Elon Musk May Stop Running Twitter
2022-12-20
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1On Sunday, Elon Musk posted a poll on Twitter asking users if he should step down as chief of the social media company.
2The billionaire businessman bought Twitter in October for $44 billion.
3Musk wrote: "Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll."
4To abide means to accept.
5The poll closed on Monday and the results were in.
6Out of more than 17 million voters, 57.5 percent said "yes."
7Musk has not yet commented on the results.
8Musk's actions and decisions over the past two months have made many Twitter users quit or think about quitting the social media service.
9Last week, Musk banned a number of reporters from Twitter.
10The journalists had a history of reporting on Musk's actions as the head of Twitter.
11They included writers for the New York Times, Washington Post and Voice of America.
12Musk later brought back most of those accounts following an online poll.
13Musk also removed Twitter accounts that had been showing the location of his private jet.
14He has also said he would not permit people or businesses to make posts on the service directing users to other social media sites, such as Instagram, Facebook and Mastodon.
15Musk received sharp criticism from that decision, even from people who had previously supported his leadership.
16One of those former supporters is well-known businessman Paul Graham.
17Graham called the restriction on promoting other sites "the last straw."
18He added that his followers could find him on Mastodon.
19Graham's Twitter account was suspended, then brought back.
20Musk has described himself as a strong supporter of free speech.
21When he took over Twitter, he said he sought to make it available to people with widely different opinions.
22But some critics say his recent actions as CEO go against those promises.
23Sally Buzbee is The Washington Post's executive editor.
24One of the newspaper's reporters who covers Musk was temporarily banned from Twitter.
25Buzbee said, "the suspension occurred with no warning, process or explanation - this time as our reporter merely sought comment from Musk for a story."
26In public comments with Twitter users on Sunday, Musk said it would be hard to find a new CEO for Twitter.
27Any future CEO, he said, "must like pain a lot ... to run a company that has been in the fast lane to bankruptcy."
28Musk said anyone with the skills and ability to keep Twitter alive would probably not want the job.
29"There is no successor," Musk added.
30I'm Dan Friedell.
1On Sunday, Elon Musk posted a poll on Twitter asking users if he should step down as chief of the social media company. The billionaire businessman bought Twitter in October for $44 billion. 2Musk wrote: "Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll." 3To abide means to accept. The poll closed on Monday and the results were in. Out of more than 17 million voters, 57.5 percent said "yes." 4Musk has not yet commented on the results. 5Musk's actions and decisions over the past two months have made many Twitter users quit or think about quitting the social media service. 6Last week, Musk banned a number of reporters from Twitter. The journalists had a history of reporting on Musk's actions as the head of Twitter. They included writers for the New York Times, Washington Post and Voice of America. Musk later brought back most of those accounts following an online poll. 7Musk also removed Twitter accounts that had been showing the location of his private jet. 8He has also said he would not permit people or businesses to make posts on the service directing users to other social media sites, such as Instagram, Facebook and Mastodon. 9Musk received sharp criticism from that decision, even from people who had previously supported his leadership. One of those former supporters is well-known businessman Paul Graham. Graham called the restriction on promoting other sites "the last straw." He added that his followers could find him on Mastodon. 10Graham's Twitter account was suspended, then brought back. 11Musk has described himself as a strong supporter of free speech. When he took over Twitter, he said he sought to make it available to people with widely different opinions. 12But some critics say his recent actions as CEO go against those promises. Sally Buzbee is The Washington Post's executive editor. One of the newspaper's reporters who covers Musk was temporarily banned from Twitter. Buzbee said, "the suspension occurred with no warning, process or explanation - this time as our reporter merely sought comment from Musk for a story." 13In public comments with Twitter users on Sunday, Musk said it would be hard to find a new CEO for Twitter. Any future CEO, he said, "must like pain a lot ... to run a company that has been in the fast lane to bankruptcy." 14Musk said anyone with the skills and ability to keep Twitter alive would probably not want the job. 15"There is no successor," Musk added. 16I'm Dan Friedell. 17Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 18_____________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20poll -n. an activity in which several or many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to get information about what most people think about something 21abide -v. to accept something 22journalist -n. a person who collects information and writes about it for newspapers, television, magazines, etc. 23location -n. the place where something is 24occur -v. to happen 25merely -adv. used to say something is small 26promote -v. to speak positively about something 27the last straw - phrase. the last in a series of bad things that happen to make someone very upset, angry, etc. 28the fast lane - phrase. about to happen quickly 29_____________________________________________________________ 30We want to hear from you. Do you think Musk should stop running Twitter? 31We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 32Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.