Elon Musk’s cuts to Twitter staff are being compared to the plot of a particularly savage Game of Thrones episode – yep, we think you can all probably guess the one.
Musk has wasted no time shaking things up at Twitter since taking over, not only sending users into a frenzy with plans to charge $8 a month for those coveted blue ticks, but also laying off almost 50 percent of the company’s staff.
Addressing the inevitable backlash to the latter, Musk tweeted: "Regarding Twitter’s reduction in force, unfortunately there is no choice when the company is losing over $4M/day. Everyone exited was offered 3 months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required."
The mass exodus has reminded many people of a gruesome episode from series three of HBO’s Game of Thrones, which – you may recall – saw Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey’s nuptials transformed into a bloody massacre called The Red Wedding.
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One Twitter user tweeted: “The Red Wedding has started at Twitter. It’s so ham-handed that I’m not sure Twitter will know who they’ve fired and who’s been retained…lots of employees could prob just keep going in b/c nobody really knows who has been fired.”
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Someone else said: “This is like the Red Wedding, Twitter version. Gonna make an incredible movie one day.”
A third added: "It’s straight Red Wedding at Twitter. Alarm set for 9PST."
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Twitter employees are making the same comparison, as well, with one tweeting: “I’m speechless, the update is: I’m still at Twitter.
"Last night was like the Red Wedding of GOT, but afterwards, I felt so much love and warmth from my teammates, and friends who cared. I’ll bring the love with me along the way.”
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A former staff member also said: “I left Twitter 8 years ago but still always believed in the power of this platform until today.
"My timeline looks like red wedding at the blue bird.”
Of course, Musk is also facing heat for the ongoing saga of Twitter’s blue tick, which is rapidly evolving from a simple verification system for celebrities and other high profile users to a controversial paid-for package.
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Following much speculation, Musk confirmed the new charge earlier this week, tweeting: "Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is b******t.
"Power to the people! Blue for $8/month. Price adjusted by country proportionate to purchasing power parity.”
He added that blue tick users would also get ‘priority in replies, mentions and search, which is essential to defeat spam/scam’, the ability to post long video and audio, half as many ads and ‘paywall bypass for publishers willing to work with us’.
Topics: Film and TV, Game of Thrones, Elon Musk, Twitter
Jess Hardiman