Ann Freeman
Jelani CobbWhy I Quit Elon Musk’s Twitter
https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/why-i-quit-elon-musks-twitter
Aron Pilhofer 🍩@Jelaniya This this this...
"If there is, in fact, an information war raging on Twitter, Musk is a profiteer. Twitter is what it always was: a money-making venture—just more nakedly so. And it now subsidizes a billionaire who understands free speech to be synonymous with the right to abuse others."
marktaylor@pilhofer @Jelaniya Perhaps. Twitter was barely profitable. It’s unlikely to be now. Unvarnished free speech is perfectly legal (apparently, have other thoughts on this!) but unattractive. Musk is banking on the value these new freedoms bring to generate more business for it and it’s customers. I think that’s unlikely. Because they are anti social. Musk fails to understand this point for some reason.
GoodVibes7472@marktaylor @pilhofer @Jelaniya Maybe he fails to understand it because of his personality. You know, antisocial …
PC@pilhofer @Jelaniya currently Musk has bankrolled what remains of Twitter in an amazingly inept takeover. It’s informative to watch him struggle. I wish he had better friends inside his echo chamber. He is open to exchanges. Stephen King yesterday attacked him over who started Tesla and today Elon is asking his advice. …more…
Pete ⭕️ 
@Jelaniya wonderful piece, the final two paragraphs say it all for me. Thank you.
LynnBrenner
reversion to the deoradh™Agreed. Same. It’s not the followers I miss, it’s the people I followed, so I’m happy to find you here.
Craig Newmark@Jelaniya Jelani, I've asked folks to connect you with related efforts at CUNY journalism...
nullagent@Jelaniya "never cede ground in an information war" I used to think this way too, but its tough when they own the bed rock.
A better future awaits the brave imo.
Janette Bennett@Jelaniya Very good assessment. One takeout … In these information wars, “No matter which side prevails, the true victor in any war is the person selling weapons to both sides.”
EdgeLove the New Yorker but no longer have my account, and used my free article for the bonsai piece.
Appreciate your work, and am glad to see you here.
myrmepropagandist@Jelaniya Excellent.
Walking away from almost half a million followers isn't nothing.
And this might not even be the final stop.
But, I'm glad you are here.
Melanie Sill@Jelaniya Excellent piece, and your conclusion is correct — anyone who’s active on Twitter right now is accepting Musk’s terms.
The Way of Accountability@Jelaniya because he's abusive?
wellactually@Jelaniya - good read. For me, it feels like Twitter was my favorite hometown burger place. Sure sometimes it was loud, or too crowded, but it was a fine place to get a burger. Then Elon bought it and turned it into a strip club, so I don’t go anymore.
Don Shuler@Jelaniya you put into words everything I've been thinking for the last few weeks, as I wrestled with my decision to ultimately leave as well. Cannot be a part of helping him make money. Thank you.
Anthony Reinhart@Jelaniya Thanks for writing this. Your tweet about leaving gave me a needed push along the same path.
Jana Lynne Sanchez@Jelaniya thank you! I hope more people will leave it.
Dr. Jorge Caballero@Jelaniya welcome! Thrilled to read that you made the move. Let me know if you'd like me to add your info to https://fedified.com — a directory of notable Twitter accounts that are now on Mastodon
mem_somerville
A L Katz@Jelaniya Delighted thar you're (finally) here! Welcome!
IrishBiddy@Jelaniya are you aware of Christopher Bouzy of bot sentinel. A Black owned social media platform. Prebeta.sentinel.com
@Jelaniya prebeta.botsentinel.com
David Heath@Jelaniya You made the right decision. I hope others will follow your example.
Lloydian
Conflicted Existence@Jelaniya
“The singular virtue of the fiasco over which Musk has presided is the possibility that the outcome will sever, at least temporarily, the American conflation of wealth with intellect. Market valuation is not proof of genius.”
“The singular virtue of the fiasco over which Musk has presided is the possibility that the outcome will sever, at least temporarily, the American conflation of wealth with intellect. Market valuation is not proof of genius.”
Shellee@Jelaniya Yours is a voice I needed to find here.
Really, the whole scenario is a nag… we should have already been part of building a “town square” capable of carrying all our expectations (or at least tries to).
MariaKW@Jelaniya GREAT article. I can always tell it’s good if I make my husband and son listen to me as I read sections aloud.
bennydiego@Jelaniya I quit Twitter for same reason I’m not on TruthSocial.
Danetteb2@Jelaniya I was just thinking about this this morning- remaining on Twitter to fight for free speech is the opposite of what people should be doing.
charvaka@Jelaniya Thank you and welcome to Mastodon.
Twitter is in the business of selling its users’ attention to its advertisers. If you are still participating on Twitter, you are accepting Musk’s changes and letting him sell your attention. There is no fighting Musk by giving him the only thing he needs from you: your engagement on his platform.
LPSurge@Jelaniya : thank you for this!
AnellaMarie@Jelaniya Not an intellectual thought but I would subscribe long enough to see someone punch Musty in the mouth.
Rabbi Jill Zimmerman@Jelaniya Jelani I’m so happy to find you here. I look forward to reading your article.
Kelsbels@Jelaniya spot on 🙌🏼 I deleted my account after a decade. I loved how you heard so much ‘first’ from journalists on the platform. Musk has totally undervalued what made it special.
Hugh Goggins@Jelaniya Yeah, I can't post there anymore. I'm distressed about lost relationships and still read it on occasion, but he's crossed too many lines for me to post again
Bamboo Grove (she/her)@Jelaniya Thank you for expressing so clearly what I have been thinking but have struggled to put into words.
Marc Grundfossen@Jelaniya
Well done sir. I don't wish to be vindictive, but I wish there was a mass exodus from Twitter. It will likely look like something else though.
Well done sir. I don't wish to be vindictive, but I wish there was a mass exodus from Twitter. It will likely look like something else though.
Pedro 
@Jelaniya excellent article.
@Jelaniya
I am here with you
I am here with you
Martin Nutty@Jelaniya, A 10 min bit on why I did the #Twexit thing which lines up with many of themes and assessments in your article.
TY for being willing to risk your #Twitter following by doing the right thing. Hopefully many will follow your principled stand to #Mastodon
mark@Jelaniya You're right about Musk, but maybe not about Twitter. Sure he's cruel, capricious and overconfident, but Twitter is an _idea_ maybe more resilient than it's boss. I have "sepia tinted memories" of SpaceX, and they were formed for good cause. Good people working hard can do great things _despite_ their leadership. That's two reasons Twitter could survive.
Kyla Wazana Tompkins@Jelaniya I could reread this essay like 50000 times
Chernynkaya@Jelaniya Great article that sums up why good people must leave and how difficult it is to do so.