88,000 Saudi-backed accounts have been banned by Twitter over peddling propaganda. These accounts were aimed to boost the Saudi government's popularity. #SaudiArabia #UAE #Twitter #WION

88,000 Saudi-backed accounts banned by Twitter over peddling propaganda

Twitter on Friday suspended thousands of accounts which it said were linked "to a significant state-backed information operation" originated in Saudi Arabia.

"We are sharing comprehensive data about 5,929 accounts which we have removed for violating our platform manipulation policies," the micro-blogging site said on its public blog post.

"Rigorous investigations by our site Integrity team have allowed us to attribute these accounts to a significant state-backed information operation on Twitter originating in Saudi Arabia," Twitter stated.

The company also said that these accounts represented the "the core position of a larger network of more than 88,000 accounts engaged in spammy behaviour across a wide range of topics".

"Primarily, accounts were amplifying messages favourable to Saudi authorities, mainly through inauthentic engagement tactics such as aggressive liking, retweeting and replying," Twitter said.

"While the majority of the content from this network was in Arabic, a portion of it related to events relevant to Western audiences, including amplification of discussion around sanctions in Iran and appearances by Saudi government officials in Western media, " the company also said.

The company's investigations have "traced the source of the coordinated activity to Smaat," a social media marketing and management company based in Saudi Arabia.

"Our in-house technical indicators show that Smaat appears to have created, purchased, and/or managed these accounts on behalf of, but not necessarily with the knowledge of, their clients."

The company further informed that it has permanently suspended Smaat and its executives' access to the site. &nbsp;

"We have permanently suspended Smaat’s access to our service as a result, as well as the Twitter accounts of Smaat’s senior executives. Smaat managed a range of Twitter accounts for high-profile individuals, as well as many government departments in Saudi Arabia."

In September, Twitter suspended the account of former Saudi royal court adviser Saud al-Qahtani.

Without disclosing the specific reason behind the account suspension, Twitter has said he had violated the company’s "platform manipulation" policies.

The social network has also separately removed accounts linked to Saudi Arabia's "state-run media apparatus" and others in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, all of them amplifying pro-Saudi messages.

&nbsp;

Twitter on Friday suspended thousands of accounts which it said were linked "to a significant state-backed information operation" originated in Saudi Arabia. "We are sharing comprehensive data about 5,929 accounts which we have removed for violating our platform manipulation policies," the micro-blogging site said on its public blog post.

Twitter on Friday suspended thousands of accounts which it said were linked "to a significant state-backed information operation" originated in Saudi Arabia. "We are sharing comprehensive data about 5,929 accounts which we have removed for violating our platform manipulation policies," the micro-blogging site said on its public blog post. "Rigorous investigations by our site Integrity team have allowed us to attribute these accounts to a significant state-backed information operation on Twitter originating in Saudi Arabia," Twitter stated. The company also said that these accounts represented the "the core position of a larger network of more than 88,000 accounts engaged in spammy behaviour across a wide range of topics". "Primarily, accounts were amplifying messages favourable to Saudi authorities, mainly through inauthentic engagement tactics such as aggressive liking, retweeting and replying," Twitter said. "While the majority of the content from this network was in Arabic, a portion of it related to events relevant to Western audiences, including amplification of discussion around sanctions in Iran and appearances by Saudi government officials in Western media, " the company also said. The company's investigations have "traced the source of the coordinated activity to Smaat," a social media marketing and management company based in Saudi Arabia. "Our in-house technical indicators show that Smaat appears to have created, purchased, and/or managed these accounts on behalf of, but not necessarily with the knowledge of, their clients." The company further informed that it has permanently suspended Smaat and its executives' access to the site. "We have permanently suspended Smaat’s access to our service as a result, as well as the Twitter accounts of Smaat’s senior executives. Smaat managed a range of Twitter accounts for high-profile individuals, as well as many government departments in Saudi Arabia." In September, Twitter suspended the account of former Saudi royal court adviser Saud al-Qahtani. Without disclosing the specific reason behind the account suspension, Twitter has said he had violated the company’s "platform manipulation" policies. The social network has also separately removed accounts linked to Saudi Arabia's "state-run media apparatus" and others in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, all of them amplifying pro-Saudi messages.

Twitter suspends thousands of accounts that were 'linked to Saudi Arabia'

The US President Donald Trump on Thursday mocked teenage climate activist <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/the-power-of-youth-greta-thunberg-named-time-magazines-person-of-the-year-267728">Greta Thunberg after she was named Time's Person of the year for 2019</a>.

Reprising his ridicule of 16-year-old Thunberg, Trump said, "Greta must work on her Anger Management problem" and advised her to go to a "good old-fashioned movie".

&nbsp;"So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!"

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So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill! <a href="https://t.co/M8ZtS8okzE">https://t.co/M8ZtS8okzE</a>
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Meanwhile, soon after Trump's Tweet, Greta also swiftly responded to the tweet by changing her Twitter bio to "A teenager working on her anger management problem."

"Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend," her bio also read.

<img alt="Greta Thunberg Twitter bio" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="05c77c79-bb93-49bb-9aac-5988973063ee" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Greta%20Thunberg.JPG" />

The latest exchange came a day after Time magazine named teenage climate activist from Sweden Greta Thunberg as Times person of the year 2019.

The magazine ran the story with the subtitle ''The Power of Youth'' on the cover page.

Thunberg has remained at the helm of climate change advocacy and has constantly urged prominent world leaders to find viable long-term solutions.

Seen as a spokesperson for the new generation, the 16-year-old gained traction after a solo strike outside the Swedish parliament last year.

Thunberg also made headlines after her fiery speech at the United Nations climate summit where she thundered over world leaders for failing to take measure to stop global warming.

She accused them of betraying her generation by failing to tackle greenhouse gas emissions and asking "How dare you?"

The US President Donald Trump on Thursday mocked teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg after she was named Time's Person of the year for 2019. Reprising his ridicule of 16-year-old Thunberg, Trump said, "Greta must work on her Anger Management problem" and advised her to go to a "good old-fashioned movie".

The US President Donald Trump on Thursday mocked teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg after she was named Time's Person of the year for 2019. Reprising his ridicule of 16-year-old Thunberg, Trump said, "Greta must work on her Anger Management problem" and advised her to go to a "good old-fashioned movie". "So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!" So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill! https://t.co/M8ZtS8okzE — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2019 × Meanwhile, soon after Trump's Tweet, Greta also swiftly responded to the tweet by changing her Twitter bio to "A teenager working on her anger management problem." "Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend," her bio also read. The latest exchange came a day after Time magazine named teenage climate activist from Sweden Greta Thunberg as Times person of the year 2019. The magazine ran the story with the subtitle ''The Power of Youth'' on the cover page. Thunberg has remained at the helm of climate change advocacy and has constantly urged prominent world leaders to find viable long-term solutions. Seen as a spokesperson for the new generation, the 16-year-old gained traction after a solo strike outside the Swedish parliament last year. Thunberg also made headlines after her fiery speech at the United Nations climate summit where she thundered over world leaders for failing to take measure to stop global warming. She accused them of betraying her generation by failing to tackle greenhouse gas emissions and asking "How dare you?"

Teenager working on anger management: Greta Thunberg's Twitter bio after Trump mocks her

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/twitter-makes-global-changes-to-comply-with-privacy-laws-265881">Twitter Inc</a>&nbsp;plans to set up an independent research group to create an "open and decentralized" system for social networks, CEO <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/we-believe-political-message-reach-should-be-earned-not-bought-jack-dorsey-259116">Jack Dorsey</a> said on Wednesday, which could relieve pressure on the company to appease critics of its content policies but also give rise to a new crop of competitors.

The system, or "standard," would not be owned by any single private company, Dorsey said and would enable individuals to use a variety of services to access the same network, just like they choose different email providers to see the same messages.

Policing speech on social media sites has required hefty investments while still failing to stem criticism from users who find the policies either too aggressive or too lax.

"Centralized enforcement of global policy to address abuse and misleading information is unlikely to scale over the long-term without placing far too much burden on people," Dorsey tweeted.

He said the new approach would also allow Twitter to "focus our efforts on building open recommendation algorithms which promote healthy conversation and will force us to be far more innovative than in the past."

The idea, as outlined in articles Dorsey shared, is that developers could use their own algorithms to offer like-minded individuals targeted access to the same social media networks.

For instance, an individual could sign up with a provider that would aggressively filter out racist material, or another that would promote conversations over other types of content.

The open standard, however, could upend Twitter's business model in the process, giving rise to competitor services that offer filters, content suggestions or other tools that prove more popular with consumers.

In an article that Dorsey shared called "Protocols, Not Platforms," tech news site Techdirt founder Mike Masnick outlined how an open standard could give rise to a "competition for business models" among developers.

Some providers might collect less user data for ads, while others might abandon advertising altogether, instead of charging users for access to premium services like filters or data storage, Masnick wrote.

Dorsey said Twitter's chief technology officer, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/parag-agrawal-iit-alumnus-is-twitters-new-cto-35224">Parag Agrawal</a>, will be in charge of hiring a lead for the research team, called BlueSky. Twitter will fund the project, which will take many years to complete, but will not direct it, he said.

He went on to suggest that blockchain technology might provide a model for decentralizing content hosting, oversight and even monetization of social media, without elaborating on possible alternatives to Twitter's ad-driven business.

Twitter Inc plans to set up an independent research group to create an "open and decentralized" system for social networks, CEO Jack Dorsey said on Wednesday, which could relieve pressure on the company to appease critics of its content policies but also give rise to a new crop of competitors.

Twitter Inc plans to set up an independent research group to create an "open and decentralized" system for social networks, CEO Jack Dorsey said on Wednesday, which could relieve pressure on the company to appease critics of its content policies but also give rise to a new crop of competitors. The system, or "standard," would not be owned by any single private company, Dorsey said and would enable individuals to use a variety of services to access the same network, just like they choose different email providers to see the same messages. Policing speech on social media sites has required hefty investments while still failing to stem criticism from users who find the policies either too aggressive or too lax. "Centralized enforcement of global policy to address abuse and misleading information is unlikely to scale over the long-term without placing far too much burden on people," Dorsey tweeted. He said the new approach would also allow Twitter to "focus our efforts on building open recommendation algorithms which promote healthy conversation and will force us to be far more innovative than in the past." The idea, as outlined in articles Dorsey shared, is that developers could use their own algorithms to offer like-minded individuals targeted access to the same social media networks. For instance, an individual could sign up with a provider that would aggressively filter out racist material, or another that would promote conversations over other types of content. The open standard, however, could upend Twitter's business model in the process, giving rise to competitor services that offer filters, content suggestions or other tools that prove more popular with consumers. In an article that Dorsey shared called "Protocols, Not Platforms," tech news site Techdirt founder Mike Masnick outlined how an open standard could give rise to a "competition for business models" among developers. Some providers might collect less user data for ads, while others might abandon advertising altogether, instead of charging users for access to premium services like filters or data storage, Masnick wrote. Dorsey said Twitter's chief technology officer, Parag Agrawal, will be in charge of hiring a lead for the research team, called BlueSky. Twitter will fund the project, which will take many years to complete, but will not direct it, he said. He went on to suggest that blockchain technology might provide a model for decentralizing content hosting, oversight and even monetization of social media, without elaborating on possible alternatives to Twitter's ad-driven business.

Twitter plans to build 'decentralized standard' for social networks

One-third Americans rely on news platforms they acknowledge are less reliable: Study

Restaurants in Saudi Arabia will no longer need to maintain entrances segregated by sex, the authorities said on Sunday, further eroding some of the world's strictest social rules as sweeping reforms take hold.

Previously, Saudi Arabia required all restaurants to have one entrance for families and women, and another for men on their own. The ministry of municipalities and rural affairs announced on Twitter this would no longer be mandatory.

Unrelated men and women have for decades been barred from mixing in public places under strict social rules once enforced by hardline clerics and the religious police.

But Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has brought the religious establishment to heel -- partly by arresting critics -- and eased other restrictions, including bans on women driving and public entertainment.

Segregation has quietly eased over the past year or so, as eateries, cafes, conference centres and concert halls stopped strictly enforcing it.

A spokesman for the ministry contacted by Reuters did not specify whether segregated seating areas inside restaurants would also be eliminated. The new rules are not compulsory, meaning restaurants could still maintain separate entrances if owners choose to do so, he said.

There was no announcement of changes to other public establishments, such as schools and hospitals, which appear likely to remain segregated for now.

Saudi Arabia, one of the world's most gender-segregated nations, has also been chipping away at a guardianship system which requires all women have a male relative's approval for important decisions, though some key restrictions remain.

Social openness has been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent that has seen the arrests of dozens of clerics, intellectuals and activists, including women who had campaigned for some of the freedoms that have lately been granted.

It has also raised concerns about a possible backlash by conservatives, though there has so far been little concrete pushback.

The crown prince, 34, is the heir to the Saudi throne and de facto ruler. If and when he replaces his father, King Salman, he would be the first Saudi monarch from a new generation after a succession of six brothers that have ruled since 1953.

Prince Mohammed's reputation in the West as a bold reformer suffered after the murder of US-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed by Saudi agents last year inside the kingdom's Istanbul consulate.

Restaurants in Saudi Arabia will no longer need to maintain entrances segregated by sex, the authorities said on Sunday, further eroding some of the world's strictest social rules as sweeping reforms take hold.

Restaurants in Saudi Arabia will no longer need to maintain entrances segregated by sex, the authorities said on Sunday, further eroding some of the world's strictest social rules as sweeping reforms take hold. Previously, Saudi Arabia required all restaurants to have one entrance for families and women, and another for men on their own. The ministry of municipalities and rural affairs announced on Twitter this would no longer be mandatory. Unrelated men and women have for decades been barred from mixing in public places under strict social rules once enforced by hardline clerics and the religious police. But Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has brought the religious establishment to heel -- partly by arresting critics -- and eased other restrictions, including bans on women driving and public entertainment. Segregation has quietly eased over the past year or so, as eateries, cafes, conference centres and concert halls stopped strictly enforcing it. A spokesman for the ministry contacted by Reuters did not specify whether segregated seating areas inside restaurants would also be eliminated. The new rules are not compulsory, meaning restaurants could still maintain separate entrances if owners choose to do so, he said. There was no announcement of changes to other public establishments, such as schools and hospitals, which appear likely to remain segregated for now. Saudi Arabia, one of the world's most gender-segregated nations, has also been chipping away at a guardianship system which requires all women have a male relative's approval for important decisions, though some key restrictions remain. Social openness has been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent that has seen the arrests of dozens of clerics, intellectuals and activists, including women who had campaigned for some of the freedoms that have lately been granted. It has also raised concerns about a possible backlash by conservatives, though there has so far been little concrete pushback. The crown prince, 34, is the heir to the Saudi throne and de facto ruler. If and when he replaces his father, King Salman, he would be the first Saudi monarch from a new generation after a succession of six brothers that have ruled since 1953. Prince Mohammed's reputation in the West as a bold reformer suffered after the murder of US-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed by Saudi agents last year inside the kingdom's Istanbul consulate.

Saudi Arabia ends gender-segregated entrances for restaurants

Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk emerged victorious on Friday from a closely watched defamation trial as a federal court jury swiftly rejected the $190 million claim brought against him by a British cave explorer who Musk had branded a "pedo guy" on Twitter.

The unanimous verdict by a panel of five women and three men was returned after roughly 45 minutes of deliberation on the fourth day of Musk's trial. Legal experts believe it was the first major defamation lawsuit brought by a private individual over remarks on Twitter to be decided by a jury.

The outcome was a triumph for Musk, whose mercurial behaviour in a number of instances last year came under close scrutiny from federal regulators and shareholders of Tesla, his Silicon Valley-based electric car manufacturer.

The jury's decision signals a higher legal threshold for challenging potentially libellous Twitter comments, said L. Lin Wood, the high-profile trial lawyer who led the legal team for the plaintiff, Vernon Unsworth.

Watch:&nbsp;Elon Musk wins case over 'Pedo Guy' tweet

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"This verdict puts everyone's reputation at risk," Wood told reporters after the verdict was announced.

Other lawyers specializing in defamation agreed the verdict reflects how the freewheeling nature of social media has altered understandings of what distinguishes libel punishable in court from casual rhetoric and hyperbole protected as free speech.

Musk, 48, who had testified during the first two days of the trial in his own defence and returned to court on Friday to hear closing arguments, exited the courtroom after the verdict and said: "My faith in humanity is restored."

'Take it on the chin'

Outside the courthouse, Unsworth, 64, said he was resigned to his defeat. "I accept the jury's verdict, take it on the chin and get on with my life."

Wood said his client went "toe to toe with a billionaire bully," echoing a phrase from his summation earlier in court, and indicated to reporters that an appeal was doubtful.

"It's not the verdict we wanted. But it's the end of the road and we now close this chapter," Wood said.

He said he nevertheless saw the lawsuit as meaningful in helping erase the stain he said Unsworth's reputation suffered.

During the course of the trial, Musk testified under oath that his use of the term "pedo guy" - slang for paedophile - was never meant to be taken literally, and he apologised to Unsworth for the comment from the witness stand.

The case stems from a public quarrel between Musk and Unsworth, a British diver who lives part-time in Thailand and gained fame for his leading role in coordinating the successful rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in that country in July 2018.

Unsworth had chided Musk in a CNN interview for delivering a mini-submarine, which was never used, to the site of the Tham Luang Nang Non-cave system. Unsworth called Musk's intervention a "PR" stunt and said the high-tech entrepreneur should "stick his submarine where it hurts."

Three tweets

Musk responded two days later on Twitter with three posts that became the basis of the defamation case. The first questioned Unsworth's role in the rescue, while the second said, "Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it."

The third tweet, in reply to a follower who asked Musk about the second tweet, said, "Bet ya a signed dollar it's true."

Wood said during his summation that Musk's tweets were akin to a "nuclear bomb" that would overshadow Unsworth's relationships and job prospects for years to come and urged jurors to teach the Tesla chief executive and SpaceX founder a lesson by awarding Unsworth $190 million, including $150 million in punitive damages.

Two days earlier, under questioning on the witness stand, Musk had estimated his net worth at $20 billion.

But the jury was apparently swayed by the arguments put forth by Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro, who said the tweets in question amounted to an off-hand insult in the midst of an argument, which no one could be expected to take seriously.

"In arguments you insult people," he said. "No bomb went off."

The defence also said Unsworth failed to demonstrate any harm from the Twitter comments and even tried to profit from his role in the rescue, which won him plaudits from the Thai and British governments.

US District Judge Stephen Wilson had said the case hinged on whether a reasonable person would take Musk's Twitter statements to mean he was actually calling Unsworth a paedophile.

To win, Unsworth needed to show that Musk was negligent in publishing a falsehood that clearly identified the plaintiff and caused him harm. "Actual malice" on Musk's part, a high standard in defamation cases, did not need to be proven since the judge deemed Unsworth a private individual, not a public figure.

The trial revived discussion of Musk’s erratic behaviour in 2018, when he used Twitter to float a leveraged buyout proposal for Tesla that was scuttled, ultimately paying $20 million to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint.

For most of 2019, Musk, who has nearly 30 million Twitter followers, has largely kept his public comments focused on Tesla’s new models and improved profitability and on the technical progress of his aerospace company, SpaceX.

Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk emerged victorious on Friday from a closely watched defamation trial as a federal court jury swiftly rejected the $190 million claim brought against him by a British cave explorer who Musk had branded a "pedo guy" on Twitter.

Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk emerged victorious on Friday from a closely watched defamation trial as a federal court jury swiftly rejected the $190 million claim brought against him by a British cave explorer who Musk had branded a "pedo guy" on Twitter. The unanimous verdict by a panel of five women and three men was returned after roughly 45 minutes of deliberation on the fourth day of Musk's trial. Legal experts believe it was the first major defamation lawsuit brought by a private individual over remarks on Twitter to be decided by a jury. The outcome was a triumph for Musk, whose mercurial behaviour in a number of instances last year came under close scrutiny from federal regulators and shareholders of Tesla, his Silicon Valley-based electric car manufacturer. The jury's decision signals a higher legal threshold for challenging potentially libellous Twitter comments, said L. Lin Wood, the high-profile trial lawyer who led the legal team for the plaintiff, Vernon Unsworth. Watch: Elon Musk wins case over 'Pedo Guy' tweet × "This verdict puts everyone's reputation at risk," Wood told reporters after the verdict was announced. Other lawyers specializing in defamation agreed the verdict reflects how the freewheeling nature of social media has altered understandings of what distinguishes libel punishable in court from casual rhetoric and hyperbole protected as free speech. Musk, 48, who had testified during the first two days of the trial in his own defence and returned to court on Friday to hear closing arguments, exited the courtroom after the verdict and said: "My faith in humanity is restored." 'Take it on the chin' Outside the courthouse, Unsworth, 64, said he was resigned to his defeat. "I accept the jury's verdict, take it on the chin and get on with my life." Wood said his client went "toe to toe with a billionaire bully," echoing a phrase from his summation earlier in court, and indicated to reporters that an appeal was doubtful. "It's not the verdict we wanted. But it's the end of the road and we now close this chapter," Wood said. He said he nevertheless saw the lawsuit as meaningful in helping erase the stain he said Unsworth's reputation suffered. During the course of the trial, Musk testified under oath that his use of the term "pedo guy" - slang for paedophile - was never meant to be taken literally, and he apologised to Unsworth for the comment from the witness stand. The case stems from a public quarrel between Musk and Unsworth, a British diver who lives part-time in Thailand and gained fame for his leading role in coordinating the successful rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in that country in July 2018. Unsworth had chided Musk in a CNN interview for delivering a mini-submarine, which was never used, to the site of the Tham Luang Nang Non-cave system. Unsworth called Musk's intervention a "PR" stunt and said the high-tech entrepreneur should "stick his submarine where it hurts." Three tweets Musk responded two days later on Twitter with three posts that became the basis of the defamation case. The first questioned Unsworth's role in the rescue, while the second said, "Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it." The third tweet, in reply to a follower who asked Musk about the second tweet, said, "Bet ya a signed dollar it's true." Wood said during his summation that Musk's tweets were akin to a "nuclear bomb" that would overshadow Unsworth's relationships and job prospects for years to come and urged jurors to teach the Tesla chief executive and SpaceX founder a lesson by awarding Unsworth $190 million, including $150 million in punitive damages. Two days earlier, under questioning on the witness stand, Musk had estimated his net worth at $20 billion. But the jury was apparently swayed by the arguments put forth by Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro, who said the tweets in question amounted to an off-hand insult in the midst of an argument, which no one could be expected to take seriously. "In arguments you insult people," he said. "No bomb went off." The defence also said Unsworth failed to demonstrate any harm from the Twitter comments and even tried to profit from his role in the rescue, which won him plaudits from the Thai and British governments. US District Judge Stephen Wilson had said the case hinged on whether a reasonable person would take Musk's Twitter statements to mean he was actually calling Unsworth a paedophile. To win, Unsworth needed to show that Musk was negligent in publishing a falsehood that clearly identified the plaintiff and caused him harm. "Actual malice" on Musk's part, a high standard in defamation cases, did not need to be proven since the judge deemed Unsworth a private individual, not a public figure. The trial revived discussion of Musk’s erratic behaviour in 2018, when he used Twitter to float a leveraged buyout proposal for Tesla that was scuttled, ultimately paying $20 million to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint. For most of 2019, Musk, who has nearly 30 million Twitter followers, has largely kept his public comments focused on Tesla’s new models and improved profitability and on the technical progress of his aerospace company, SpaceX.

Tesla boss Elon Musk wins defamation trial over his 'pedo guy' tweet

The&nbsp;British&nbsp;cave explorer suing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/elon-musk-due-back-on-witness-stand-in-defamation-trial-stemming-from-tweets-266207">Elon&nbsp;Musk</a>&nbsp;for calling him a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pedo-guy-tweet-not-meant-to-be-taken-literally-elon-musk-266052">"pedo guy"</a> on Twitter testified on Thursday that his criticism of the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/musk-suggests-tesla-has-200000-orders-for-cybertruck-264354">Tesla Inc</a> chief executive that led to the tweet was not a personal attack.

In the&nbsp;defamation&nbsp;trial's third day, Vernon Unsworth also refused to apologize for a July 13, 2018, CNN interview in which he said that&nbsp;Musk's offer of a mini-submarine to help rescue a boys' soccer team&nbsp;from&nbsp;a flooded Thailand cave was a "PR stunt" and&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;could "stick his submarine where it hurts."

"My insult was to the tube and not to Mr.&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;personally," Unsworth said while being cross-examined by Bill Price, one of&nbsp;Musk's lawyers. "I'm not sure how I need to apologize. It was my opinion at the time and I stand by that opinion."

Unsworth's lawsuit focuses on three&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;tweets on July 15, 2018, five days after the&nbsp;diver&nbsp;helped complete the rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach&nbsp;from&nbsp;the cave.

Musk's first tweet questioned Unsworth's role in the rescue, while the second said, "Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it." The third tweet, in response to a follower who asked&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;about the second tweet, said: "Bet ya a signed dollar it's true."

Unsworth, 64, said the tweets harmed his reputation by branding him a pedophile and a liar and said on Wednesday they left him "humiliated, ashamed, dirtied."

His lawsuit seeks unspecified damages&nbsp;from&nbsp;Musk, who told the court this week his net worth is around $20 billion.

Legal experts are closely watching the case because it is believed to be the first major&nbsp;defamation&nbsp;lawsuit brought by a private individual to go to&nbsp;trial&nbsp;over a tweet.

Musk, 48, who was questioned throughout the afternoon on Tuesday by Unsworth's lawyer, has maintained his composure. He apologized to Unsworth and suggested to jurors the stress of working 80 to 100 hours a week during a challenging period for Tesla contributed to the outburst.

Jurors are expected to begin deliberations Friday after Judge Stephen Wilson formally instructs them before the two sides give closing arguments. Wilson rejected a motion&nbsp;from&nbsp;Musk's lawyers to dismiss the case.

The Unsworth&nbsp;trial&nbsp;has revived discussion of&nbsp;Musk’s erratic behavior during 2018 when he also used Twitter to float a leveraged buyout proposal for Tesla that was scuttled and ultimately led to&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;paying $20 million to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint.

For most of this year, however,&nbsp;Musk, who has nearly 30 million Twitter followers, has largely kept his public comments focused on Tesla’s new models and improved profitability and on the technical progress of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science-tech/spacex-hails-revolution-after-recycled-rocket-launch-landing-14001">SpaceX</a>.

Musk's lawyers on Thursday tried to weaken the&nbsp;defamation&nbsp;argument, suggesting Unsworth's reputation was unsullied and that he even tried to profit&nbsp;from&nbsp;his role in the rescue, which won him plaudits&nbsp;from&nbsp;the Thai and&nbsp;British&nbsp;governments.

Asked if there was talk of his being a pedophile at a 10 Downing Street event where he stood next to Theresa May, then Britain's prime minister, Unsworth said: "Not that I recall."

Unsworth's legal team called expert witness Jim Jansen who said the&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;tweets were disseminated widely in the news media - 490 English language articles in 33 countries.

They also called Unsworth's estranged wife who gave him a character endorsement, despite the fact that Unsworth is living with his girlfriend part of the time in Thailand.

The "pedo-guy" tweet was "totally false", she said.

In his own testimony,&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;dismissed his tweets as an "off the cuff" response to watching a replay of Unsworth's CNN interview, at a time he felt overworked&nbsp;from&nbsp;running Tesla, which makes electric cars, and SpaceX, a rocket company that offered the mini-submarine.

To win his lawsuit, Unsworth needs to show&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;was negligent in publishing a falsehood that clearly identified him and caused him harm. He does not need to show that&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;acted with "actual malice," which is much tougher to prove.

The British cave explorer suing Elon Musk for calling him a "pedo guy" on Twitter testified on Thursday that his criticism of the Tesla Inc chief executive that led to the tweet was not a personal attack.

The British cave explorer suing Elon Musk for calling him a "pedo guy" on Twitter testified on Thursday that his criticism of the Tesla Inc chief executive that led to the tweet was not a personal attack. In the defamation trial's third day, Vernon Unsworth also refused to apologize for a July 13, 2018, CNN interview in which he said that Musk's offer of a mini-submarine to help rescue a boys' soccer team from a flooded Thailand cave was a "PR stunt" and Musk could "stick his submarine where it hurts." "My insult was to the tube and not to Mr. Musk personally," Unsworth said while being cross-examined by Bill Price, one of Musk's lawyers. "I'm not sure how I need to apologize. It was my opinion at the time and I stand by that opinion." Unsworth's lawsuit focuses on three Musk tweets on July 15, 2018, five days after the diver helped complete the rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from the cave. Musk's first tweet questioned Unsworth's role in the rescue, while the second said, "Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it." The third tweet, in response to a follower who asked Musk about the second tweet, said: "Bet ya a signed dollar it's true." Unsworth, 64, said the tweets harmed his reputation by branding him a pedophile and a liar and said on Wednesday they left him "humiliated, ashamed, dirtied." His lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from Musk, who told the court this week his net worth is around $20 billion. Legal experts are closely watching the case because it is believed to be the first major defamation lawsuit brought by a private individual to go to trial over a tweet. Musk, 48, who was questioned throughout the afternoon on Tuesday by Unsworth's lawyer, has maintained his composure. He apologized to Unsworth and suggested to jurors the stress of working 80 to 100 hours a week during a challenging period for Tesla contributed to the outburst. Jurors are expected to begin deliberations Friday after Judge Stephen Wilson formally instructs them before the two sides give closing arguments. Wilson rejected a motion from Musk's lawyers to dismiss the case. The Unsworth trial has revived discussion of Musk’s erratic behavior during 2018 when he also used Twitter to float a leveraged buyout proposal for Tesla that was scuttled and ultimately led to Musk paying $20 million to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint. For most of this year, however, Musk, who has nearly 30 million Twitter followers, has largely kept his public comments focused on Tesla’s new models and improved profitability and on the technical progress of SpaceX. Musk's lawyers on Thursday tried to weaken the defamation argument, suggesting Unsworth's reputation was unsullied and that he even tried to profit from his role in the rescue, which won him plaudits from the Thai and British governments. Asked if there was talk of his being a pedophile at a 10 Downing Street event where he stood next to Theresa May, then Britain's prime minister, Unsworth said: "Not that I recall." Unsworth's legal team called expert witness Jim Jansen who said the Musk tweets were disseminated widely in the news media - 490 English language articles in 33 countries. They also called Unsworth's estranged wife who gave him a character endorsement, despite the fact that Unsworth is living with his girlfriend part of the time in Thailand. The "pedo-guy" tweet was "totally false", she said. In his own testimony, Musk dismissed his tweets as an "off the cuff" response to watching a replay of Unsworth's CNN interview, at a time he felt overworked from running Tesla, which makes electric cars, and SpaceX, a rocket company that offered the mini-submarine. To win his lawsuit, Unsworth needs to show Musk was negligent in publishing a falsehood that clearly identified him and caused him harm. He does not need to show that Musk acted with "actual malice," which is much tougher to prove.

No apology to Elon Musk from British diver at 'pedo guy' defamation trial

The top&nbsp;US&nbsp;solar&nbsp;industry&nbsp;trade group on Wednesday urged members to use social media to hit back in a dispute with the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/washington-airspace-alert-sparks-white-house-lockdown-264738">White&nbsp;House</a>&nbsp;over whether the Trump administration's tariffs on imported panels are killing or creating American jobs.

The&nbsp;Solar&nbsp;Energy&nbsp;Industry&nbsp;Association's call to action came a day after it released a study saying the levies would cost 62,000 jobs and $19 billion in clean energy investments. The study is part of a strategy to persuade President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/global-stocks-rattled-after-donald-trump-says-no-deadline-on-us-china-trade-deal-266025">Donald Trump</a> to reduce or end the four-year tariff regime implemented early last year.

The study prompted a withering rebuttal from Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro, who called the estimate&nbsp;"fake news" and the association "a loose confederation of Chinese&nbsp;solar&nbsp;companies seeking to destroy American&nbsp;solar&nbsp;manufacturing jobs."

In an email to the&nbsp;solar&nbsp;group's public relations committee on Wednesday, Dan Whitten, it's vice president of public affairs, asked that members post photos of&nbsp;US&nbsp;solar&nbsp;workers online with the phrase: "Mr. Peter Navarro, I am an American&nbsp;solar&nbsp;worker. #StopSolarTariffs @WhiteHouse&nbsp;&amp; @USTradeRep".

"We need your help to punch back," said the email, which was seen by Reuters. "We need to engage our workers in a&nbsp;Twitter&nbsp;campaign&nbsp;to hit back."

SEIA's president, Abigail Hopper, issued a statement in response to Navarro's comments saying: "We'd be thrilled if Mr. Navarro would come to one of our conferences to meet some of the 240,000 Americans who work in this great&nbsp;industry, including the tens of thousands of people who manufacture&nbsp;solar&nbsp;products."

Trump's tariff program on imported panels was his opening salvo in a trade war aimed at helping&nbsp;US&nbsp;manufacturers rebound from years of decline due to foreign competition.&nbsp;Solar&nbsp;installers opposed the tariffs because they rely on cheap imported panels to compete with fossil fuels.

The levies started at 30 per cent&nbsp;and were designed to drop by five percentage points each year.

The report, whose gloomy forecasts were based on that rate regime, came out two days before a scheduled mid-term review of the tariff program by the International Trade Commission that could influence whether Trump maintains, changes or cancels it.

Most panels installed in the United States are made in Asia. Despite the tariffs, panel prices have continued to fall due to an oversupply in top producer China, which cut incentives on installations, unleashing a flood of&nbsp;solar&nbsp;products onto the global market.

The top US solar industry trade group on Wednesday urged members to use social media to hit back in a dispute with the White House over whether the Trump administration's tariffs on imported panels are killing or creating American jobs.

The top US solar industry trade group on Wednesday urged members to use social media to hit back in a dispute with the White House over whether the Trump administration's tariffs on imported panels are killing or creating American jobs. The Solar Energy Industry Association's call to action came a day after it released a study saying the levies would cost 62,000 jobs and $19 billion in clean energy investments. The study is part of a strategy to persuade President Donald Trump to reduce or end the four-year tariff regime implemented early last year. The study prompted a withering rebuttal from Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro, who called the estimate "fake news" and the association "a loose confederation of Chinese solar companies seeking to destroy American solar manufacturing jobs." In an email to the solar group's public relations committee on Wednesday, Dan Whitten, it's vice president of public affairs, asked that members post photos of US solar workers online with the phrase: "Mr. Peter Navarro, I am an American solar worker. #StopSolarTariffs @WhiteHouse & @USTradeRep". "We need your help to punch back," said the email, which was seen by Reuters. "We need to engage our workers in a Twitter campaign to hit back." SEIA's president, Abigail Hopper, issued a statement in response to Navarro's comments saying: "We'd be thrilled if Mr. Navarro would come to one of our conferences to meet some of the 240,000 Americans who work in this great industry, including the tens of thousands of people who manufacture solar products." Trump's tariff program on imported panels was his opening salvo in a trade war aimed at helping US manufacturers rebound from years of decline due to foreign competition. Solar installers opposed the tariffs because they rely on cheap imported panels to compete with fossil fuels. The levies started at 30 per cent and were designed to drop by five percentage points each year. The report, whose gloomy forecasts were based on that rate regime, came out two days before a scheduled mid-term review of the tariff program by the International Trade Commission that could influence whether Trump maintains, changes or cancels it. Most panels installed in the United States are made in Asia. Despite the tariffs, panel prices have continued to fall due to an oversupply in top producer China, which cut incentives on installations, unleashing a flood of solar products onto the global market.

US solar industry urged members to use social media to 'hit back' at White house

Tesla Chief Executive <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pedo-guy-tweet-not-meant-to-be-taken-literally-elon-musk-266052">Elon Musk</a> was due to resume testifying in his own defense on Wednesday at the trial for a defamation lawsuit filed by a British diver whom the Silicon Valley billionaire called "pedo guy" on Twitter.

Musk, the 48-year-old South African-born entrepreneur, apologized for the tweet during his first day on the witness stand in US&nbsp;District Court in Los Angeles on Tuesday, saying he was responding to an "unprovoked" insult by plaintiff Vernon Unsworth.

Unsworth was leading a rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand last year when he mocked Musk's offer of a mini-submersible as a public relations stunt in an interview on CNN, adding that the Tesla Inc founder should "stick his submarine where it hurts."

"I assume he did not mean to sodomize me with a submarine. ... Just as I didn't literally mean he was a pedophile," Musk said from the witness stand under questioning by Unsworth's attorney, Lin Wood.

Unsworth is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from Musk, who also founded rocket company SpaceX, saying the false claims that he is a pedophile harmed his reputation.

Musk was called to testify on Tuesday by the plaintiff's lawyers after a jury was selected in the high-profile case and lawyers for both sides delivered opening statements.

US&nbsp;District Judge Stephen Wilson has said the case hinges on whether a reasonable person would take <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/elon-musk-trial-in-us-court-over-pedo-guy-tweet-266004">Musk's tweet</a> to mean that he was calling Unsworth a pedophile.

To win the defamation case, Unsworth needs to show that Musk was negligent in publishing a falsehood that clearly identified the plaintiff and caused him harm. "Actual malice" on Musk's part does not need to be proven because the judge has deemed Unsworth a private individual, not a public figure.

Although the case does not involve&nbsp;Tesla, Musk's Twitter habits have long been under close scrutiny, with the company's investors and regulators expressing concerns about his tweets.

With 29.8 million followers, Musk's social media account is a major source of publicity for his Palo Alto, California-based electric car company, which does not advertise.

In his opening statement, Unsworth attorney Taylor Wilson said the tweet was more than a slip-up, and Musk had wrongly branded Unsworth a predator "in what should have been one of the proudest moments of his life."

Musk lawyer Alex Spiro countered that Unsworth did not act after the tweet like a man who suffered because of it.

"The plaintiff is saying he has been horribly damaged, and deserves money," Spiro said. "He doesn't."

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk was due to resume testifying in his own defense on Wednesday at the trial for a defamation lawsuit filed by a British diver whom the Silicon Valley billionaire called "pedo guy" on Twitter.

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk was due to resume testifying in his own defense on Wednesday at the trial for a defamation lawsuit filed by a British diver whom the Silicon Valley billionaire called "pedo guy" on Twitter. Musk, the 48-year-old South African-born entrepreneur, apologized for the tweet during his first day on the witness stand in US District Court in Los Angeles on Tuesday, saying he was responding to an "unprovoked" insult by plaintiff Vernon Unsworth. Unsworth was leading a rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand last year when he mocked Musk's offer of a mini-submersible as a public relations stunt in an interview on CNN, adding that the Tesla Inc founder should "stick his submarine where it hurts." "I assume he did not mean to sodomize me with a submarine. ... Just as I didn't literally mean he was a pedophile," Musk said from the witness stand under questioning by Unsworth's attorney, Lin Wood. Unsworth is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages from Musk, who also founded rocket company SpaceX, saying the false claims that he is a pedophile harmed his reputation. Musk was called to testify on Tuesday by the plaintiff's lawyers after a jury was selected in the high-profile case and lawyers for both sides delivered opening statements. US District Judge Stephen Wilson has said the case hinges on whether a reasonable person would take Musk's tweet to mean that he was calling Unsworth a pedophile. To win the defamation case, Unsworth needs to show that Musk was negligent in publishing a falsehood that clearly identified the plaintiff and caused him harm. "Actual malice" on Musk's part does not need to be proven because the judge has deemed Unsworth a private individual, not a public figure. Although the case does not involve Tesla, Musk's Twitter habits have long been under close scrutiny, with the company's investors and regulators expressing concerns about his tweets. With 29.8 million followers, Musk's social media account is a major source of publicity for his Palo Alto, California-based electric car company, which does not advertise. In his opening statement, Unsworth attorney Taylor Wilson said the tweet was more than a slip-up, and Musk had wrongly branded Unsworth a predator "in what should have been one of the proudest moments of his life." Musk lawyer Alex Spiro countered that Unsworth did not act after the tweet like a man who suffered because of it. "The plaintiff is saying he has been horribly damaged, and deserves money," Spiro said. "He doesn't."

Elon Musk due back on witness stand in defamation trial stemming from tweets

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/twitter-tightens-bans-on-political-ads-and-causes-ahead-of-2020-us-election-262497">Twitter&nbsp;Inc</a>&nbsp;is updating its&nbsp;global&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;policy to give users more information about what data advertisers might receive and is launching a site to provide clarity on its data protection efforts, the company said on Monday.

The&nbsp;changes, which will take effect on January 1, 2020, will&nbsp;comply&nbsp;with the California Consumer&nbsp;Privacy&nbsp;Act (CCPA).

The California law requires large businesses to give consumers more transparency and control over their personal information, such as allowing them to request that their data be deleted and to opt-out of having their data sold to third parties.

Social media companies including <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-instagram-down-in-large-parts-of-the-the-world-203174">Facebook Inc </a>and Alphabet Inc's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/google-pay-to-offer-checking-accounts-through-citi-stanford-federal-261964">Google </a>have come under scrutiny on data&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;issues, fuelled by Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal in which personal data were harvested from millions of users without their consent.

Twitter&nbsp;also announced on Monday that it is moving the accounts of users outside of the United States and European Union which were previously contracted by&nbsp;Twitter&nbsp;International Company in Dublin, Ireland, to the San Francisco-based&nbsp;Twitter&nbsp;Inc.

The company said this move would allow it the flexibility to test different settings and controls with these users, such as additional opt-in or opt-out&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;preferences, that would likely be restricted by the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gdpr-eu-data-protection-regulation-comes-into-effect-139663">General Data otectPrion Regulation (GDPR)</a>, Europe's landmark digital&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;law.

"We want to be able to experiment without immediately running afoul of the GDPR provisions,"&nbsp;Twitter's data protection officer Damien Kieran told&nbsp;Reuters&nbsp;in a phone interview.

"The goal is to learn from those experiments and then to provide those same experiences to people all around the world," he said.

The company, which said it has upped its communications about data and security-related disclosures over the last two years, emphasized in a Monday blog post that it was working to upgrade systems and build&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;into new products.

In October,&nbsp;Twitter&nbsp;announced it had found that phone numbers and email addresses used for two-factor authentication may inadvertently have been used for advertising purposes.

Twitter's new&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;site, dubbed the 'Twitter&nbsp;Privacy&nbsp;Center' is part of the company's efforts to showcase its work on data protection and will also give users another route to access and download their data.

Twitter&nbsp;joins other internet companies who have recently staked out their positions ahead of CCPA coming into effect. Last month, Microsoft Corp&nbsp;said it would honor the law throughout the United States and Google told clients that it would let sites and apps using its advertising tools block personalized ads as part of its efforts to&nbsp;comply&nbsp;with CCPA.

Twitter Inc is updating its global privacy policy to give users more information about what data advertisers might receive and is launching a site to provide clarity on its data protection efforts, the company said on Monday.

Twitter Inc is updating its global privacy policy to give users more information about what data advertisers might receive and is launching a site to provide clarity on its data protection efforts, the company said on Monday. The changes, which will take effect on January 1, 2020, will comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The California law requires large businesses to give consumers more transparency and control over their personal information, such as allowing them to request that their data be deleted and to opt-out of having their data sold to third parties. Social media companies including Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google have come under scrutiny on data privacy issues, fuelled by Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal in which personal data were harvested from millions of users without their consent. Twitter also announced on Monday that it is moving the accounts of users outside of the United States and European Union which were previously contracted by Twitter International Company in Dublin, Ireland, to the San Francisco-based Twitter Inc. The company said this move would allow it the flexibility to test different settings and controls with these users, such as additional opt-in or opt-out privacy preferences, that would likely be restricted by the General Data otectPrion Regulation (GDPR), Europe's landmark digital privacy law. "We want to be able to experiment without immediately running afoul of the GDPR provisions," Twitter's data protection officer Damien Kieran told Reuters in a phone interview. "The goal is to learn from those experiments and then to provide those same experiences to people all around the world," he said. The company, which said it has upped its communications about data and security-related disclosures over the last two years, emphasized in a Monday blog post that it was working to upgrade systems and build privacy into new products. In October, Twitter announced it had found that phone numbers and email addresses used for two-factor authentication may inadvertently have been used for advertising purposes. Twitter's new privacy site, dubbed the 'Twitter Privacy Center' is part of the company's efforts to showcase its work on data protection and will also give users another route to access and download their data. Twitter joins other internet companies who have recently staked out their positions ahead of CCPA coming into effect. Last month, Microsoft Corp said it would honor the law throughout the United States and Google told clients that it would let sites and apps using its advertising tools block personalized ads as part of its efforts to comply with CCPA.

Twitter makes global changes to comply with privacy laws

The CEO of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/musk-suggests-tesla-has-200000-orders-for-cybertruck-264354">Tesla</a> and SpaceX, Elon Musk, is due to take the stand to go on trial for a defamation suit filed against him by Vernon Unsworth, British cave explorer who helped with the rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from the Tham Luang Nang Non <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/thailand-cave-rescue-the-survival-story-of-2018-186098">cave in Thailand</a> in July 2018.

Musk in a now-deleted tweet had described Unsworth as a “pedo guy” for which Unsworth is now seeking punitive and compensatory damages for harming his reputation.&nbsp;

The trial which begins on Tuesday before US District Judge Stephen Wilson in Los Angeles is set to last for five days.&nbsp;

The row started with Musk offering a SpaceX mini-submarine to help with the rescue mission in Thailand, to which Unsworth gave a statement to CNN on July 13, 2018, claiming it to be&nbsp; “PR stunt” and that Musk could “stick his submarine where it hurts."

Two days later, Musk took to Twitter to lash out against Unsworth in a series of tweets, including one which said, “Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it."

When questioned about the accusations Musk replied with “bet ya a signed dollar it's true,” all of which were later deleted.&nbsp;

Musk later sent out a tweet expressing apology after Tesla’s stock price dipped by as much as 4 per cent.&nbsp;

“His actions against me do not justify my actions against him...spoken in anger after Mr Unsworth said several untruths and suggested I engage in a sexual act with the mini-sub, which had been built as an act of kindness and according to specifications from the dive team leader,” Musk tweeted.&nbsp;

Judge Wilson earlier denied Musk’s legal team’s request to define Unsworth as a “public figure” due to which Unsworth does not have to provide proof that Musk acted with “actual malice”, lowering the bar necessary to win the case.&nbsp;

Unsworth now only needs to prove negligence on Musk’s side and not an actual intent to defame. Unsworth is required to prove Musk’s comments to be false and that people believed them to be true.&nbsp;

Musk is <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/musk-to-testify-in-own-defense-in-defamation-trial-his-lawyer-says-264544">expected to testify</a> in his own defence with his legal team insisting on not making any out-of-court settlements.&nbsp;

“Pedo guy was a common insult used in South Africa when I was growing up,”&nbsp; said Musk in a court filing in an attempt to have the case thrown out of court, which was claimed to be “offensive to the truth” by Unsworth’s legal team.&nbsp;

"It is synonymous with ‘creepy old man’ and is used to insult a person’s appearance and demeanour, not accuse a person of paedophilia.”

Musk’s legal team has claimed that the tweets were Musk’s opinion, not a statement of fact, and also that Unsworth aimed to gain profit from his role in the rescue mission.&nbsp;

The team also claims that Unsworth’s comments to CNN implying that Musk did not care about the lives of the trapped boys provoked Musk’s response.&nbsp;

The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, is due to take the stand to go on trial for a defamation suit filed against him by Vernon Unsworth, British cave explorer who helped with the rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Thailand in July 2018.

The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, is due to take the stand to go on trial for a defamation suit filed against him by Vernon Unsworth, British cave explorer who helped with the rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Thailand in July 2018. Musk in a now-deleted tweet had described Unsworth as a “pedo guy” for which Unsworth is now seeking punitive and compensatory damages for harming his reputation. The trial which begins on Tuesday before US District Judge Stephen Wilson in Los Angeles is set to last for five days. The row started with Musk offering a SpaceX mini-submarine to help with the rescue mission in Thailand, to which Unsworth gave a statement to CNN on July 13, 2018, claiming it to be “PR stunt” and that Musk could “stick his submarine where it hurts." Two days later, Musk took to Twitter to lash out against Unsworth in a series of tweets, including one which said, “Sorry pedo guy, you really did ask for it." When questioned about the accusations Musk replied with “bet ya a signed dollar it's true,” all of which were later deleted. Musk later sent out a tweet expressing apology after Tesla’s stock price dipped by as much as 4 per cent. “His actions against me do not justify my actions against him...spoken in anger after Mr Unsworth said several untruths and suggested I engage in a sexual act with the mini-sub, which had been built as an act of kindness and according to specifications from the dive team leader,” Musk tweeted. Judge Wilson earlier denied Musk’s legal team’s request to define Unsworth as a “public figure” due to which Unsworth does not have to provide proof that Musk acted with “actual malice”, lowering the bar necessary to win the case. Unsworth now only needs to prove negligence on Musk’s side and not an actual intent to defame. Unsworth is required to prove Musk’s comments to be false and that people believed them to be true. Musk is expected to testify in his own defence with his legal team insisting on not making any out-of-court settlements. “Pedo guy was a common insult used in South Africa when I was growing up,” said Musk in a court filing in an attempt to have the case thrown out of court, which was claimed to be “offensive to the truth” by Unsworth’s legal team. "It is synonymous with ‘creepy old man’ and is used to insult a person’s appearance and demeanour, not accuse a person of paedophilia.” Musk’s legal team has claimed that the tweets were Musk’s opinion, not a statement of fact, and also that Unsworth aimed to gain profit from his role in the rescue mission. The team also claims that Unsworth’s comments to CNN implying that Musk did not care about the lives of the trapped boys provoked Musk’s response.

Elon Musk to go to court in defamation trial over ‘pedo guy’ tweet

Facebook's network of apps consisting of - Facebook, Instagram - suffered a major global outage on Thursday. Users across the globe reported that they were unable to access these social media platforms media files - images, videos, GIFs - on Facebook's services.&nbsp;

Acknowledging the outage Instagram has posted on its official twitter handle that "We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing Facebook’s family of apps, including Instagram. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible. #InstagramDown".

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We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing Facebook’s family of apps, including Instagram. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/InstagramDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#InstagramDown</a>
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Facebook also confirmed the issue on its <a href="https://developers.facebook.com/status/issues/2287293591515186/">service website</a> saying that "We are currently experiencing increased error rates across Facebook Login and the Graph API. Our team is aware of the issue and is working on a fix." 
 
However, this is not the first time that Facebook's and Instagram have suffered a global outage. The social media giant's services - particularly Facebook and Instagram -- suffered one of the worst outages ever back in March, July this year.

(With inputs from agencies)

Facebook's network of apps consisting of - Facebook, Instagram - suffered a major global outage on Thursday. Users across the globe reported that they were unable to access these social media platforms media files - images, videos, GIFs - on Facebook's services.

Facebook's network of apps consisting of - Facebook, Instagram - suffered a major global outage on Thursday. Users across the globe reported that they were unable to access these social media platforms media files - images, videos, GIFs - on Facebook's services. Acknowledging the outage Instagram has posted on its official twitter handle that "We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing Facebook’s family of apps, including Instagram. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible. #InstagramDown". We’re aware that some people are currently having trouble accessing Facebook’s family of apps, including Instagram. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible. #InstagramDown — Instagram (@instagram) November 28, 2019 × Facebook also confirmed the issue on its service website saying that "We are currently experiencing increased error rates across Facebook Login and the Graph API. Our team is aware of the issue and is working on a fix." However, this is not the first time that Facebook's and Instagram have suffered a global outage. The social media giant's services - particularly Facebook and Instagram -- suffered one of the worst outages ever back in March, July this year. (With inputs from agencies)

Facebook and Instagram suffer global outage

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/twitter-accuses-uk-of-misleading-public-in-election-row-263418">Twitter</a> on Thursday began letting users "hide" tweeted replies that could be seen as abusive or harassing in the latest effort by the online platform to create a more welcoming environment.

The move is part of an effort to help users "feel safe and comfortable while talking on Twitter," head of product management Suzanne Xie said in a statement announcing the feature.

Hidden replies can still be peeked at and engaged with by tapping a grey icon that will appear, but they will no longer be active parts of the main exchange that sprang from a tweet, according to Twitter.

"This way, you have more control over the conversations you start, but people can still see the entire conversation," Xie said.

The San Francisco-based company earlier this year introduced the option to hide replies to tweets in some countries, an option that promised to help foster more reasonable online conversations.

Testing showed that it is a useful tool for managing the back-and-forth exchanges tweets can inspire, according to <a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/anu-malik-quits-indian-idol-as-national-commission-for-women-sends-notice-to-channel-263726">Twitter</a>.

During testing, hidden tweets were typically considered "irrelevant, off-topic, or annoying," Xie said.

"We're exploring more options around who can reply to or see specific conversations, and are testing engagement changes to see if these lead to healthier discussions," Twitter said.

The hide-away feature is rolling out globally at twitter.com and in updates to the Twitter mobile app.

Twitter separately in September began letting users hide away unwanted direct messages, providing a new tool to stymie abuse.

Twitter users who receive direct messages from people they don't follow on the platform are able to have such missives automatically routed to a secondary folder.

In 2016, the platform began allowing users to eliminate, or mute, notifications based on keywords, phrases or entire conversations they are not interested in seeing in the effort to stem abusive comments.

Twitter on Thursday began letting users "hide" tweeted replies that could be seen as abusive or harassing in the latest effort by the online platform to create a more welcoming environment.

Twitter on Thursday began letting users "hide" tweeted replies that could be seen as abusive or harassing in the latest effort by the online platform to create a more welcoming environment. The move is part of an effort to help users "feel safe and comfortable while talking on Twitter," head of product management Suzanne Xie said in a statement announcing the feature. Hidden replies can still be peeked at and engaged with by tapping a grey icon that will appear, but they will no longer be active parts of the main exchange that sprang from a tweet, according to Twitter. "This way, you have more control over the conversations you start, but people can still see the entire conversation," Xie said. The San Francisco-based company earlier this year introduced the option to hide replies to tweets in some countries, an option that promised to help foster more reasonable online conversations. Testing showed that it is a useful tool for managing the back-and-forth exchanges tweets can inspire, according to Twitter. During testing, hidden tweets were typically considered "irrelevant, off-topic, or annoying," Xie said. "We're exploring more options around who can reply to or see specific conversations, and are testing engagement changes to see if these lead to healthier discussions," Twitter said. The hide-away feature is rolling out globally at twitter.com and in updates to the Twitter mobile app. Twitter separately in September began letting users hide away unwanted direct messages, providing a new tool to stymie abuse. Twitter users who receive direct messages from people they don't follow on the platform are able to have such missives automatically routed to a secondary folder. In 2016, the platform began allowing users to eliminate, or mute, notifications based on keywords, phrases or entire conversations they are not interested in seeing in the effort to stem abusive comments.

Twitter lets users 'hide' off-course replies to tweets

Twitter accused Britain's governing Conservatives on Wednesday of misleading the public by rebranding themselves as fact-checkers during a <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-pm-labour-leader-face-off-in-first-election-debate-263179">live TV election debate,</a> fuelling concerns about trust in politics.

The Tories also drew complaints from rival parties after renaming their press office Twitter account "factcheckUK" during Prime Minister Boris Johnson's clash with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Tuesday night.

The account fired off real-time rebuttals during the prime-time debate in what the Conservative party argued was a necessary corrective to Labour's "nonsense" claims.

But a Twitter spokeswoman warned that rules were in place to "prohibit behaviour that can mislead people, including those with verified accounts".

"Any further attempts to mislead people by editing verified profile information, in a manner seen during the UK election debate, will result in decisive corrective action," she said.

As in other countries, social media is proving to be one of the key battlegrounds in Britain ahead of the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-set-for-third-election-in-four-years-to-try-to-break-brexit-gridlock-258692">December 12 election</a>, but it can also be a conduit for rumour, misdirection and "fake news".

Watch:&nbsp;United Kingdom's political system explained

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The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, on Wednesday warned that "we all have a responsibility to speak accurately, to challenge falsehoods when we hear them, and to be careful to separate facts from opinion".

There are particular concerns in Britain after years of misleading claims, broken promises and toxic arguments about the country's tortuous exit from the European Union.

The government has yet to publish a report into concerns of Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum vote, despite its completion months ago.

And Johnson himself has a history of lying, including in the 2016 campaign.&nbsp;

He also drew criticism for refusing to acknowledge he would have to delay <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/brexit-extension-how-much-will-it-actually-cost-the-uk-to-leave-the-eu-211410">Brexit</a> beyond October 31 for long after it became obvious.

For his part, Corbyn is accused of hiding his true views on Brexit and of betraying party members who accuse him of not doing enough to address anti-Semitism.

In a sign of the times, the studio audience in Tuesday's debate laughed at Corbyn when he said his Brexit position was clear, and also at Johnson when he insisted that the truth was important.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab played down the move to rebrand the @CCHQPress account during Tuesday's debate, saying it was part of the "cut and thrust" of social media.

"We've had all sort of nonsense thrown at the Conservatives, we're going to be in the process... of having a really good instant rebuttal," he told the BBC.

He noted that the words CCHQ were underneath the factcheckUK brand, and insisted: "No-one who looked at it for more than a split second would have been fooled."

Asked about whether voters would be concerned, Raab said he had been out campaigning and "no-one gives a toss about the social media cut and thrust".

But an independent fact-checking charity Full Fact said it was "inappropriate and misleading" for a party press office to take on the moniker of a fact-checking site.

"They weren't putting out accurate information, they were putting out party lines, unlike a serious fact-checker giving sources," chief executive Will Moy told BBC radio.

Tom Brake, an MP with the smaller opposition Liberal Democrats, said the tactic was "straight out of Donald Trump&nbsp;or Putin's playbook".&nbsp;

"The Tories are now resorting to deliberately misleading the public," he added.

Johnson's party has previously been criticised for putting out a video of a top Labour figure talking about Brexit, which had been edited to make him appear confused.

Labour MP David Lammy said the fact-check row showed "what disdain this party and this government has for the truth".

"The Electoral Commission must investigate and punish this blatant attempt to deceive the public," he said.

An Electoral Commission spokesman said it did not have a role in regulating election campaign content.

But he added: "We repeat our call to all campaigners to undertake their vital role responsibly and to support campaigning transparency."

Twitter accused Britain's governing Conservatives on Wednesday of misleading the public by rebranding themselves as fact-checkers during a live TV election debate, fuelling concerns about trust in politics.

Twitter accused Britain's governing Conservatives on Wednesday of misleading the public by rebranding themselves as fact-checkers during a live TV election debate, fuelling concerns about trust in politics. The Tories also drew complaints from rival parties after renaming their press office Twitter account "factcheckUK" during Prime Minister Boris Johnson's clash with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Tuesday night. The account fired off real-time rebuttals during the prime-time debate in what the Conservative party argued was a necessary corrective to Labour's "nonsense" claims. But a Twitter spokeswoman warned that rules were in place to "prohibit behaviour that can mislead people, including those with verified accounts". "Any further attempts to mislead people by editing verified profile information, in a manner seen during the UK election debate, will result in decisive corrective action," she said. As in other countries, social media is proving to be one of the key battlegrounds in Britain ahead of the December 12 election, but it can also be a conduit for rumour, misdirection and "fake news". Watch: United Kingdom's political system explained × The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, on Wednesday warned that "we all have a responsibility to speak accurately, to challenge falsehoods when we hear them, and to be careful to separate facts from opinion". There are particular concerns in Britain after years of misleading claims, broken promises and toxic arguments about the country's tortuous exit from the European Union. The government has yet to publish a report into concerns of Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum vote, despite its completion months ago. And Johnson himself has a history of lying, including in the 2016 campaign. He also drew criticism for refusing to acknowledge he would have to delay Brexit beyond October 31 for long after it became obvious. For his part, Corbyn is accused of hiding his true views on Brexit and of betraying party members who accuse him of not doing enough to address anti-Semitism. In a sign of the times, the studio audience in Tuesday's debate laughed at Corbyn when he said his Brexit position was clear, and also at Johnson when he insisted that the truth was important. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab played down the move to rebrand the @CCHQPress account during Tuesday's debate, saying it was part of the "cut and thrust" of social media. "We've had all sort of nonsense thrown at the Conservatives, we're going to be in the process... of having a really good instant rebuttal," he told the BBC. He noted that the words CCHQ were underneath the factcheckUK brand, and insisted: "No-one who looked at it for more than a split second would have been fooled." Asked about whether voters would be concerned, Raab said he had been out campaigning and "no-one gives a toss about the social media cut and thrust". But an independent fact-checking charity Full Fact said it was "inappropriate and misleading" for a party press office to take on the moniker of a fact-checking site. "They weren't putting out accurate information, they were putting out party lines, unlike a serious fact-checker giving sources," chief executive Will Moy told BBC radio. Tom Brake, an MP with the smaller opposition Liberal Democrats, said the tactic was "straight out of Donald Trump or Putin's playbook". "The Tories are now resorting to deliberately misleading the public," he added. Johnson's party has previously been criticised for putting out a video of a top Labour figure talking about Brexit, which had been edited to make him appear confused. Labour MP David Lammy said the fact-check row showed "what disdain this party and this government has for the truth". "The Electoral Commission must investigate and punish this blatant attempt to deceive the public," he said. An Electoral Commission spokesman said it did not have a role in regulating election campaign content. But he added: "We repeat our call to all campaigners to undertake their vital role responsibly and to support campaigning transparency."

Twitter accuses UK of misleading public in election row

The allegations of spying by former Twitter employees for Saudi Arabia underscore the risks for Silicon Valley firms holding sensitive data which make the platforms ripe for espionage.

The two Saudis and one US citizen allegedly worked together to unmask the ownership details behind dissident Twitter accounts on behalf of the Riyadh government and royal family, according to a federal indictment.

Analysts say the incident shows how massive databases held by Silicon Valley giants can be juicy targets for intelligence agencies, which can often apply pressure to company insiders.

"The Twitter case shows how data is not only an asset but a liability for companies," said Adrian Shahbaz, research director for technology and democracy at the human rights group Freedom House.

"For companies collecting massive amounts of data, the challenge is how to keep it secure not only from hackers, but from rogue employees."

Shahbaz said platforms such as Twitter and Facebook remain important tools for human rights activists, but that users should be aware of potential for data leaks, both in their countries, and from insiders.

"It's been alarming to see how governments using tactics to exploit the inherent weaknesses of the internet... go after people expressing dissent," he said.

"It's a constant cat-and-mouse game between users and very well-resourced governments."

Bruce Schneier, a security researcher and fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet &amp; Society, said it is not surprising to see governments targeting databases of tech platforms.

"We all assume it happens a lot. But this (prosecution) rarely comes up," Schneier said.

No match for Russia

Schneier said there have long been fears about Chinese or Russian insiders pressured to introduce vulnerabilities in major software platforms, and that companies may be ill-equipped to thwart those efforts.

"The government of Russia versus Twitter is not a fair fight," he said. "It's hard to blame tech companies."

Because major tech firms have engineers from all over the world, Schneier said it enables intelligence services to seek out and pressure their ex-pats for espionage purposes.

The case highlights the potential for insider threats, said James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

"Insider threats go back to biblical times," he said, noting that the suspects were probably caught because they "did a terrible job of covering their tracks."

Background checks enough?

According to an indictment unsealed Wednesday, US citizen Ahmad Abouammo and Saudi national Ali Alzabarah were recruited in 2014-2015 to use their positions in Twitter to gain access to private information related to accounts of critics of Riyadh.

Ahmed Almutairi, a marketing official with ties to the royal family, was a critical go-between who arranged contacts, prosecutors said.

Twitter said in a statement it restricts access to sensitive account information "to a limited group of trained and vetted employees."

But John Dickson, a former US air force information warfare officer who is now with the security consultancy Denim Group, said private companies, even in Silicon Valley, are not equipped to for background checks needed to find potential spies.

"Most employers do cursory background checks for the most obvious stuff such as criminal records or bankruptcy," he said.

"None of them does any semblance of a background check on nation-state threats."

Dickson said it remains unclear if the tech platforms are cognizant of the sensitivity of the data they hold, and the draw of that information for intelligence services.

"They are still acting as social media companies," he said.

"Their default is to get as many connections as possible, and the network effect enhances the platform."

Shahbaz said the latest case illustrates a need for regulations to require tech platforms to limit how much data they collect and maintain.

"There might be a role for government to play in terms of data privacy legislation," he said.

"There's a case for collecting the bare minimum of data from users and allowing users to opt out" of certain kinds of data collection.

He said companies should also be required to inform victims if their data has been compromised "so they can take measures to protect themselves."

The allegations of spying by former Twitter employees for Saudi Arabia underscore the risks for Silicon Valley firms holding sensitive data which make the platforms ripe for espionage.

The allegations of spying by former Twitter employees for Saudi Arabia underscore the risks for Silicon Valley firms holding sensitive data which make the platforms ripe for espionage. The two Saudis and one US citizen allegedly worked together to unmask the ownership details behind dissident Twitter accounts on behalf of the Riyadh government and royal family, according to a federal indictment. Analysts say the incident shows how massive databases held by Silicon Valley giants can be juicy targets for intelligence agencies, which can often apply pressure to company insiders. "The Twitter case shows how data is not only an asset but a liability for companies," said Adrian Shahbaz, research director for technology and democracy at the human rights group Freedom House. "For companies collecting massive amounts of data, the challenge is how to keep it secure not only from hackers, but from rogue employees." Shahbaz said platforms such as Twitter and Facebook remain important tools for human rights activists, but that users should be aware of potential for data leaks, both in their countries, and from insiders. "It's been alarming to see how governments using tactics to exploit the inherent weaknesses of the internet... go after people expressing dissent," he said. "It's a constant cat-and-mouse game between users and very well-resourced governments." Bruce Schneier, a security researcher and fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, said it is not surprising to see governments targeting databases of tech platforms. "We all assume it happens a lot. But this (prosecution) rarely comes up," Schneier said. No match for Russia Schneier said there have long been fears about Chinese or Russian insiders pressured to introduce vulnerabilities in major software platforms, and that companies may be ill-equipped to thwart those efforts. "The government of Russia versus Twitter is not a fair fight," he said. "It's hard to blame tech companies." Because major tech firms have engineers from all over the world, Schneier said it enables intelligence services to seek out and pressure their ex-pats for espionage purposes. The case highlights the potential for insider threats, said James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "Insider threats go back to biblical times," he said, noting that the suspects were probably caught because they "did a terrible job of covering their tracks." Background checks enough? According to an indictment unsealed Wednesday, US citizen Ahmad Abouammo and Saudi national Ali Alzabarah were recruited in 2014-2015 to use their positions in Twitter to gain access to private information related to accounts of critics of Riyadh. Ahmed Almutairi, a marketing official with ties to the royal family, was a critical go-between who arranged contacts, prosecutors said. Twitter said in a statement it restricts access to sensitive account information "to a limited group of trained and vetted employees." But John Dickson, a former US air force information warfare officer who is now with the security consultancy Denim Group, said private companies, even in Silicon Valley, are not equipped to for background checks needed to find potential spies. "Most employers do cursory background checks for the most obvious stuff such as criminal records or bankruptcy," he said. "None of them does any semblance of a background check on nation-state threats." Dickson said it remains unclear if the tech platforms are cognizant of the sensitivity of the data they hold, and the draw of that information for intelligence services. "They are still acting as social media companies," he said. "Their default is to get as many connections as possible, and the network effect enhances the platform." Shahbaz said the latest case illustrates a need for regulations to require tech platforms to limit how much data they collect and maintain. "There might be a role for government to play in terms of data privacy legislation," he said. "There's a case for collecting the bare minimum of data from users and allowing users to opt out" of certain kinds of data collection. He said companies should also be required to inform victims if their data has been compromised "so they can take measures to protect themselves."

Twitter spy case highlights risks for big tech platforms

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and noted short-seller David Einhorn mocked each other in open letters published on Twitter on Friday, trading barbs clothed in polite language.

Einhorn on Oct. 30 had told his investors at Greenlight Capital that his fund had lost money on Tesla. Greenlight bet against the electric carmaker, and shares rose in the second quarter.

Still, he told investors that Tesla "appears to continue to spin positive PR ahead of the safety and fair treatment of its customers."

Musk, who has a history of being playful on Twitter, began an exchange by posting an open letter&nbsp;on Twitter addressing Einhorn as "Dear Mr&nbsp;Unicorn (fabulous name btw)". Einhorn means unicorn in German.

Musk further added that Einhorn made numerous "false allegations" against Tesla and offered "sympathies" for a drop in assets under management.

"It is understandable that you wish to save face with your investors, given the losses you suffered from Tesla's successful third quarter, especially since you've had several down years in performance and a sharp drop in assets under management from $15 billion to $5 billion," Musk wrote.

Einhorn responded with an open letter&nbsp;on Twitter, asking the billionaire entrepreneur to be specific about false statements so that Greenlight could correct them.

"By continually changing the narrative and narrowly averting crisis after crisis, you certainly have kept it interesting," Einhorn said.

Einhorn said his hedge fund and Tesla had "some similarities and some differences".

"We both struggled last year. However, a key difference is that Greenlight's&nbsp;business&nbsp;has generated real profits for our investors since we began in 1996," Einhorn said.

Greenlight Capital first rose to prominence for making a prescient call on Lehman Brothers' accounting troubles before the firm's collapse.

Last year, it compared Tesla to Lehman and earlier this year said the company appeared to be "on the brink" of failure.

Investors in the past have shown impatience with Tesla's failures to meet financial and production targets. The carmaker, however, put some concerns to rest after delivering a surprise profit in its third quarter.

Musk invited Einhorn to meet him and tour Tesla's facilities to learn about the company's progress.

"Finally, please allow us to send you a small gift of short shorts to help you through this difficult time," Musk said, signing off as "Treelon Musk."

Einhorn welcomed the offer to learn more about Tesla.

"I think facility visits would be fun (can we start in Buffalo?). I might learn the difference between your alien dreadnought factory and cars made by hand in a tent."

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and noted short-seller David Einhorn mocked each other in open letters published on Twitter on Friday, trading barbs clothed in polite language.

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and noted short-seller David Einhorn mocked each other in open letters published on Twitter on Friday, trading barbs clothed in polite language. Einhorn on Oct. 30 had told his investors at Greenlight Capital that his fund had lost money on Tesla. Greenlight bet against the electric carmaker, and shares rose in the second quarter. Still, he told investors that Tesla "appears to continue to spin positive PR ahead of the safety and fair treatment of its customers." Musk, who has a history of being playful on Twitter, began an exchange by posting an open letter on Twitter addressing Einhorn as "Dear Mr Unicorn (fabulous name btw)". Einhorn means unicorn in German. Musk further added that Einhorn made numerous "false allegations" against Tesla and offered "sympathies" for a drop in assets under management. "It is understandable that you wish to save face with your investors, given the losses you suffered from Tesla's successful third quarter, especially since you've had several down years in performance and a sharp drop in assets under management from $15 billion to $5 billion," Musk wrote. Einhorn responded with an open letter on Twitter, asking the billionaire entrepreneur to be specific about false statements so that Greenlight could correct them. "By continually changing the narrative and narrowly averting crisis after crisis, you certainly have kept it interesting," Einhorn said. Einhorn said his hedge fund and Tesla had "some similarities and some differences". "We both struggled last year. However, a key difference is that Greenlight's business has generated real profits for our investors since we began in 1996," Einhorn said. Greenlight Capital first rose to prominence for making a prescient call on Lehman Brothers' accounting troubles before the firm's collapse. Last year, it compared Tesla to Lehman and earlier this year said the company appeared to be "on the brink" of failure. Investors in the past have shown impatience with Tesla's failures to meet financial and production targets. The carmaker, however, put some concerns to rest after delivering a surprise profit in its third quarter. Musk invited Einhorn to meet him and tour Tesla's facilities to learn about the company's progress. "Finally, please allow us to send you a small gift of short shorts to help you through this difficult time," Musk said, signing off as "Treelon Musk." Einhorn welcomed the offer to learn more about Tesla. "I think facility visits would be fun (can we start in Buffalo?). I might learn the difference between your alien dreadnought factory and cars made by hand in a tent."

Tesla's Musk, Greenlight's Einhorn taunt each other on Twitter

Is Twitter Crumbling Due To Arbitrary Content Regulation? #Gravitas

Gravitas: Why Are Indian Users Deserting Twitter?

Two former <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/twitter-to-ban-political-ads-worldwide-on-its-platform-258909">Twitter</a> employees and a third man were charged in San Francisco Federal Court Wednesday with spying on Twitter users critical of the Saudi royal family, the US Justice Department announced.

The two Saudis and one US citizen allegedly worked together to unmask the ownership details behind dissident Twitter accounts on behalf of the government in Riyadh and the royal family, the department said.

According to a court filing, they were guided by an unnamed Saudi official who worked for someone prosecutors designated "Royal Family Member-1," which The Washington Post reported was Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Those charged were former Twitter employees Ali Alzabarah and Ahmad Abouammo, along with Ahmed Almutairi, a marketing official with ties to the royal family.

"The criminal complaint unsealed today alleges that Saudi agents mined Twitter's internal systems for personal information about known Saudi critics and thousands of other Twitter users," said US Attorney David Anderson.

"US law protects US companies from such an unlawful foreign intrusion. We will not allow US companies or US technology to become tools of foreign repression in violation of US law," he said in a statement.

The lawsuit comes as US-Saudi relations continue to suffer strains over the brutal, Riyadh-sanctioned murder last year of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who wrote for, among others, The Washington Post.

A critic of Crown Prince Mohammed, Khashoggi was killed and dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

According to the Post, US intelligence has concluded that the prince himself was closely linked to the murder.

Targeting regime critics

Abouammo, 41, an American, and Saudi national Alzabarah, 35, were recruited in 2014-2015 to use their positions in Twitter to gain access to private information related to the accounts of critics of Riyadh, the indictment says.

Saudi citizen Almutairi, 30, was a critical go-between who arranged contacts between the two others and the unnamed Saudi official.

The indictment said Almutairi controlled a social media marketing company that did work for a royal charity and members of the royal family, "including Royal Family Member-1."&nbsp;

Abouammo was paid over $300,000 and received a Hublot watch worth more than $20,000 for his work.

Alzabarah's payment was not detailed, but the filing said he quickly fled the US with his family in December 2015 after Twitter management confronted him about his unauthorized accessing of user information for some 6,000 Twitter accounts, including accounts of known prominent dissidents and royal family critics.

All three are charged with acting as illegal agents of a foreign government, a charge that can indicate both illegal lobbying and espionage.

Abouammo was also charged with destroying, altering, or falsifying records related to a federal investigation.

"These individuals are charged with targeting and obtaining private data from dissidents and known critics, under the direction and control of the government of Saudi Arabia," said FBI Special Agent John Bennett.

"The FBI will not stand by and allow foreign governments to illegally exploit private user information from US companies."&nbsp;

The Justice Department said Abouammo was arrested on Tuesday in Seattle, Washington, but that both Alzabarah and Almutairi remain at large and are believed to be in Saudi Arabia.&nbsp;

Federal warrants have been issued for the arrest of both.

Two former Twitter employees and a third man were charged in San Francisco Federal Court Wednesday with spying on Twitter users critical of the Saudi royal family, the US Justice Department announced.

Two former Twitter employees and a third man were charged in San Francisco Federal Court Wednesday with spying on Twitter users critical of the Saudi royal family, the US Justice Department announced. The two Saudis and one US citizen allegedly worked together to unmask the ownership details behind dissident Twitter accounts on behalf of the government in Riyadh and the royal family, the department said. According to a court filing, they were guided by an unnamed Saudi official who worked for someone prosecutors designated "Royal Family Member-1," which The Washington Post reported was Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Those charged were former Twitter employees Ali Alzabarah and Ahmad Abouammo, along with Ahmed Almutairi, a marketing official with ties to the royal family. "The criminal complaint unsealed today alleges that Saudi agents mined Twitter's internal systems for personal information about known Saudi critics and thousands of other Twitter users," said US Attorney David Anderson. "US law protects US companies from such an unlawful foreign intrusion. We will not allow US companies or US technology to become tools of foreign repression in violation of US law," he said in a statement. The lawsuit comes as US-Saudi relations continue to suffer strains over the brutal, Riyadh-sanctioned murder last year of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who wrote for, among others, The Washington Post. A critic of Crown Prince Mohammed, Khashoggi was killed and dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. According to the Post, US intelligence has concluded that the prince himself was closely linked to the murder. Targeting regime critics Abouammo, 41, an American, and Saudi national Alzabarah, 35, were recruited in 2014-2015 to use their positions in Twitter to gain access to private information related to the accounts of critics of Riyadh, the indictment says. Saudi citizen Almutairi, 30, was a critical go-between who arranged contacts between the two others and the unnamed Saudi official. The indictment said Almutairi controlled a social media marketing company that did work for a royal charity and members of the royal family, "including Royal Family Member-1." Abouammo was paid over $300,000 and received a Hublot watch worth more than $20,000 for his work. Alzabarah's payment was not detailed, but the filing said he quickly fled the US with his family in December 2015 after Twitter management confronted him about his unauthorized accessing of user information for some 6,000 Twitter accounts, including accounts of known prominent dissidents and royal family critics. All three are charged with acting as illegal agents of a foreign government, a charge that can indicate both illegal lobbying and espionage. Abouammo was also charged with destroying, altering, or falsifying records related to a federal investigation. "These individuals are charged with targeting and obtaining private data from dissidents and known critics, under the direction and control of the government of Saudi Arabia," said FBI Special Agent John Bennett. "The FBI will not stand by and allow foreign governments to illegally exploit private user information from US companies." The Justice Department said Abouammo was arrested on Tuesday in Seattle, Washington, but that both Alzabarah and Almutairi remain at large and are believed to be in Saudi Arabia. Federal warrants have been issued for the arrest of both.

Three charged in US with spying on Twitter users for Saudi Arabia

Elon&nbsp;Musk, who garnered attention for quitting Twitter last week, is back on the social platform, with little explanation for the hiatus or the return.

The chief executive of electric automaker Tesla, as well as the private space firm SpaceX, was tweeting late Monday to congratulate the crew of the free-flying spacecraft Dragon.

"SpaceX team has completed 13 successful tests in a row of upgraded Mark 3 parachutes for Crew Dragon,"&nbsp;Musk&nbsp;wrote. "Most recent tests demonstrated the parachute system's ability to land the spacecraft safely in the unlikely event that one of the four main parachutes fails."

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Great work by SpaceX Dragon team &amp; Airborne! To be clear, we’ve only done 1 multi-parachute test of Mk3 design, so 9 more left to reach 10 successful tests in a row. <a href="https://t.co/Q814zVoW4S">https://t.co/Q814zVoW4S</a>
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1191475073758064640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Last Friday he appeared to leave the messaging service on which he has some 29 million followers, writing simply, "Not sure about good of Twitter," and then saying "Going offline."

He has not elaborated about leaving or returning to Twitter.

Musk&nbsp;has found himself in hot water in recent months over his Twitter remarks.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission which accused him of misleading Tesla investors on the platform, resulting in a court settlement requiring him to step down as chairman of the auto firm.

Musk&nbsp;also is being sued for defamation by a man who helped in the dramatic rescue of 12 boys trapped in an underwater cave in Thailand last year following his tweet calling the British caver a "pedo guy."

Elon Musk, who garnered attention for quitting Twitter last week, is back on the social platform, with little explanation for the hiatus or the return. The chief executive of electric automaker Tesla, as well as the private space firm SpaceX, was tweeting late Monday to congratulate the crew of the free-flying spacecraft Dragon.

Elon Musk, who garnered attention for quitting Twitter last week, is back on the social platform, with little explanation for the hiatus or the return. The chief executive of electric automaker Tesla, as well as the private space firm SpaceX, was tweeting late Monday to congratulate the crew of the free-flying spacecraft Dragon. "SpaceX team has completed 13 successful tests in a row of upgraded Mark 3 parachutes for Crew Dragon," Musk wrote. "Most recent tests demonstrated the parachute system's ability to land the spacecraft safely in the unlikely event that one of the four main parachutes fails." Great work by SpaceX Dragon team & Airborne! To be clear, we’ve only done 1 multi-parachute test of Mk3 design, so 9 more left to reach 10 successful tests in a row. https://t.co/Q814zVoW4S — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 4, 2019 × Last Friday he appeared to leave the messaging service on which he has some 29 million followers, writing simply, "Not sure about good of Twitter," and then saying "Going offline." He has not elaborated about leaving or returning to Twitter. Musk has found himself in hot water in recent months over his Twitter remarks. The US Securities and Exchange Commission which accused him of misleading Tesla investors on the platform, resulting in a court settlement requiring him to step down as chairman of the auto firm. Musk also is being sued for defamation by a man who helped in the dramatic rescue of 12 boys trapped in an underwater cave in Thailand last year following his tweet calling the British caver a "pedo guy."

Elon Musk back on Twitter after break

Twitter said Wednesday it would stop accepting political advertising globally on its platform, responding to growing concerns over misinformation from politicians on social media.

Chief executive Jack Dorsey tweeted that while internet advertising "is incredibly powerful and very effective for commercial advertisers, that power brings significant risks to politics, where it can be used to influence votes to affect the lives of millions."

The move comes with Facebook under pressure to apply fact-checking to politicians running ads with debunked claims.

Dorsey said the new policy, details of which will be unveiled next month and enforced from November 22, would ban ads on political issues as well as from candidates.

"We considered stopping only candidate ads, but issue ads present a way to circumvent," he said.

"Additionally, it isn't fair for everyone but candidates to buy ads for issues they want to push. So we're stopping these too."

WION Edit: Date theft &amp; hacking: What are the solutions?

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Dorsey said the company took the action to head off potential problems from "machine learning-based optimization of messaging and micro-targeting, unchecked misleading information, and deep fakes."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/tesla-surges-twitter-slumps-amid-united-states-earnings-deluge-258002">Twitter</a>'s move comes in contrast to the Facebook policy that allows political speech and ads to run without fact-checking on the leading social network.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said political advertising is not a major source of revenue but adds that he believes it is important to allow everyone a "voice," and that banning political ads would favour incumbents.

Dorsey said he disagreed with Zuckerberg's assessment.

"We have witnessed many social movements reach a massive scale without any political advertising. I trust this will only grow," he added.

Twitter's chief financial officer Ned Segal said the move would have a little financial impact.

"Since we are getting questions: This decision was based on principle, not money," he said. "As context, we've disclosed that political ad spend for the 2018 US midterms was (less than) $3M."

The Trump conundrum

Social media platforms have been challenged by President Donald Trump's campaign and its use of ads that contain claims critics say have been debunked by independent fact-checkers.

"Twitter just walked away from hundreds of millions of dollars of potential revenue, a very dumb decision for their stockholders," Trump 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale said.

"Will Twitter also be stopping ads from biased liberal media outlets who will now run unchecked as they buy obvious political content meant to attack Republicans?"

Democrats have stepped up pressure on Facebook to remove political ads, and a group of employees has also called for stronger efforts by the social network to clamp down on "civic misinformation" from politicians.

Outside of the Trump campaign, the initial reaction to the Twitter announcement was positive.

"Until privately-owned social media platforms can develop and consistently enforce standards to prevent demonstrably inaccurate information in political advertising, this is the right move," said Michelle Amazeen, a Boston University professor specializing in political communication.

Nina Jankowicz, a Wilson Center fellow specializing in disinformation, also welcomed the decision.

"It's great that this move has been made globally and not just within the United States," she said.

"Too often these companies operate in a cloud of willful ignorance about the effects their products have outside our borders."

Jankowicz said the decision could level the playing field by preventing wealthier candidates and groups dominating the social conversation.

"Paid speech essentially quashes some groups' ability to speak out and be heard because they can't compete with the reach that their richer counterparts pay for," she said.

More cautiously, eMarketer senior analyst Jasmine Enberg said it remained unclear how much impact the change would have, given that political advertising is not a major part of Twitter's core business.

"And given the nature of the platform, people, publishers and politicians will still use Twitter to discuss politics organically, meaning that it won't fully solve the problem of misinformation," Enberg said.

Syracuse University professor Jennifer Grygiel also was skeptical, noting in a tweet: "Twitter has promised lots of things in the past that they haven't delivered on.&nbsp;

"We have to wait and see how effective the new political policy will be."

Twitter said Wednesday it would stop accepting political advertising globally on its platform, responding to growing concerns over misinformation from politicians on social media.

Twitter said Wednesday it would stop accepting political advertising globally on its platform, responding to growing concerns over misinformation from politicians on social media. Chief executive Jack Dorsey tweeted that while internet advertising "is incredibly powerful and very effective for commercial advertisers, that power brings significant risks to politics, where it can be used to influence votes to affect the lives of millions." The move comes with Facebook under pressure to apply fact-checking to politicians running ads with debunked claims. Dorsey said the new policy, details of which will be unveiled next month and enforced from November 22, would ban ads on political issues as well as from candidates. "We considered stopping only candidate ads, but issue ads present a way to circumvent," he said. "Additionally, it isn't fair for everyone but candidates to buy ads for issues they want to push. So we're stopping these too." WION Edit: Date theft & hacking: What are the solutions? × Dorsey said the company took the action to head off potential problems from "machine learning-based optimization of messaging and micro-targeting, unchecked misleading information, and deep fakes." Twitter's move comes in contrast to the Facebook policy that allows political speech and ads to run without fact-checking on the leading social network. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said political advertising is not a major source of revenue but adds that he believes it is important to allow everyone a "voice," and that banning political ads would favour incumbents. Dorsey said he disagreed with Zuckerberg's assessment. "We have witnessed many social movements reach a massive scale without any political advertising. I trust this will only grow," he added. Twitter's chief financial officer Ned Segal said the move would have a little financial impact. "Since we are getting questions: This decision was based on principle, not money," he said. "As context, we've disclosed that political ad spend for the 2018 US midterms was (less than) $3M." The Trump conundrum Social media platforms have been challenged by President Donald Trump's campaign and its use of ads that contain claims critics say have been debunked by independent fact-checkers. "Twitter just walked away from hundreds of millions of dollars of potential revenue, a very dumb decision for their stockholders," Trump 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale said. "Will Twitter also be stopping ads from biased liberal media outlets who will now run unchecked as they buy obvious political content meant to attack Republicans?" Democrats have stepped up pressure on Facebook to remove political ads, and a group of employees has also called for stronger efforts by the social network to clamp down on "civic misinformation" from politicians. Outside of the Trump campaign, the initial reaction to the Twitter announcement was positive. "Until privately-owned social media platforms can develop and consistently enforce standards to prevent demonstrably inaccurate information in political advertising, this is the right move," said Michelle Amazeen, a Boston University professor specializing in political communication. Nina Jankowicz, a Wilson Center fellow specializing in disinformation, also welcomed the decision. "It's great that this move has been made globally and not just within the United States," she said. "Too often these companies operate in a cloud of willful ignorance about the effects their products have outside our borders." Jankowicz said the decision could level the playing field by preventing wealthier candidates and groups dominating the social conversation. "Paid speech essentially quashes some groups' ability to speak out and be heard because they can't compete with the reach that their richer counterparts pay for," she said. More cautiously, eMarketer senior analyst Jasmine Enberg said it remained unclear how much impact the change would have, given that political advertising is not a major part of Twitter's core business. "And given the nature of the platform, people, publishers and politicians will still use Twitter to discuss politics organically, meaning that it won't fully solve the problem of misinformation," Enberg said. Syracuse University professor Jennifer Grygiel also was skeptical, noting in a tweet: "Twitter has promised lots of things in the past that they haven't delivered on. "We have to wait and see how effective the new political policy will be."

Twitter to ban political ads worldwide on its platform

Pakistan Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday blamed the cross border stubble burning and environmental conditions in India for the increasing level of pollution in Lahore. 
 
Taking to Twitter, Chaudhry quoted the country's Minister of Climate Change as informing the Cabinet that pollution in Lahore is caused by "cross border field fires and "abysmal environmental conditions in India."

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Min of Climate Change informed the Cabinet that Pollution in Lahore is caused by cross border field fires and abysmal environmental conditions in India level of pollution at Wagha is double than Lahore city, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Modi?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Modi</a> Govt is failing is every aspect irresponsible Govts are a curse
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) <a href="https://twitter.com/fawadchaudhry/status/1189396155412733953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 30, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Chaudhary's statement came after the World Air Quality Index (AQI) ranked Lahore second in the world's most polluted city in its latest ranking.

 
The tweet saw a backlash by netizens who asked the minister to have some accountability for the terrible climatic conditions in the city.

The human rights group,&nbsp;Amnesty International,&nbsp;on Wednesday censured Pakistan for its failure to protect people from "exposure to hazardous air" and "risking and violating human rights to life and health". 
 
In a statement, the organisation noted that the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Lahore had reached 484 at 10:00 am PST today. "The threshold for 'hazardous' level of air quality is 300 where people are advised to 'avoid all physical activity outdoors'," reported the Express Tribune.

Pakistan Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday blamed the cross border stubble burning and environmental conditions in India for the increasing level of pollution in Lahore.

Pakistan Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday blamed the cross border stubble burning and environmental conditions in India for the increasing level of pollution in Lahore. Taking to Twitter, Chaudhry quoted the country's Minister of Climate Change as informing the Cabinet that pollution in Lahore is caused by "cross border field fires and "abysmal environmental conditions in India." Min of Climate Change informed the Cabinet that Pollution in Lahore is caused by cross border field fires and abysmal environmental conditions in India level of pollution at Wagha is double than Lahore city, #Modi Govt is failing is every aspect irresponsible Govts are a curse — Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) October 30, 2019 × Chaudhary's statement came after the World Air Quality Index (AQI) ranked Lahore second in the world's most polluted city in its latest ranking. The tweet saw a backlash by netizens who asked the minister to have some accountability for the terrible climatic conditions in the city. The human rights group, Amnesty International, on Wednesday censured Pakistan for its failure to protect people from "exposure to hazardous air" and "risking and violating human rights to life and health". In a statement, the organisation noted that the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Lahore had reached 484 at 10:00 am PST today. "The threshold for 'hazardous' level of air quality is 300 where people are advised to 'avoid all physical activity outdoors'," reported the Express Tribune.

Pakistan Minister blames cross border field fires for increasing pollution level in Lahore

Wall Street was mixed early Thursday amid optimism over United States-China trade talks and as Tesla surged on positive earnings, while Twitter plunged on disappointing results.

Analysts cited reports outlining Chinese commitments to buy US agricultural products as a positive sign about a preliminary trade agreement announced earlier this month that is still being hashed out.

The European Central Bank, as expected, held interest rates unchanged, while US data showed a drop in durable goods sales in September amid the General Motors strike and the production halt at Boeing over the grounded 737 MAX.&nbsp;

About 30 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 26,774.20, down 0.2 per cent.

The broad-based S&amp;P 500 climbed less than 0.1 per cent to 3,005.58, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.4 per cent to 8,153.22.

Among the many companies reporting earnings, Tesla Motors stood out, jumping 16.5 per cent after on a surprise profit of $143 million confounding analysts who had been forecasting a loss.

Tesla said it is producing vehicles "on a trial basis" at its so-called Gigafactory in Shanghai, which will help boost global production and sales.

But Twitter plunged 18.3 per cent after it reported a sharp drop in quarterly profits as glitches in its ad-targeting ability hit revenues.

Among other companies reporting, Microsoft rose 1.1 per cent, 3M sank 4.7 per cent and Ford plunged 6.0 per cent.

Wall Street was mixed early Thursday amid optimism over United States-China trade talks and as Tesla surged on positive earnings, while Twitter plunged on disappointing results.

Wall Street was mixed early Thursday amid optimism over United States-China trade talks and as Tesla surged on positive earnings, while Twitter plunged on disappointing results. Analysts cited reports outlining Chinese commitments to buy US agricultural products as a positive sign about a preliminary trade agreement announced earlier this month that is still being hashed out. The European Central Bank, as expected, held interest rates unchanged, while US data showed a drop in durable goods sales in September amid the General Motors strike and the production halt at Boeing over the grounded 737 MAX. About 30 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 26,774.20, down 0.2 per cent. The broad-based S&P 500 climbed less than 0.1 per cent to 3,005.58, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.4 per cent to 8,153.22. Among the many companies reporting earnings, Tesla Motors stood out, jumping 16.5 per cent after on a surprise profit of $143 million confounding analysts who had been forecasting a loss. Tesla said it is producing vehicles "on a trial basis" at its so-called Gigafactory in Shanghai, which will help boost global production and sales. But Twitter plunged 18.3 per cent after it reported a sharp drop in quarterly profits as glitches in its ad-targeting ability hit revenues. Among other companies reporting, Microsoft rose 1.1 per cent, 3M sank 4.7 per cent and Ford plunged 6.0 per cent.

Tesla surges, Twitter slumps amid United States earnings deluge

Twitter shares plunged Thursday after reporting glitches that impacted its ad-targeting ability, pulling down revenue growth in the past quarter.

Profit for the third quarter was $37 million, a sharp drop from last year when the online messaging platform was helped by a large tax benefit.

Revenue rose nine per cent from a year earlier to $824 million, well below analyst forecasts, impacted by what the company called "revenue product issues."

Shares in Twitter slid as much as 20 per cent in pre-market trade on the disappointing results.

Twitter said revenue was hit by "bugs" which made it harder to deliver targeted advertising, as well as some seasonal factors.

"Unfortunately we had some missteps and bugs," chief executive Jack Dorsey told a conference call.

"These are issues we identified quickly and are working quickly to fix."&nbsp;

Twitter's investor relations team said the issue affected the ability to deliver ads, which make up the bulk of revenue.

"In Q3, we discovered and took steps to remediate, bugs that primarily affected our legacy Mobile Application Promotion product, impacting our ability to target ads and share data with measurement and ad partners," Twitter's investor relations team tweeted.

"We also discovered that certain personalisation and data settings were not operating as expected. We believe that, in aggregate, these issues reduced year-over-year revenue growth by 3 or more points in Q3."

Chief financial officer Ned Segal said Twitter is working on a fix but that the glitch is expected to have a negative impact in the fourth quarter.

The bugs mainly affected Twitter operations outside the United States, where ad revenue was up just five per cent compared with 11 per cent for the US.

Overall, advertising revenue totalled&nbsp;$702 million, up eight per cent from last year.

Challenges ahead

The results highlight challenges for Twitter, which has struggled to keep pace with rival social platforms as it seeks to remove fake accounts, abusive content and manipulation efforts.

"The miss (on revenue) wasn't just because of tough comparisons, which were expected to dampen their revenue growth, but issues with their ad product. That could impact their performance in the all-important Q4," analyst Jasmine Enberg of eMarketer said.

Twitter boosted the number of "monetisable" daily active users, the new measurement used by the platform, by six million from the past quarter to 145 million.

Twitter has stopped using a count of "monthly active users," which was 330 million earlier this year, in favour of the new measure of daily users on the mobile app or website who see ads in their feeds.

Dorsey said the growth in users represents a "steady refinement of Twitter" as it works to improve the platform and weed out inappropriate content.

"This is an incredibly strong foundation to build upon," he said.

Dorsey said Twitter has improved its automated systems to remove unwanted content, and now takes down more than 50 per cent "proactively" and "without a bystander or first-person report."

Twitter shares plunged Thursday after reporting glitches that impacted its ad-targeting ability, pulling down revenue growth in the past quarter. Profit for the third quarter was $37 million, a sharp drop from last year when the online messaging platform was helped by a large tax benefit.

Twitter shares plunged Thursday after reporting glitches that impacted its ad-targeting ability, pulling down revenue growth in the past quarter. Profit for the third quarter was $37 million, a sharp drop from last year when the online messaging platform was helped by a large tax benefit. Revenue rose nine per cent from a year earlier to $824 million, well below analyst forecasts, impacted by what the company called "revenue product issues." Shares in Twitter slid as much as 20 per cent in pre-market trade on the disappointing results. Twitter said revenue was hit by "bugs" which made it harder to deliver targeted advertising, as well as some seasonal factors. "Unfortunately we had some missteps and bugs," chief executive Jack Dorsey told a conference call. "These are issues we identified quickly and are working quickly to fix." Twitter's investor relations team said the issue affected the ability to deliver ads, which make up the bulk of revenue. "In Q3, we discovered and took steps to remediate, bugs that primarily affected our legacy Mobile Application Promotion product, impacting our ability to target ads and share data with measurement and ad partners," Twitter's investor relations team tweeted. "We also discovered that certain personalisation and data settings were not operating as expected. We believe that, in aggregate, these issues reduced year-over-year revenue growth by 3 or more points in Q3." Chief financial officer Ned Segal said Twitter is working on a fix but that the glitch is expected to have a negative impact in the fourth quarter. The bugs mainly affected Twitter operations outside the United States, where ad revenue was up just five per cent compared with 11 per cent for the US. Overall, advertising revenue totalled $702 million, up eight per cent from last year. Challenges ahead The results highlight challenges for Twitter, which has struggled to keep pace with rival social platforms as it seeks to remove fake accounts, abusive content and manipulation efforts. "The miss (on revenue) wasn't just because of tough comparisons, which were expected to dampen their revenue growth, but issues with their ad product. That could impact their performance in the all-important Q4," analyst Jasmine Enberg of eMarketer said. Twitter boosted the number of "monetisable" daily active users, the new measurement used by the platform, by six million from the past quarter to 145 million. Twitter has stopped using a count of "monthly active users," which was 330 million earlier this year, in favour of the new measure of daily users on the mobile app or website who see ads in their feeds. Dorsey said the growth in users represents a "steady refinement of Twitter" as it works to improve the platform and weed out inappropriate content. "This is an incredibly strong foundation to build upon," he said. Dorsey said Twitter has improved its automated systems to remove unwanted content, and now takes down more than 50 per cent "proactively" and "without a bystander or first-person report."

Twitter tumbles as 'bugs' hit revenue growth

Lady Gaga's Indian fans could not contain their excitement&nbsp;as the American singer-actress tweeted in Sankrit on Sunday.&nbsp; 
 
Gaga tweeted, " Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu" which literally means, "May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all." 
 
Soon enough, her followers got curious about Gaga's tweet and some wondered if it was a line or a title of a new song or an album.&nbsp; 
But Indian fans had a field day responding to the singer's tweet.&nbsp;

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is this your album title
— 𝑚 (@vlonegaga) <a href="https://twitter.com/vlonegaga/status/1185651319060733953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2019</a></blockquote>
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*googles if this means anything about new music in a different language*
— Sam Stryker (@sbstryker) <a href="https://twitter.com/sbstryker/status/1185651657264156672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2019</a></blockquote>
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It probably really means she went to Yoga class today-a frequent saying at end of a session.
— Jackie Freer (@virginia3jj) <a href="https://twitter.com/virginia3jj/status/1185662589860306946?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2019</a></blockquote>
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sis I know you meant stream bloody mary 
<a href="https://t.co/4C5AiycIJe">pic.twitter.com/4C5AiycIJe</a>
— sean (@thehausofsean) <a href="https://twitter.com/thehausofsean/status/1185654757156884480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Some even tweeted, 'Jai Shree Ram' in response while others shared memes.&nbsp;

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Jai shree ram 🙏
— Dr. Saagar Anand (@saagar_anand) <a href="https://twitter.com/saagar_anand/status/1185795555722575872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Jay Sriram 
Apka Kalyan Ho
— Niirav Vaishnav (@Niiravvaishnav) <a href="https://twitter.com/Niiravvaishnav/status/1185789697127137280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
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आजसे तुम गंगा हो <a href="https://t.co/z6sw5gbR4r">pic.twitter.com/z6sw5gbR4r</a>
— अहं Illogical अस्मि (@puneriboka) <a href="https://twitter.com/puneriboka/status/1185819960003547138?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Sanskrit,,which is now used very rarely. I guess we are going to thank lady Gaga in future for sudden boom in Sanskrit language 😁
— SHOBHIT KUKRETI (@KukretiShobhit) <a href="https://twitter.com/KukretiShobhit/status/1185755676233981952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 20, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Gaga is currently recovering after falling off the stage while dancing with a fan at a concert. Last year, Gaga made an impressive acting debut in 'A Star is Born' opposite Bradley Cooper. Gaga even fetched an Oscar for her song 'Shallow' which was part of the movie.&nbsp; 
 
We still don't know why Gaga tweeted in Sanksrit. Guess we will have to wait and watch.&nbsp;

Lady Gaga's Indian fans could not contain their excitement as the American singer-actress tweeted in Sankrit on Sunday. Gaga tweeted, " Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu" which literally means, "May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.

Lady Gaga's Indian fans could not contain their excitement as the American singer-actress tweeted in Sankrit on Sunday. Gaga tweeted, " Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu" which literally means, "May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all." Soon enough, her followers got curious about Gaga's tweet and some wondered if it was a line or a title of a new song or an album. But Indian fans had a field day responding to the singer's tweet. is this your album title — 𝑚 (@vlonegaga) October 19, 2019 × *googles if this means anything about new music in a different language* — Sam Stryker (@sbstryker) October 19, 2019 × It probably really means she went to Yoga class today-a frequent saying at end of a session. — Jackie Freer (@virginia3jj) October 19, 2019 × sis I know you meant stream bloody mary pic.twitter.com/4C5AiycIJe — sean (@thehausofsean) October 19, 2019 × Some even tweeted, 'Jai Shree Ram' in response while others shared memes. Jai shree ram 🙏 — Dr. Saagar Anand (@saagar_anand) October 20, 2019 × Jay Sriram Apka Kalyan Ho — Niirav Vaishnav (@Niiravvaishnav) October 20, 2019 × आजसे तुम गंगा हो pic.twitter.com/z6sw5gbR4r — अहं Illogical अस्मि (@puneriboka) October 20, 2019 × Sanskrit,,which is now used very rarely. I guess we are going to thank lady Gaga in future for sudden boom in Sanskrit language 😁 — SHOBHIT KUKRETI (@KukretiShobhit) October 20, 2019 × Gaga is currently recovering after falling off the stage while dancing with a fan at a concert. Last year, Gaga made an impressive acting debut in 'A Star is Born' opposite Bradley Cooper. Gaga even fetched an Oscar for her song 'Shallow' which was part of the movie. We still don't know why Gaga tweeted in Sanksrit. Guess we will have to wait and watch.

Lady Gaga tweets in Sanskrit, Indian fans greet her with 'Jai Shri Ram'

Former International Monetary Fund chief&nbsp;Christine Lagarde said <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/mitch-mcconnell-slams-trumps-syria-withdrawal-as-strategic-nightmare-256849">President Donald Trump's</a> trade offensive against China could slash global economic growth and she critiqued his Twitter habits in an interview with US television program 60 Minutes.

Lagarde, who takes over leadership of the European Central Bank on November 1, called for world leaders to act like grownups and negotiate a solution to the trade conflicts, and called for "rational decisions."

Newly freed from the restraints of her previous post, where she would have had to guard her language, Lagarde said, "market stability should not be the subject of a tweet here, a tweet there."

"It requires consideration, thinking, quiet and measured and rational decisions,"&nbsp;she said of Trump in the interview due to air Sunday night.

Lagarde led the Washington-based crisis lender for eight years and previously was more cautious in comments about Trump since the United States is the main IMF shareholder.

In the interview, she warned that Trump’s trade war with China will give the global economy "a big haircut."&nbsp;

"My very, very strong message to all policymakers is please sit down like big men, many men in those rooms and put everything on the table, and try to deal bit by bit, piece by piece, so that we have certainty," she said, according to excerpts of the interview released by CBS News.

As she takes on the new role as a central banker, Lagarde also took a swipe at Trump's barrage of criticism of his own Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whom Trump has called a "bonehead" among other insults.

"A central bank governor does best his job if he is independent."

Former International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said President Donald Trump's trade offensive against China could slash global economic growth and she critiqued his Twitter habits in an interview with US television program 60 Minutes.

Former International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said President Donald Trump's trade offensive against China could slash global economic growth and she critiqued his Twitter habits in an interview with US television program 60 Minutes. Lagarde, who takes over leadership of the European Central Bank on November 1, called for world leaders to act like grownups and negotiate a solution to the trade conflicts, and called for "rational decisions." Newly freed from the restraints of her previous post, where she would have had to guard her language, Lagarde said, "market stability should not be the subject of a tweet here, a tweet there." "It requires consideration, thinking, quiet and measured and rational decisions," she said of Trump in the interview due to air Sunday night. Lagarde led the Washington-based crisis lender for eight years and previously was more cautious in comments about Trump since the United States is the main IMF shareholder. In the interview, she warned that Trump’s trade war with China will give the global economy "a big haircut." "My very, very strong message to all policymakers is please sit down like big men, many men in those rooms and put everything on the table, and try to deal bit by bit, piece by piece, so that we have certainty," she said, according to excerpts of the interview released by CBS News. As she takes on the new role as a central banker, Lagarde also took a swipe at Trump's barrage of criticism of his own Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, whom Trump has called a "bonehead" among other insults. "A central bank governor does best his job if he is independent."

Former International Monetary Fund chief Lagarde takes swipe at Trump's Twitter habits

President Donald Trump's Twitter attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi following an acrimonious White House meeting appears to have backfired spectacularly.

Trump tweeted a picture of the encounter Wednesday showing a standing Pelosi pointing at the president while he and everyone else in the room were seated, with the caption "Nervous Nancy's unhinged meltdown!"

However, far from being upset at the picture, Pelosi posted it as her Twitter banner, and her supporters said it showed her literally standing up to Trump.

"Can a woman beat Donald Trump? Yes. Speaker Pelosi does it every day," Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar said as she retweeted the picture.

"Thanks for the new cover photo @realDonaldTrump!," tweeted Pelosi's deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill.

Others pointed out that several members of Trump's cabinet looked as if they would rather be somewhere else.

"The men on your right reflect the embarrassment we all feel," tweeted actress Mia Farrow.

Pelosi has previously gone viral with her apparent trolling of Trump, with her slow clapping of his last State of the Union speech becoming an instant meme.

After leaving the White House meeting, she told the press she prayed for the president and his family "all the time."

"Now we have to pray for his health because this was a very serious meltdown on the part of the President," she said.

Hours later, Trump suggested Pelosi had mental problems of her own.

"Nancy Pelosi needs help fast! There is either something wrong with her 'upstairs,' or she just plain doesn't like our great Country. She had a total meltdown in the White House today. I was very sad to watch. Pray for her, she is a very sick person!" Trump tweeted.

One of the Democrats who attended the meeting, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, said Trump launched into a "nasty diatribe" against them, while Pelosi said the president experienced a "meltdown."

Trump's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham rejected the Democratic version of events, saying the president had been "measured and decisive," and that Pelosi walking out was "baffling but not surprising."

The meeting was the first face-to-face encounter between Trump and Pelosi since her explosive September 24 statement announcing a formal impeachment inquiry.

President Donald Trump's Twitter attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi following an acrimonious White House meeting appears to have backfired spectacularly. Trump tweeted a picture of the encounter Wednesday showing a standing Pelosi pointing at the president while he and everyone else in the room were seated, with the caption "Nervous Nancy's unhinged meltdown!

President Donald Trump's Twitter attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi following an acrimonious White House meeting appears to have backfired spectacularly. Trump tweeted a picture of the encounter Wednesday showing a standing Pelosi pointing at the president while he and everyone else in the room were seated, with the caption "Nervous Nancy's unhinged meltdown!" However, far from being upset at the picture, Pelosi posted it as her Twitter banner, and her supporters said it showed her literally standing up to Trump. "Can a woman beat Donald Trump? Yes. Speaker Pelosi does it every day," Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar said as she retweeted the picture. "Thanks for the new cover photo @realDonaldTrump!," tweeted Pelosi's deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill. Others pointed out that several members of Trump's cabinet looked as if they would rather be somewhere else. "The men on your right reflect the embarrassment we all feel," tweeted actress Mia Farrow. Pelosi has previously gone viral with her apparent trolling of Trump, with her slow clapping of his last State of the Union speech becoming an instant meme. After leaving the White House meeting, she told the press she prayed for the president and his family "all the time." "Now we have to pray for his health because this was a very serious meltdown on the part of the President," she said. Hours later, Trump suggested Pelosi had mental problems of her own. "Nancy Pelosi needs help fast! There is either something wrong with her 'upstairs,' or she just plain doesn't like our great Country. She had a total meltdown in the White House today. I was very sad to watch. Pray for her, she is a very sick person!" Trump tweeted. One of the Democrats who attended the meeting, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, said Trump launched into a "nasty diatribe" against them, while Pelosi said the president experienced a "meltdown." Trump's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham rejected the Democratic version of events, saying the president had been "measured and decisive," and that Pelosi walking out was "baffling but not surprising." The meeting was the first face-to-face encounter between Trump and Pelosi since her explosive September 24 statement announcing a formal impeachment inquiry.

Donald Trump's Twitter photo attack backfires as Nancy Pelosi owns it

Twitter on Tuesday apologised after "inadvertently" using phone numbers and email addresses for advertising even though the personal data was provided for account security.

Twitter users' phone numbers and email addresses,&nbsp;submitted to allow for account authentication,&nbsp;were matched with advertisers' own data to enable targeted ads.

"When you provided an email address or phone number for safety or security purposes this data may have inadvertently been used for advertising purposes," Twitter said in an online post.

"This was an error and we apologise."

None of the user data was shared with partners outside the company, and it was unclear how many people were affected, the San Francisco-based company said.

The issue was fixed in mid-September, Twitter said.

"We're very sorry this happened and are taking steps to make sure we don’t make a mistake like this again," Twitter said.

Privacy and internet data are hot political topics worldwide, with tech giants such as Twitter and Facebook in the crosshairs of regulators.

Twitter on Tuesday apologised after "inadvertently" using phone numbers and email addresses for advertising even though the personal data was provided for account security.

Twitter on Tuesday apologised after "inadvertently" using phone numbers and email addresses for advertising even though the personal data was provided for account security. Twitter users' phone numbers and email addresses, submitted to allow for account authentication, were matched with advertisers' own data to enable targeted ads. "When you provided an email address or phone number for safety or security purposes this data may have inadvertently been used for advertising purposes," Twitter said in an online post. "This was an error and we apologise." None of the user data was shared with partners outside the company, and it was unclear how many people were affected, the San Francisco-based company said. The issue was fixed in mid-September, Twitter said. "We're very sorry this happened and are taking steps to make sure we don’t make a mistake like this again," Twitter said. Privacy and internet data are hot political topics worldwide, with tech giants such as Twitter and Facebook in the crosshairs of regulators.

Twitter admits phone numbers meant for security used for ads

Salman Khan who will be seen entertaining fans as Chulbul Panday in the upcoming film 'Dabangg 3'&nbsp;wrapped up the shooting. 
 
Bollywood's 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan'&nbsp;uploaded a video on Twitter where he can be seen speaking about the last day of the shoot and also paid tribute to late veteran actor Vinod Khanna whose birthday happens to be on the same day of their pack up. 
 
The character of Chulbul's father Prajapati Pandey which was played by the veteran actor is now being played by his brother Pramod Khanna.

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dabangg3?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Dabangg3</a> <a href="https://t.co/VZecKOtaYD">pic.twitter.com/VZecKOtaYD</a>
— Chulbul Pandey (@BeingSalmanKhan) <a href="https://twitter.com/BeingSalmanKhan/status/1180889345710055425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 6, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Salman who can be seen with the entire crew of the film along with the director Prabhu Deva remembered the late actor. 
 
"Today was the last day of Dabangg 3 and the happiest part is that today is the birthday of our V.K sir that is Vinod Khanna sir. So today is our Prajapati Panday's birthday and it happens to coincide with the pack up of our film," Salman can be heard saying in the video. 
 
'Dabangg 3'&nbsp;is being helmed by Prabhu Deva. The film marks the second collaboration between Salman and the director. The two have previously worked together in 2009 hit 'Wanted'. 
 
As per media reports, Arbaaz will once again be seen playing Makkhi in the film.The movie is being produced under the banner of Salman Khan Films and Arbaaz Khan Production. It is scheduled to release on December 20, this year.

Salman Khan who will be seen entertaining fans as Chulbul Panday in the upcoming film 'Dabangg 3' wrapped up the shooting. Bollywood's 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' uploaded a video on Twitter where he can be seen speaking about the last day of the shoot and also paid tribute to late veteran actor Vinod Khanna whose birthday happens to be on the same day of their pack up.

Salman Khan who will be seen entertaining fans as Chulbul Panday in the upcoming film 'Dabangg 3' wrapped up the shooting. Bollywood's 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' uploaded a video on Twitter where he can be seen speaking about the last day of the shoot and also paid tribute to late veteran actor Vinod Khanna whose birthday happens to be on the same day of their pack up. The character of Chulbul's father Prajapati Pandey which was played by the veteran actor is now being played by his brother Pramod Khanna. #Dabangg3 pic.twitter.com/VZecKOtaYD — Chulbul Pandey (@BeingSalmanKhan) October 6, 2019 × Salman who can be seen with the entire crew of the film along with the director Prabhu Deva remembered the late actor. "Today was the last day of Dabangg 3 and the happiest part is that today is the birthday of our V.K sir that is Vinod Khanna sir. So today is our Prajapati Panday's birthday and it happens to coincide with the pack up of our film," Salman can be heard saying in the video. 'Dabangg 3' is being helmed by Prabhu Deva. The film marks the second collaboration between Salman and the director. The two have previously worked together in 2009 hit 'Wanted'. As per media reports, Arbaaz will once again be seen playing Makkhi in the film.The movie is being produced under the banner of Salman Khan Films and Arbaaz Khan Production. It is scheduled to release on December 20, this year.

Salman Khan wraps up shooting of 'Dabangg 3', pays tribute to late actor Vinod Khanna

The general manager of the Houston Rockets said Monday a tweet backing Hong Kong protests that caused a major backlash was not meant to offend the NBA team's massive Chinese fanbase.

Daryl Morey's comments came as the NBA issued a statement distancing itself from the offending tweet and saying it was "regrettable" that the posting had offended so many fans in China.&nbsp;

The Rockets have been in damage control mode since Morey posted a tweet Friday featuring the message "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong" that was subsequently deleted.

"I did not intend my tweet to cause any offence to Rockets fans and friends of mine in China," Morey said in a tweet Monday morning in Tokyo, where the Rockets are playing several matches this week.

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2/ I have always appreciated the significant support our Chinese fans and sponsors have provided and I would hope that those who are upset will know that offending or misunderstanding them was not my intention. My tweets are my own and in no way represent the Rockets or the NBA.
— Daryl Morey (@dmorey) <a href="https://twitter.com/dmorey/status/1181000809363857409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2019</a></blockquote>
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"I was merely voicing one thought, based on one interpretation, of one complicated event. I have had a lot of opportunity since that tweet to hear and consider other perspectives," he added.

"I have always appreciated the significant support our Chinese fans and sponsors have provided and I would hope that those who are upset will know that offending or misunderstanding them was not my intention," Morey said.

He also reiterated that his tweets "in no way represent the Rockets or the NBA."

The NBA issued its own statement, saying it recognised Morey's views "have offended so many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable."&nbsp;

The NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets are due to play two pre-season games at Shanghai and Shenzhen in China later this week.

"While Daryl has made it clear that his tweet does not represent the Rockets or the NBA, the values of the league support individuals' educating themselves and sharing their views on matters important to them," the statement issued by chief communications officer Mike Bass said.

'Incorrect comments'&nbsp;

The Rockets have already tried to distance themselves from the controversy, with owner Tilman Fertitta on Friday writing on Twitter that Morey "does NOT speak for the @HoustonRockets... we are NOT a political organisation."

But the backlash in China has been fierce, with the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) saying it would sever all ties with the Rockets.

"General manager of Houston Rockets club Daryl Morey made incorrect comments about Hong Kong," the CBA said on its official social media page on Sunday.

"The Chinese Basketball Association is strongly opposed to this and will suspend communication and cooperation with the club."

Semi-autonomous Hong Kong has been battered by four months of increasingly violent pro-democracy protests.

The rallies were ignited by a now-scrapped plan to allow extraditions to mainland China, fuelling fears of an erosion of liberties in Hong Kong under the 50-year "one country, two systems" model China agreed before the 1997 handover from Britain.

The Rockets have enjoyed a huge following in China since the club drafted Chinese star Yao Ming in 2002.

But fans on social media in China savaged Morey's comments, with some urging he be fired.

The Rockets are in Japan for two exhibition games this week against NBA champions Toronto Raptors, and their head coach Mike D'Antoni on Sunday said that was the team's focus.

The general manager of the Houston Rockets said Monday a tweet backing Hong Kong protests that caused a major backlash was not meant to offend the NBA team's massive Chinese fanbase.

The general manager of the Houston Rockets said Monday a tweet backing Hong Kong protests that caused a major backlash was not meant to offend the NBA team's massive Chinese fanbase. Daryl Morey's comments came as the NBA issued a statement distancing itself from the offending tweet and saying it was "regrettable" that the posting had offended so many fans in China. The Rockets have been in damage control mode since Morey posted a tweet Friday featuring the message "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong" that was subsequently deleted. "I did not intend my tweet to cause any offence to Rockets fans and friends of mine in China," Morey said in a tweet Monday morning in Tokyo, where the Rockets are playing several matches this week. 2/ I have always appreciated the significant support our Chinese fans and sponsors have provided and I would hope that those who are upset will know that offending or misunderstanding them was not my intention. My tweets are my own and in no way represent the Rockets or the NBA. — Daryl Morey (@dmorey) October 7, 2019 × "I was merely voicing one thought, based on one interpretation, of one complicated event. I have had a lot of opportunity since that tweet to hear and consider other perspectives," he added. "I have always appreciated the significant support our Chinese fans and sponsors have provided and I would hope that those who are upset will know that offending or misunderstanding them was not my intention," Morey said. He also reiterated that his tweets "in no way represent the Rockets or the NBA." The NBA issued its own statement, saying it recognised Morey's views "have offended so many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable." The NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets are due to play two pre-season games at Shanghai and Shenzhen in China later this week. "While Daryl has made it clear that his tweet does not represent the Rockets or the NBA, the values of the league support individuals' educating themselves and sharing their views on matters important to them," the statement issued by chief communications officer Mike Bass said. 'Incorrect comments' The Rockets have already tried to distance themselves from the controversy, with owner Tilman Fertitta on Friday writing on Twitter that Morey "does NOT speak for the @HoustonRockets... we are NOT a political organisation." But the backlash in China has been fierce, with the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) saying it would sever all ties with the Rockets. "General manager of Houston Rockets club Daryl Morey made incorrect comments about Hong Kong," the CBA said on its official social media page on Sunday. "The Chinese Basketball Association is strongly opposed to this and will suspend communication and cooperation with the club." Semi-autonomous Hong Kong has been battered by four months of increasingly violent pro-democracy protests. The rallies were ignited by a now-scrapped plan to allow extraditions to mainland China, fuelling fears of an erosion of liberties in Hong Kong under the 50-year "one country, two systems" model China agreed before the 1997 handover from Britain. The Rockets have enjoyed a huge following in China since the club drafted Chinese star Yao Ming in 2002. But fans on social media in China savaged Morey's comments, with some urging he be fired. The Rockets are in Japan for two exhibition games this week against NBA champions Toronto Raptors, and their head coach Mike D'Antoni on Sunday said that was the team's focus.

NBA Rockets executive says Hong Kong tweet not meant to offend

Unemployment rate in the U.S falls to lowest in 50 years. Trump takes to Twitter to announce this 'Breaking News'

A good news for President Donald Trump

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