What Happened To Twitter?

One of the biggest social media platforms in the world is Twitter or, as it’s currently named, X. Since its launch in 2006, the platform has seen numerous changes, especially since its change in ownership in 2022. Here is what has happened to Twitter.

What Happened To Twitter?

After its launch in March 2006, Twitter had grown to have a user base of over 100 million unique users by 2012. The meteoric rise was linked to the 2007 SXSW conference, with attendees widely using the platform and its coverage noted by tech outlets and news media, with the public outside the conference quickly adopting the social media platform themselves based on this reporting and positive word-of-mouth. By the platform’s fourth anniversary in March 2010, Twitter saw a 1500% growth in its total user base since its early days, with the platform becoming more readily available and popular worldwide.

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic saw additional growth for Twitter but also the revelations of troubling business decisions that saw the platform receive significant scrutiny and criticism. In August 2022, a whistleblower claimed Twitter broke its agreement with the Federal Trade Commission about sharing user data, had negligent security measures, did not report data breaches, and violated federal security regulations. The report came as Twitter was in the midst of negotiating its sale to a new majority owner, Tesla, Inc. chief executive Elon Musk.

What Is the Current State of Twitter?

Musk had first entered talks to acquire Twitter in April 2022, with the acquisition deal formally closed in October 2022 after Musk briefly tried to terminate the offer the previous July. Upon the acquisition, Musk began removing Twitter’s established executives, placing himself as the head of the company, and gradually began to change the company branding. In July 2023, Twitter was officially rebranded as X, with a new letter symbol that similarly replaced the familiar bird logo that the platform had used for years under its previous ownership and name.

Response to the changes, including the branding, and rise in bot presence and hate speech on the platform was widely criticized, with Twitter’s market value reportedly down 71.5% from its purchase price by Musk. Twitter has been embroiled in a number of litigations since its acquisition by Musk, one of the most notable being its temporary ban in Brazil when the company refused to appoint a legal representative for the country. The ban lasted from August 2024 to the following October, following the settlement of $5.2 million in fines and compliance with the Brazilian government’s requests.

By October 2024, two years after Musk acquired the company, Twitter is now estimated to be worth nearly 80% less than Musk paid for it, leaving the company on uncertain ground.