which was followed by a special feast held in the Kremlin's Palace of Facets.


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: Russia's last coronation was in 1896, for Tsar Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra. The last occasion on which the Great Imperial Crown was officially used was the State Opening of the Duma in 1906.


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: In 1913, Agathon Fabergé, son of Peter Carl Fabergé of the House of Fabergé, the crown jewellers, recommended that the Imperial regalia be re-catalogued and overhauled. The tsar gave his approval and by July 1914, work on the Imperial orb and sceptre had been completed, and work was about to commence on the crowns. Rising tensions and the outbreak of the First World War put a stop to further work, and the regalia items were loaded into nine strong-boxes and sent from Saint Petersburg to Moscow for safekeeping. They were stored in the Kremlin Armoury. The crown remained there with the rest of the regalia during and after the February and October Revolutions in 1917.


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: In 1922, they were re-catalogued and transferred to the State Treasury. The crown and other pieces of jewellery and regalia were collected into the State Depository of Treasures, later the Diamond Fund, and discussions were carried out with French and British experts as to the possibility of selling off some of the crown jewels to raise foreign currency. The experts advised against selling such pieces as the crown, orb and sceptre, arguing that they were unlikely to attract their historic worth. Nevertheless, the crown jewels were exhibited in 1922 for two journalists of the "New York Times", who later wrote: 'Here', says Begasheff [head of the jewellery commission], opening the box with hands that tremble ever so little despite his air of unconcern, 'is the crown of the Emperor, 32,800 carats of diamonds.'


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: The Imperial Crown appeared on the National emblems of the Russian Empire — the Great Coat of arms (Большой государственный герб Российской Империи), the Medium Coat of Arms (Средний государственный герб Российской Империи), and the Lesser Coat of Arms (Малый государственный герб Российской Империи) of Imperial Russia.


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: The Great Imperial Crown was placed above the Imperial Cypher (monogram) — but only after the coronation. Between ascending the throne and the coronation, the Imperial Cypher would bear the princely crown, but not the Imperial Crown.


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: The crown was also placed on the arms of Congress Poland, a semi-independent state in a personal union with the Russian Empire (1814–1915), and the Privislinsky Krai which was incorporated into the empire in 1831.


title: Imperial Crown of Russia

text: Since December 20, 2000, the Imperial Crown has appeared on the coat of arms of the Russian Federation.


title: The Carmichael Show

text: The Carmichael Show is an American sitcom television series created by Nicholas Stoller, Jerrod Carmichael, Ari Katcher, and Willie Hunter that premiered on August 26, 2015, on NBC and concluded on August 9, 2017, after three seasons and 32 episodes. Starring Carmichael, it follows a fictional version of his family. The multi-camera show is set in Charlotte, North Carolina.


title: The Carmichael Show

text: On May 15, 2016, NBC renewed the series for a 13-episode third season, which premiered with back-to-back episodes on May 31, 2017. On June 30, 2017, NBC canceled the series after three seasons when Carmichael announced that he would be departing to pursue other projects. The series received positive reviews throughout its run.


title: The Carmichael Show

text: "The Carmichael Show" follows a fictional version of comedian Jerrod Carmichael's family, set in Charlotte, North Carolina. Family members include Jerrod's father Joe, mother Cynthia, and brother Bobby. Other characters include Jerrod's live-in girlfriend (later wife) Maxine, and Bobby's estranged wife Nekeisha. Episodes often tackle serious societal issues and current events in a humorous context.


title: The Carmichael Show

text: Carmichael began developing and executive producing the series in November 2014, based upon his real life as a stand up and his family. On December 18, 2014, the series changed from "Untitled" to "Go Jerrod, Go". On March 10, 2015, NBC ordered the pilot to series under the final title "The Carmichael Show" with restrictions such as ordering six episodes to air during the summer.


title: The Carmichael Show

text: On September 14, 2015, the series was renewed by NBC for a second season of 13 episodes, which premiered on Wednesday, March 9 with a sneak preview episode after "The Voice". It then premiered in its regular timeslot Sunday, March 13, 2016, at 9/8c with back-to-back episodes.


title: The Carmichael Show

text: On June 14, 2017, after mass shootings in Virginia and San Francisco, NBC pulled the episode "Shoot-Up-Able," which saw Carmichael's character surviving a mass shooting physically unharmed but psychologically scarred, from airing. It eventually aired on June 28.


title: The Carmichael Show

text: On December 18, 2014, Loretta Devine was cast as Carmichael's mother, and Amber Stevens West as Carmichael's girlfriend. On January 5, 2015, David Alan Grier was cast to play Carmichael's father. On January 7, 2015, Lil Rel Howery was cast to play Carmichael's brother.


title: The Carmichael Show

text: The series has received positive reviews. On Metacritic, the first season has a score of 64 out of 100, based on 15 critics, generally praising the show for its originality; one described it as "a smart and crafty comedy". The second season received better reviews, with a score of 80 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicative of "generally favorable reviews"; critics praise the series for its writing and the topics it discusses. The third season also received "generally favorable reviews" with a score of 79 out of 100, based on 8 critics.


title: The Carmichael Show

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season received 67% "fresh" ratings. The second season received 100% "fresh" ratings. As of late July 2017, the third season has received an 88% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. TV critic Alan Sepinwall wrote, with regard to the third season, "Few sitcoms are built to handle the kind of provocative content that "The Carmichael Show" embraces as its reason for being... Carmichael not only keeps the jokes flying the whole time, but makes them better when it's at its most Very Special."


title: Steve Daines

text: Steven David Daines ( ; born August 20, 1962) is an American politician and former corporate executive serving as the junior United States senator for Montana since 2015. A Republican, he served as the U.S. representative for Montana's at-large congressional district from 2013 to 2015. In 2014, Daines won Montana's open U.S. Senate seat. He was reelected in 2020, defeating the Democratic nominee, Governor Steve Bullock. Before entering politics, Daines worked for Procter & Gamble and RightNow Technologies.


title: Steve Daines

text: Daines was born in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles to Sharon R. and Clair W. Daines. The family moved to Montana in 1964. He was raised in Bozeman, where he attended school from kindergarten through college.


title: Steve Daines

text: Daines graduated from Bozeman High School, where he served as student body president. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Montana State University. At Montana State, he became a brother of the Sigma Nu fraternity.


title: Steve Daines

text: Daines was one of the youngest delegates at the 1984 Republican National Convention. "I was a big fan of Ronald Reagan. He was the first president I got to vote for," he has said. Daines was also the president of MSU College Republicans. In 2007, he and his wife started a website, GiveItBack.com, which urged governor Brian Schweitzer to return the state's $1 billion surplus to taxpayers. From 2007 to 2008, he was Montana state chairman for the Mike Huckabee 2008 presidential campaign and a national surrogate for Huckabee.


title: Steve Daines

text: Daines spent 13 years with Procter & Gamble. After seven years managing operations in the United States, he and his family moved to Hong Kong and China for six years, opening factories to expand Procter & Gamble's Asian business. During his 2014 Senate campaign, Democratic opponents alleged that Daines had outsourced U.S. jobs to China. He stated that he created hundreds of jobs in Montana when he worked for RightNow Technologies.


title: Steve Daines

text: In 1997, Daines left Procter & Gamble to join the family construction business in Bozeman. Three years later, he met Greg Gianforte, founder of RightNow Technologies, and was put in charge of running RightNow's customer care division. Daines went on to become vice president of North America Sales and vice president of the Asia-Pacific division. During his tenure, the cloud-based software company became publicly traded and Bozeman's largest commercial employer. Daines remained with the company until March 2012, when he left to campaign for Congress full-time.


title: Steve Daines

text: Daines ran for lieutenant governor of Montana in 2008 with Roy Brown, the Republican nominee for governor. They challenged incumbent Democratic Governor Brian Schweitzer and his running mate John Bohlinger. Brown and Daines lost the election 65%–33%, winning only seven of Montana's 56 counties.


title: Steve Daines

text: On November 13, 2010, Daines announced he would run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Jon Tester in 2012.


title: Steve Daines

text: When U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg announced his intention to challenge Tester, Daines dropped out of the Senate race and announced his candidacy for the House seat Rehberg was vacating. He won the three-way Republican primary with 71% of the vote. In the general election, Daines defeated Democratic state senator Kim Gillan, 53%–43%. He won 48 of the state's 56 counties.


title: Steve Daines

text: In July 2013, Daines attended a NRSC fundraiser in Washington, prompting speculation that he would run for Max Baucus's soon to be vacant U.S. Senate seat. In the second quarter of 2013, he disclosed raising $415,000 in campaign funds, fueling more speculation. On November 6, 2013, Daines announced his candidacy.


title: Steve Daines

text: In February 2014, Baucus resigned from the Senate to accept a post as U.S. ambassador to China. Governor Steve Bullock, a Democrat, appointed lieutenant governor John Walsh to the vacant Senate seat for the remainder of Baucus's term. Walsh had already declared his intention to run for the Senate in 2014, and it was suggested that his appointment might give him the advantage of incumbency, improving Democratic chances of holding the seat.


title: Steve Daines

text: Daines won the Republican primary on June 3, 2014, with 83.4% of the vote against Missoula state representative Champ Edmunds and political newcomer Susan Cundiff. Walsh won the Democratic primary with 64% of the vote.


title: Steve Daines

text: In August 2014, Walsh withdrew from the race following the publication of a "New York Times" article that accused him of plagiarism in a paper written as part of his master's degree work at the U.S. Army War College. With only 50 days until the election, a special convention called by the Montana Democratic party nominated Butte legislator Amanda Curtis.


title: Steve Daines

text: Daines was reelected in 2020, defeating Bullock with 55% of the vote. Democrats outspent Republicans by $19 million on the race, $82–63 million; it was one of the most expensive Senate races in the 2020 cycle.


title: Steve Daines

text: Before the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count, Daines said he would object to certifying the electoral count over unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. He was participating in the certification when Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. During the attack, he tweeted "I condemn any kind of violence and intimidation. This is unacceptable." Daines changed his mind on objecting to the certification during the attack. He also called the attack "a sad day for our country" and said, "destruction and violence we saw at our Capitol today is an assault on our democracy, our Constitution and the rule of law, and must not be tolerated." He called for a peaceful transfer of power. The "Billings Gazette" electoral board called for Daines to apologize to Joe Biden for his role in opposing the certification. Daines rejected calls for Trump to resign or be impeached in the wake of the attack.


title: Steve Daines

text: During the Biden administration, Daines sought to block Deb Haaland's nomination as Interior Secretary.


title: Steve Daines

text: Daines is considered politically conservative. The American Conservative Union's Center for Legislative Accountability gives him a lifetime rating of 84.79. The politically liberal Americans for Democratic Action gave him a score of 5% for 2019.


title: Steve Daines

text: Daines introduced his first bill, the Balanced Budget Accountability Act in February 2013. The bill would have required members of Congress to pass a budget that would balance in ten years or have their pay terminated. Daines supported the No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013, which would put members of Congress's salaries in an escrow account unless they passed a budget by April 15, 2013.


title: Steve Daines

text: Daines has opposed an internet sales tax, which would allow states to collect taxes on online sales. He has called legislation to provide the authority "a job-killing tax hike that hurts American small businesses".


title: Steve Daines

text: In June 2020, Daines argued against statehood for the District of Columbia, saying that most Americans oppose statehood for the U.S. capital and suggesting that members of Congress "get out of this city, go out to where the real people are at across our country and ask them what they think." Critics objected to his implication that D.C., a city of more than 705,000, nearly half of whom are Black, are not "real people". Further pressed, Daines explained that people outside the D.C. "bubble" oppose statehood, while those in D.C. support it.


title: Steve Daines

text: According to the "Helena Independent Record", Daines had by 2020 "aggressively tied himself to Trump, both backing and defending the president over the last three years". During Trump's presidency, Daines voted with Trump's stated public policy positions 86% of the time.


title: Steve Daines

text: In the 2018–2019 United States federal government shutdown, when Congress would not meet Trump's demand for $5.7 billion in federal funds for a U.S.–Mexico border wall, Daines voted for a bill that put $5.7 billion towards the border wall and against a bill that would have funded the government without putting resources toward a wall.


title: Steve Daines

text: Daines voted to acquit Trump in his impeachment trial on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress related to his request that Ukraine announce an investigation into Joe Biden. He said Trump had not committed a crime, that Democrats had "not done their complete homework", and that it was the most partisan impeachment trial in history. Daines said the purpose of the impeachment was to "[overturn] the election of 2016 and [try] to define the election of 2020". During the trial, he voted not to hear witnesses and to block the Senate from subpoenaing documents from the White House.


title: Steve Daines

text: In June 2020, amid protests against racism and police brutality in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, Daines defended Trump's decision to disperse protestors with a chemical irritant so that he could stage a photo op in front of St. John's Church, saying he was "grateful for the president's leadership".


title: Steve Daines

text: In October 2020, during the lead-up to his reelection bid, Daines began to shift his rhetoric about Trump.