Hate crimes are on the rise. We need to help our kids feel safe

• November 10, 2023

Recently I facilitated an anti-bullying workshop for immigrant students who live in Orange County.  It’s one of the most popular programs run by Project Atom, a nonprofit that helps immigrants in high school and college mentor younger new arrivals. It’s exactly the kind of support I wish I’d had when I arrived in Westminster as a 10-year-old Afghan refugee in 2015.

I’ll lead students through role-playing scenarios about how to react if someone makes fun of their accent or the ethnic foods they bring for lunch. But this year, the discussion was more serious. Our group of kids from the Middle East and South America included an eighth grader from Afghanistan. He’d been attacked by a fellow student the first week of school and was healing from a broken arm and collarbone. The other kids wanted to know: “Should he have punched the other guy back?”

“Absolutely not,” I said. “He should immediately tell a teacher.” And yet I worried this advice might not be enough. “Bias-motivated hate activity” surged in Orange County middle and high schools between 2021 and 2022, according to the OC Human Relations Commission. It’s now getting worse, with increased incidents against both Muslims and Jews around Los Angeles since the start of the Hamas-Israel war.

Schools must take this bullying seriously. They need to adopt a policy of zero tolerance and punish offenders. They should train students to step in when they witness bigotry, which studies show is an effective anti-bullying tactic. And they should create programs to teach new immigrant and refugee students—and anyone who feels attacked on the basis of identity—how cope with the hostility they’re facing.

If you’ve been bullied, you know how much it hurts. In middle school, a classmate called me a terrorist because I was from Afghanistan. He pretended it was a joke, but I was devastated. We’d fled my native country because my father had helped the American government as a contractor with the U.S. Agency for International Development and feared we would be targeted as the number of civilian deaths surged.

The student in my anti-bullying workshop was in a similar situation. Two years ago, his family dodged Taliban airstrikes as they escaped the fall of Kabul.

I had a difficult time getting used to American life. I didn’t know English or understand the informal way that students often spoke to teachers. I had no idea how to talk to girls in middle school—hard enough for any student but extra challenging for immigrants who came from sex-segregated schools. Even wearing sneakers and jeans felt strange; I was used to sandals and loose-fitting clothes.

I became a Project Atom volunteer my sophomore year of high school to help other kids like me. During our weekly tutoring sessions at four Orange County middle schools and monthly workshops, we help the younger kids navigate cliques and social exclusion. We teach them how to stand up for themselves and manage the anxiety they feel about what’s happening in the world.

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I got to know the Afghan student because his family’s case manager at the resettlement agency World Relief told him about our group. I could immediately relate when he said he’d been having trouble making friends last year. But over the course of our meetings, I saw his confidence grow. He’s since opened up and has developed a reputation for hugging all the volunteers. We were all shocked and saddened to hear about his attack back in August. Since then, I’ve been thinking a lot more about what schools should do to combat such bigotry.

Project Atom is part of a growing student-led movement to help immigrant kids belong. But we’re teenagers—I’m one of the oldest at 19—and we can only do so much. President Biden’s recent announcement that the White House is launching a national strategy to combat “Islamophobia” is an important step, as is his repeated condemnation of antisemitism.  But we also need the support of teachers, administrators and parents. Schools and families must step up and send a message: We don’t tolerate hate here.

Ahmad Sarwari is a sophomore at Cypress College, where he’s studying psychology and public health science. 

​ Orange County Register 

New Speaker Mike Johnson grasps for a funding plan with a government shutdown rapidly approaching

• November 10, 2023

By STEPHEN GROVES and KEVIN FREKING

WASHINGTON— With just a week left to avert a government shutdown, new House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing his first big test as he tries to win House Republican support for a short-term funding plan — a task that looks increasingly difficult amid stubborn divisions in the party over federal spending.

Federal agencies are making plans for a shutdown that would shutter government services and halt paychecks for millions of federal workers and military troops.

It’s a disruption that Johnson — just two weeks into his job running the House — has said he wants to avoid. Yet House lawmakers left Washington for the weekend without a plan in hand after several setbacks. Johnson is still sounding out support among Republicans about what to do and is expected to unveil funding legislation over the weekend, according to Republicans granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

The shrinking calendar gives Johnson, a Louisiana Republican who has vaulted from the lower ranks of Republican leadership to the speaker’s office, a narrow window to corral an unpredictable GOP conference.

IN THE SENATE: Mitch McConnell, standing apart in a changing GOP, digs in on his decades-long push against Russia

“We’re running up against the clock on Nov. 17, and we’re obviously aware of that,” Johnson said this week, referring to the date that government funding expires. “But we are going to get the job done.”

Hardline conservatives, usually loathe to support temporary spending measures of any sort, had indicated they would give Johnson some leeway to pass legislation, known as a continuing resolution, to give Congress more time to negotiate a long-term agreement. Congress passed a 47-day continuing resolution in October, but the fallout was severe. Kevin McCarthy was booted from the speakership days later, and the House was effectively paralyzed for most of the month while Republicans tried to elect a replacement.

Republicans eventually were unanimous in electing Johnson speaker, but his elevation has hardly eased the dynamic that led to McCarthy’s removal — a conference torn on policy as well as how much to spend on federal programs. This week, Republicans had to pull two spending bills from the floor — one to fund transportation and housing programs and the other to fund the Treasury Department, Small Business Administration and other agencies — because they didn’t have the votes in their own party to push them through the House.

“I thought we were going to show the speaker a little bit of grace,” said a frustrated Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, as he exited the Capitol Thursday after the last votes of the week. “I think it’s looking like we’re still confused and we are not united.”

Johnson has turned to House Republicans for ideas on how to win support for a continuing resolution. He has floated the obscure idea of a “laddered” approach that would fund some parts of the government until early December and other federal departments until mid-January. He has also raised the idea of a funding package that would last into January.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are still looking for a way to negotiate final passage of aid for Israel in its war with Hamas, and Johnson has also proposed the formation of a new federal commission focused on slowing increases in the national debt that threaten the government’s ability in future years to finance the military and major entitlement programs relied on by seniors and the disabled.

Democrats have made it clear they will not support any funding packages that include policy wins for conservatives. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who the Democratic leader in the House, said they would not “pay a single, right-wing ransom demand” as part of a funding resolution.

Democratic lawmakers are also eager to play up the House Republican divisions and to pin any blame for a shutdown squarely on the new speaker and his GOP colleagues.

“They are a divided, divisive, dysfunctional majority,” said Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md. “They can’t get their business done, to the detriment of Americans.”

On the other side of the Capitol, the Democratic-held Senate took procedural steps Thursday that would allow it to take up a continuing resolution in time to avoid a partial shutdown. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said negotiations could evolve in the coming days, but added that a shutdown cannot be avoided without bipartisan cooperation.

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“I implore Speaker Johnson and our House Republican colleagues to learn from the fiasco of a month ago: Hard-right proposals, hard-right slashing cuts, hard-right poison pills that have zero support from Democrats will only make a shutdown more likely,” Schumer said. “I hope they don’t go down that path in the week to come.”

But the Senate is also involved in delicate negotiations involving changes to border policy and funding for Ukraine. Republican senators have demanded that Congress pass immigration and border legislation alongside additional Ukraine aid.

This week, they released a plan to resume construction on parts of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, curtail humanitarian parole for people who cross into the United States and make it more difficult for migrants to qualify for asylum. That kickstarted the work of a bipartisan group of senators who are considering a limited set of policy changes that could find favor with both Republicans and Democrats.

“It remains a high-wire act,” Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut who is involved in the negotiations.

He said the chances of bringing together a border bill by next week were slim, adding, “There’s a reason why we haven’t done bipartisan immigration reform in 40 years.”

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of senators is also pushing for a debt commission that could be lumped in with the continuing resolution, known as a “CR” in Washington.

“I think it could get on the CR,” said Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. “I think it would be something they can really run with.”

​ Orange County Register 

$8.4 million project powering energy improvements in Fullerton

• November 10, 2023

Fullerton leaders flipped the (ceremonial) switch on an energy project they say will be saving the city millions of dollars.

The city contracted with NORESCO, which does projects improving energy efficiency of aging facilities, to upgrade building systems and add new solar energy infrastructure and electric vehicle chargers at city facilities.

The public can now access dual-port EV chargers at City Hall, and the Police Department has new stations for charging electric vehicles in its fleet. The new solar panel arrays are also adding shade to properties, officials said.

Along with adding the renewable energy system, the project approved by the City Council in 2021 also included replacing old HVAC systems at various city buildings, upgrading lighting to be more efficient at several facilities and parks and implementing smart technology.

At the time, city officials said they were looking for creative solutions for addressing aging systems that were becoming expensive to maintain or replace and the city did not have the funding to pay for all of the work needed.

The project cost about $8.4 million, which is being repaid, officials said, with the savings being generated by the energy improvements. The changes are expected to save $12.1 million during the 25-year contract period, officials said.

“These kinds of public-private partnerships afford municipal government an opportunity to implement infrastructure using the expertise of the private sector,” said Mayor Fred Jung, who on Thursday in a ceremony at City Hall flipped a giant white wall switch with other councilmembers to mark the project’s completion. “Our partnership with (NORESCO) will deliver enhanced cost savings and a return on the public’s investment.”

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​ Orange County Register 

The Air Force’s new B-21 Raider nuclear stealth bomber takes its first test flight in Palmdale

• November 10, 2023

By TARA COPP

WASHINGTON — The B-21 Raider took its first test flight on Friday, moving the futuristic warplane closer to becoming the nation’s next nuclear weapons stealth bomber.

The Raider flew in Palmdale, California, where it has been under testing and development by Northrop Grumman.

The Air Force is planning to build 100 of the warplanes, which have a flying wing shape much like their predecessor the B-2 Spirit but will incorporate advanced materials, propulsion and stealth technology to make them more survivable in a future conflict. The plane is planned to be produced in variants with and without pilots.

“The B-21 Raider is in flight testing,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said.

Such testing is a critical step in the campaign to provide “survivable, long-range, penetrating strike capabilities to deter aggression and strategic attacks against the United States, allies, and partners,” Stefanek said.

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The B-21 Raider is the first new American bomber aircraft in more than 30 years, and almost every aspect of the program is classified. Both Northrop Grumman and the Air Force have tried to protect the program’s details to prevent China from gaining access to the weapon’s technology and building a similar version, as it has with other U.S. advanced weapons systems like the F-35 joint strike fighter.

The B-21 is part of the Pentagon’s efforts to modernize all three legs of its nuclear triad, which includes silo-launched nuclear ballistic missiles and submarine-launched warheads, as it invests in new weapons to meet China’s rapid military modernization.

Northrop Grumman Corp. is based in Falls Church, Virginia.

​ Orange County Register 

Veterans Day: Honoring those who serve, by the numbers

• November 10, 2023

Veterans Day is a time to honor those who fought in the Revolutionary War to the men and women who are serving in the military now.

Here’s a look at some facts about Veterans Day:

Famous veterans

There are many famous veterans, but how many were born on Veterans Day? Gen. George S. Patton was, on Nov. 11, 1885, in San Gabriel, California.

General George S. Patton (Keystone/Getty Images)

Patton’s family was wealthy from his mother’s side and his father was the first district attorney of Pasadena and mayor of San Marino. Patton graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1909.

He married the daughter of a wealthy tycoon in 1910 and represented the U.S. in the Olympics in 1912. He competed in the modern pentathlon.

Patton saw his first combat in pursuit of Pancho Villa in 1916. The following year, he joined Gen. John J. Pershing in World War I in the fight in France.

He became the first officer for the U.S. Tank Corps. Patton was wounded in the war and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for bravery under fire.

Patton was made commander of the 2nd Armored Division. Soon after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he organized the Desert Training Center near Indio to simulate combat and maneuvers in the harsh North African climate. Patton led his army in battle in Italy, France and Germany. After the war, on Dec. 9, 1945, Patton sustained serious injuries in a low-speed car accident; after 12 days of terrible pain, he died.

The Gen. Patton Museum is located at Chiriaco Summit, east of Indio, California.

Learn more at generalpattonmuseum.com.

A few notable others

Imagine taking orders from Darth Vader. James Earl Jones voiced one of most notorious sci-fi villains. Jones served with the Army during the Korean War. A member of the University of Michigan’s Reserve Officer Training Corps, Jones was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army and assigned to Headquarters Company, 38th Regimental Combat Team.

Actor James Earl Jones attends the “The Gin Game” Broadway opening night after party at Sardi’s on October 14, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

Jimmy Stewart entered the Army as a private and at the end of World War II was a colonel in the Army Air Corps, fully decorated as the result of the 20 combat missions he flew over Germany as leader of a squadron of B-24s. Among his medals were two Distinguished Flying Crosses and the Croix de Guerre. Stewart continued his military career after World War II by serving in the Air Force Reserves and rose to the rank of brigadier general.

Colonel James Stewart (1908 – 1997), an American film star serving in the US army, leaves Southampton on board the Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth, bound for home August 27, 1945. With him are 16,000 US servicemen returning to America after World War II. (Photo by Express/Express/Getty Images)

During World War II and long before they were Golden Girls, Bea Arthur and Betty White served in the U.S. military. Arthur enlisted with the Marine Corps’ Women’s Reservists, becoming one of the first people to do so. She served as a typist at Marine headquarters. White served with the American Women’s Voluntary Services, an organization dedicated to providing support to the war effort. She also worked as an exchange truck driver delivering military supplies.

Actress Betty White (L) and Bea Arthur signs copies of “The Golden Girls Season 3” DVD at Barnes & Noble on November 22, 2005 in New York City. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images)

Veterans and PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder may be caused by many events including violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, combat and other forms of violence.

Thousands of veterans returning from combat encouraged the VA to create the nation’s largest research center for the treatment of PTSD. In 2017, the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder began studying the relationship between genetics, metabolics and neuronal markers and PTSD.

The center is telling veterans that trauma-focused psychotherapy is the first-line treatment for PTSD.

Sources: National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, Reperes, The Associated Press, The American Legion, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

​ Orange County Register 

Colorado at No. 23 UCLA: Who has the edge?

• October 27, 2023

Colorado (4-3 overall, 1-3 Pac-12) at No. 23 UCLA (5-2, 2-2)

When: 4:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Rose Bowl

TV/radio: ABC (Ch. 7)/570 AM

Line: UCLA by 17

Notable injuries: COLORADO: OUT: TE Louis Passarello (knee); QUESTIONABLE: OT Savion Washington (ankle). UCLA: QUESTIONABLE: WR Titus Mokiao-Atimalala (undisclosed), LB Ale Kaho (undisclosed); PROBABLE: QB Collin Schlee (upper body)

What’s at stake?: While the Bruins are a heavy favorite against Colorado, the opportunity to host coach Deion Sanders and Colorado helps the stars align for what would’ve already been a busy homecoming weekend. The game has been declared a sellout at the Rose Bowl and is expected to have an increase in viewership by playing the Buffs in a notable time slot. A good showing on the field could serve well from the point of marketing for the university and with fans and recruiting for the program.

Who’s better?: UCLA is the more talented of the two teams as Colorado is in Year 1 of a rebuild following Sanders’ arrival. The Buffaloes overhauled the roster as Coach Prime brought along his sons, quarterback Shedeur Sanders and safety Shilo Sanders, as well as two-way player Travis Hunter upon leaving Jackson State for Boulder.

Matchup to watch: Colorado’s offensive line vs. UCLA’s defensive front. The Bruins will look to bring pressure and attack Shedeur Sanders. The Buffaloes’ offensive line has allowed Sanders to be sacked 34 times (129th in the nation) this season, including seven times each against Nebraska and Oregon. The Bruins are ranked eighth in the nation with 24 sacks. It could be a long night for Sanders if UCLA builds a lead and forces Colorado to pass while playing from behind.

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UCLA wins if: Running back Carson Steele must lead the Bruins’ rushing attack like last week. The Bruins should be able to run against a Colorado defense that ranks near the bottom of the conference. UCLA’s defense must also create turnovers to control the clock and limit Sanders’ opportunities to lead the Buffaloes downfield.

Prediction: UCLA 31, Colorado 18. The Bruins’ defense will overwhelm Colorado while the offense pulls away in the second half to secure the victory.

​ Orange County Register 

Here are special foods and deals at restaurants for Halloween 2023

• October 27, 2023

From pumpkin-shaped pizza at Papa John’s to Scooby Doo doughnuts at Krispy Creme and Chipotle’s ever-popular Booritos, restaurant chains are dressing up their menus for Halloween.

Pizza has joined candy as a Halloween tradition, and several pizza chains are taking advantage of it with holiday promotions.

Most holiday promotions from restaurant chains require membership to loyalty programs these days. Check the chains’ websites for details.

Here are some of the special foods and deals that are out there.

Pizza

7-Eleven: 7Rewards members can buy one large pizza and get another one for free Oct. 30-31, according to a news release. The convenience store chain also has a Mountain Dew Pitch Black Slurpee with a citrus flavor on tap for a limited time. 7-eleven.com

Blaze Pizza: The Pasadena-based chain is offering new Blaze Rewards members a $5 reward for an online order of $15, according to a news release. Its pizza of the month is roasted garlic and sausage. blazepizza.com

California Pizza Kitchen: Dine-in guests who buy a pizza through Oct. 31 can get a free take-home pizza on their next visit with a minimum $25 purchase, according to the chain’s website. cpk.com/npm/pizza

Chuck E. Cheese: Boo-tacular, running through Oct. 31. Fun for kids includes pumpkin-shaped pizza, daily dance parties and free game play, according to a news release. chuckecheese.com/bootacular

Marco’s Pizza: A limited time flavor called Hot Honey Pepperoni Magnifico features pepperoni and Mike’s Hot Honey. It costs $10.99 at participating locations. The code is HHMAG. Also new is Pizzoli, a handheld with meats and cheeses rolled in pizza dough. They cost $.5.99 with promo code PIZZOLI. marcos.com

MOD Pizza: Customers who visit a MOD store wearing a Halloween costume will receive 31% off their in-store purchase on Oct. 31, according to a news release. modpizza.com

Mountain Mike’s Pizza: New on the menu are Cinnamon Not-Knots, a dessert made with pizza dough, cinnamon, brown sugar and mozzarella cheese. mountainmikespizza.com

Papa John’s: Jack-O’-Lantern Pizza is back. It has a thin pumpkin shaped crust served unsliced with pepperoni slices that form a face. papajohns.com/jack-o-lantern-pizza

Pieology Pizzeria: There’s a treasure hunt on the Pie Life rewards app inviting members to “find Boo” for a reward, according to a Facebook post. pieology.com

Round Table Pizza: Guests can get two medium one-topping pizzas for $14.99 each, according to a news release. roundtablepizza.com

Quick service

Baskin-Robbins: An array of Halloween cakes includes the cute yet creepy Zombie Unicorn Cake, made to look like a winking green animal with an Oreo-coated ice cream cone for a horn. Flavor of the month is Apple Cider Donut. baskinrobbins.com

Burger King: The chain is bringing back its Ghost Pepper Whopper with an orange bun covered with black sesame seeds from last year. And it is  introducing Ghost Pepper Chicken Fries, available in four, eight or 12 pieces with choice of dipping sauce. There’s also a paper crown covered with ghosts. Through Halloween, Members of the Royal Perks program can get a meal with the scary Whopper and chicken fries, plus small french fries, a Hershey Sundae Pie and small drink for $13, according to a news release. bk.com

Chipotle Mexican Grill: This year’s Boorito offer is for loyalty members. They can get an entrée for $6 on digital orders made between 3 p.m. and closing time. That will be a couple of hours later than usual at 53 of its restaurants near college campuses that will stay open until midnight on Halloween. Two are in Southern California, at 1077 Broxton Ave. in Westwood Village, near UCLA, and 1800 Ximeno Ave., near Cal State Long Beach. Chipotle will be giving away an exclusive bottle of Tabasco Scorpion Sauce for the first 100 orders placed after 10 p.m. at those locations, according to a news release. chipotle.com/boorito

Cold Stone Creamery: Boo Batter Ice Cream, a black-colored version of its Cake Batter Ice Cream, is back for October and can be ordered with Halloween candies mixed in. coldstonecreamery.com

Duck Donuts: The Spooky Box assortment includes 12 eerie flavors, from Ants Marching, a glazed doughnut with chocolate sprinkles, to Werewolf, a maple bacon doughnut with raspberry drizzle. duckdonuts.com

Dunkin’: The Massachusetts-based chain is not only bringing back its Spider Donut, it has created a 6-foot inflatable version of it on sale for $99.99 at shopdunkin.com. It’s also decorating its classic frosted doughnuts with orange and chocolate sprinkles. dunkindonuts.com

Fatburger: Customers get a free cookie with any purchase through Oct. 31, according to the chain’s website. fatburger.com

McDonald’s: The fast food giant is handing out Boo Buckets with Happy Meals for a limited time. The treat-or-treat containers come in four designs for 2023: an orange skeleton, a white mummy, a green monster and a purple vampire. mcdonalds.com

Rubio’s Coastal Grill: Rewards members can get any burrito on the menu  for $8.99 on Oct. 31, according to a news release. rubios.com

Wendy’s: The chain will kick off five days of deals on Friday, Oct. 27 with a buy-one-get-one offer on premium sandwiches, including its Loaded Nacho Cheeseburger, according to a news release. The offer wraps up Oct. 31 with free six-piece chicken nuggets with any purchase. www.wendys.com

Full service

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Applebee’s: To-go or delivery customers can get a free 10-piece order of boneless wings with any purchase of $40 on the chain’s website or app on Oct. 31, according to a news release. The chain is also offering “Spooky Sips” for $5, including Dracula’s Juice, made with Jose Cuervo and Bacardi Superior, and Tipsy Zombie, also with Bacardi Superior. https://www.applebees.com

BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse: The chain has a new Spooky Pizookie, a Cookies ‘N’ Cream cookie topped with Oreo crumbs, Halloween sprinkles and orange-tinted Vanilla Bean ice cream. bjsrestaurants.com

Chili’s Grill & Bar: Margarita of the month is a $6 Trick or Treat-A-Rita, made with Lunazul Blanco Tequila and Tito’s Handmade Vodka and topped with Halloween candy. chilis.com

Red Lobster: The seafood chain’s Tuesday deal with be a pound of snow crab legs over crispy potatoes and choice of side for $20. redlobster.com

​ Orange County Register 

How a single year of Elon Musk turned Twitter into a husk of its former self

• October 27, 2023

New York  — It’s been one year to the day since Elon Musk completed his purchase of Twitter for $44 billion and set the company, along with its employees and users, off on a whiplash-inducing series of twists and turns.

Twelve months on, the company barely resembles its former self — and not only because Musk renamed it “X” and did away with its iconic blue bird branding. Through a dizzying and haphazard barrage of changes, Musk has transformed a profitable company once regarded as the world’s go-to source for breaking news and political commentary into a widely ridiculed platform that’s fighting just to break even and crippled by debt; that’s struggling to manage spam and disinformation; that’s alienated some of its biggest advertisers and users; and that’s casting about for purpose.

Even as Musk — and new CEO Linda Yaccarino — push their vision for X as an “everything app,” the company has seemingly no clear path back to prominence or respectability, or to recouping Musk’s massive investment.

Driving the transformation has been a relentless stream of layoffs, resignations and policy reversals, as well as messy product rollouts and unfulfilled promises. The company faces a series of legal challenges brought by everyone from former employees to company contractors and landlords that have further complicated its outlook. X is also the subject of multiple regulatory investigations by the US Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission and EU officials that could potentially lead to penalties, both for the company as well as Musk himself.

X claims engagement is up, but the company appears to use different metrics than it did prior to the Musk takeover, making a true comparison difficult. Visits to the company’s website are down 14% compared to last September, far outstripping the 3.7% decline industrywide over the same period, according to a report this month by the internet monitoring firm Similarweb.

Yaccarino said in a statement Thursday that she is “incredibly proud of the work our team has been doing to accelerate the future of X.” The X CEO highlighted some of the new products and features launched over the past year, including the ability for companies to post job listings, longer posts, and audio and video calls for Premium users, which rolled out this week. She said that X is “a place where everyone can freely express themselves, so long as they do so within the bounds of the law,” and added that safety remains a “critical priority” for the platform.

“If we can achieve all of this in just 12 months, just imagine the scope of our ambition for next year,” Yaccarino said.

X is now facing perhaps its biggest test yet under new ownership amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war — and numerous tech watchdogs and civil society groups have raised alarms about false claims and propaganda linked to the conflict on the platform. And as next year’s elections in the United States and elsewhere raise fears about the further spread of misinformation campaigns, X’s value to the public conversation appears increasingly in doubt.

All of this unfolded over the course of just 365 days. But for many, likely including beleaguered users who have decamped for alternatives such as Threads, Mastodon and BlueSky, it’s felt more like a decade. Here’s a (non-exhaustive) account of how Musk has fundamentally changed Twitter since he made one of the most consequential acquisitions of the social media age.

Heads rolling

In a series of rolling layoffs in the months after his takeover, Musk axed what he would later describe as roughly 80% of the company’s headcount.

Few departments were left untouched by the layoffs. They affected positions in some of the company’s most critical areas: policy, trust and safety, communications, ethical AI, search and more. The result was a hollowed-out workforce charged with maintaining rickety systems that had already been described as brittle, and which Musk further shrunk in an effort to cut costs. Under Musk, the company’s technical infrastructure proved increasingly prone to meltdowns, resulting in a series of glitches earlier this year affecting users’ ability to use the site.

Along the way, Musk fired — or accepted the resignations of — key members of Twitter’s old guard, including its former CEO and CFO, as well as its general counsel, policy chief, chief privacy officer, chief information security officer, director of product management and head of trust and safety. Even some of the people who rose to become Musk’s trusted lieutenants at the company have already left.

The workforce cuts have prompted repeated questions, including from US lawmakers and regulators, about the platform’s ability to respond to threats to security and privacy, along with elections, misinformation and hate speech. And thousands of former employees have accused Musk of providing fewer severance benefits than they were promised, and some also allege he’s delayed severance benefits and payments to cover executives’ work-related legal fees.

Product and policy overhauls

In his zeal to restore what he describes as “free speech” to X, Musk has made numerous policy and product decisions that have altered what users can see on the platform.

He reversed Twitter’s ban on former President Donald Trump based on an unscientific poll of his followers, after previously saying the decision would be up to a “content moderation council” that never materialized. He also reinstated the suspended accounts of white supremacists and conspiracy theorists. He temporarily suspended several journalists from Twitter for their reports on a third-party account devoted to tracking Musk’s private jet (despite previously criticizing the platform’s suspension practices).

Under Musk’s leadership, the company removed specific protections for transgender people from Twitter’s hateful conduct policy. X made it easier for politicians and political candidates to qualify for newsworthiness exemptions from Twitter’s rules, when they would otherwise have their content restricted or removed. The platform overturned a 2019-era ban on political and issue advertising, and issued an updated, “zero-tolerance” policy on violent speech that was nevertheless vaguer and more subjective than what it replaced. And it updated Twitter’s privacy policies to say the company may allow users to opt-in to having their biometric information and job and education history collected by the platform.

But perhaps no change has been as significant as Musk’s move to replace Twitter’s legacy verification (“blue check”) badges with a new form of verification that no longer carries the explicit assurance of authenticity.

Days after his takeover, Musk debuted — then un-debuted, and later revived — a subscription feature that granted any user a blue verification badge if they paid for the platform’s $8 per month subscription plan. Critics warned that the system would lead to impersonation on a massive scale, and undermine a feature that once helped users to trust what they saw on the platform.

Sure enough, when the feature was first launched, Twitter faced a wave of verified impostors pretending to be everyone from Nintendo to LeBron James. After the platform revoked the badges of accounts who’d been verified under the old system, Musk offered to personally pay for verification for James and several other frustrated, high-profile users.

Under the new system, users who paid for verification have their posts boosted by the platform’s algorithm. And more recently, X rolled out an advertising revenue share program for verified users, rewarding those that drive engagement with payouts — creating potential financial incentives for engagement farmers and misinformation peddlers who share inflammatory or misleading claims.

As it dismantles old ways of thinking about content moderation, X leaders have repeatedly touted “Community Notes,” an expanded version of the “Birdwatch” user-generated moderation system that Twitter launched in 2021. X said this week that Community Notes now has more than 100,000 volunteer user-moderators in 44 countries who are participating in adding contextual labels to content on the platform.

But numerous reports have suggested that Community Notes is struggling to meet its mission, burdened by issues like delays in users adding labels and bad actors attempting to game the system. (Yaccarino said in Thursday’s statement that Community Notes are getting faster, and that “this product is not perfect, but it is improving rapidly.”)

In the meantime, Musk has also antagonized and pushed away many journalists who previously contributed to the spread of reliable information on the platform. Most notably, NPR and PBS abandoned the platform entirely in April after X labeled them as “state-affiliated media,” a designation the broadcasters said misleadingly implied they receive substantial backing from government entities or are not editorially independent. The platform later changed the label to “government-affiliated media” and then did away with it altogether, but the outlets have not returned.

Many of Musk’s content and product decisions have also led to what civil society groups have reported as a troubling spread of hateful speech on the platform.

Sluggish business

In the early days of Musk’s takeover, many of Twitter’s largest advertisers — including the likes of General Mills and the Volkswagen Group — paused their spending over concerns about X’s layoffs, content moderation capabilities and general uncertainty about the platform’s future.

The mass advertiser pullback tanked the company’s revenue, and it still has yet to fully recover. Musk has lashed out over the brand revolt, accusing his critics of deliberate sabotage and even going so far as to sue one watchdog group, the Center for Countering Digital Hate, and threatening to sue the Anti-Defamation League, alleging they damaged the brand with claims about surging hate speech on X.

For its part, X has claimed hate speech is down and has touted new brand safety controls that purport to allow advertisers to restrict what kinds of content their ads can run next to. But even those safety offerings appeared to run into some early road bumps.

The company’s leaders have offered conflicting views on the state of its finances — making it unclear when and if X’s business can be revived.

Musk said in July that the company remained cash flow negative because of a 50% decline in ad revenue and heavy debt load. A month later, Yaccarino said many top advertisers had returned and the company was “close to breakeven.” The next month, Musk said US advertising revenue was “still down 60%.” Weeks later, Yaccarino said the company could return to profitability early next year.

Meanwhile, the banks that lent to Musk to finance his takeover are still struggling to offload the debt due in part to the billionaire’s chaotic leadership, the Wall Street Journal reported this week.

Yaccarino’s ascension to CEO in June signaled Musk’s commitment to winning back advertisers; her track record as an NBCU ad executive, along with the cheery persona she projected on X, seemed to foretell a brighter future for the company. But as Musk has continued to make off-hand announcements about the company’s roadmap, at times seemingly taking Yaccarino by surprise, outsiders have widely wondered about the true extent of Yaccarino’s authority and influence within the company.

In an interview last month, Yaccarino stressed that she does have autonomy from Musk as CEO. “Elon works on the technology and dreams up what’s next,” she said. “I bring it to market.”

Musk’s erratic behavior

Through it all, Musk has become the platform’s most consistent main character, weighing in on the largest issues of the day whether he is informed about them or not. When Paul Pelosi was brutally attacked in his own home, Musk baselessly amplified fringe conspiracy theories about the assault. He recommended that X users monitor the Israel-Hamas conflict by following an account known for spreading disinformation, before later deleting his post. He has obliquely defended “Dilbert” creator Scott Adams over racist comments and has condemned the financier George Soros, a frequent target of antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Musk appears to harbor an obsession with his own popularity on the platform, reportedly pressuring engineers to boost his own posts in users’ feeds after complaining his posts got fewer views than President Joe Biden’s during the Super Bowl.

In other contexts, Musk has leveraged his ownership of Twitter to promote politicians he personally favors, such as by helping to launch Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign by way of a live Spaces event plagued by technical glitches. A week after that event, Musk held another Spaces event to promote Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the vaccine skeptic and another presidential hopeful, and he promoted an interview between former Fox host Tucker Carlson and another republican contender, Vivek Ramaswamy. He has also hosted Benjamin Netanyahu, the conservative Israeli prime minister for a live discussion on X.  Musk has said he’s willing to host candidates from across the ideological spectrum, but so far few if any politicians whom Musk disagrees with have been promoted in similar events.

And, in an attempt to prove that former Twitter executives deliberately discriminated against conservatives on the platform, Musk provided a handpicked group of journalists with selective access to company records. The resulting reports, known as The Twitter Files, purported to reveal a nefarious campaign of suppression. However, the internal communications actually corroborated existing accounts of how Twitter struggled to handle a 2020 New York Post article involving Hunter Biden and his laptop. Musk’s own lawyers later would go on to dispute the insinuations and allegations in The Twitter Files as they tried to prevent Trump from pursuing a case against the company in court.

Musk has also used the platform to promote his other companies and to hit back at his detractors — everyone from former employees to various regulatory bodies scrutinizing his ownership of the platform.

It is perhaps Musk’s all-consuming presence that has most undermined what users used to love about Twitter. The platform was once a place to hear from lots of different kinds of voices; where any given user might be leading the day’s “discourse” with the newsiest, most entertaining or controversial bit of content; where there was indeed sometimes toxicity, but it was generally overpowered by useful, up-to-the-minute news and commentary. Now, it’s the Musk show, and users increasingly seem inclined to tune out.

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​ Orange County Register