Elon Musk on Monday went on a tear against Apple, Twitter’s top advertiser, after he said the company threatened to block the social network from its App Store without explanation and mostly had stopped advertising on Twitter. (WaPo)
In taking aim at Apple, Musk is challenging a company that’s vital to Twitter’s livelihood. Apple was consistently one of the top advertisers on the social network, which had an entire team of employees dedicated to helping maintain the relationship, according to people familiar with the matter. The ad spending was well above $100 million annually, one of the people said. (Bloomberg)
The news follows much more subtle signs of mounting tension between Apple and Musk-owned Twitter. Musk has criticized Apple’s App Store fee for in-app purchases, dubbing it a “hidden 30 percent tax” on the internet. And Apple App Store boss Phil Schiller deleted his Twitter account following Musk’s takeover, shortly after Donald Trump’s account was reinstated. (The Verge)
CNN on Monday chided Musk for a tweet that contained a months-old image of a fabricated headline on the network. (The Hill)
Twitter detailed updates to the algorithm powering crowdsourced fact-checking initiative Community Notes, which was known as Birdwatch in the pre-Musk days. (Adweek)