CNN's John Sutter looks at three categories of Twitter chaos: checkmarks, circles, and clown shit. Checkmarks are officially called verified badges but only a very small percentage of Twitter users are paying for them. Elon Musk wanted to shift Twitter from an ad-based model to a subscription model; that is the business problem he is trying to solve by instituting this $8 a month verification scheme. But if we get to that point, it's going to be in a very desperate place.
Aric Toler untangles the web of teens, gamers and memes at the heart of the latest intelligence scandal.
Then, an update on Twitter — where things have gone from bad to worse.
Plus: How A.I. is bringing us closer to “Westworld.”
On today’s episode:
Aric Toler is the director of research and training at Bellingcat, the Dutch investigative site. He worked with journalists at The New York Times to identify the man who allegedly leaked top secret documents on Discord, a social media chat platform.
Twitter took steps to block Substack newsletters from circulating on the platform after Substack, a publishing start-up, started a Twitter-like service.