Musk offers funds to users who got in trouble over X posts

Elon Musk has promised his social media company X — formerly known as Twitter— will provide monetary legal aid to users who face blowback from their employers over controversial posts on the platform.

"If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill," he wrote on the site. "No limit. Please let us know."

"And we won't just sue, it will be extremely loud and we will go after the boards of directors of the companies too," the tycoon added later.

However, it was unclear if X could afford paying large legal bills for many users, as advertising income has collapsed since Musk bought the platform last October.

Musk paid $44 billion (€39.9 billion) for the company. Last month, he said the platform's cash flow remains negative because of a nearly 50% drop in advertising revenue and a heavy debt load. An upturn in advertising that had been expected in June failed to materialize.

Users fired, banned from the network

Many users, including celebrities and others in the public eye, have found themselves in trouble over their actions on the platform.

They include comedian and actress Roseanne Barr who in 2018 wrote a racially offensive post about a senior advisor to former President Barack Obama and was dismissed from her newly revived sitcom. 

In the UK, researcher Maya Forestater was fired in 2019 for posting her views on gender and transgender issues on her Twitter account. She later sued and won an employment tribunal for wrongful dismissal.

Rapper and designer Kanye West was suspended last year amid a series of antisemitic statements. This included West posting an image that appeared to show a swastika interlaced with a Star of David. The rapper's behavior prompted German sportswear giant Adidas to end their business partnership. His X account has since been reinstated.

Audience for X reaches 'new high'

Despite its revenue woes, Musk says that monthly users of X reached a "new high" last month at over 540 million.

The billionaire has vowed to make X a bastion of free speech, but critics have accused the platform of rolling back moderation policies that helped remove hateful and offensive content.

Twitter changed its name to X and unveiled a new logo, weeks after rival Meta Platforms — the owner of Facebook and Instagram — launched a competing platform called Threads.

Musk says his fight with Zuckerberg would be streamed live

Amid intense competition between the social media giants, Musk in late June challenged Mark Zuckerberg to a cage fight.

Whether or not the pair make it to the ring has yet to be seen, but the banter has gained worldwide attention.

Musk, however, insisted Sunday the fight would be streamed on his social media site.

"Zuck v Musk fight will be live-streamed on X," he wrote in a post on the platform. "All proceeds will go to charity for veterans."

Zuckerberg is actually trained in mixed martial arts, and he posted about completing his first jiu-jitsu tournament earlier this year.

The 39-year-old Zuckerberg regularly trains with martial arts coaches. In turn, the 52-year-old Musk claimed on Sunday that he now brings weights with him to work and lifts during the day because he doesn't have time to work out.

mm/dj (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)