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Was the Twitter clout-chasing really worth it?

Make Me Smart

English - October 12, 2023 00:33 - 12 minutes - 11.8 MB - ★★★★★ - 4.6K ratings
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When Elon Musk turned Twitter, now X, on it’s head, some media outlets decided to call it quits. Six months later, an internal memo at NPR says traffic has dipped only modestly. We’ll get into why Twitter may not have been the bedrock of online engagement that many had believed. And Caroline Ellison, Sam Bankman-Fried’s former adviser and girlfriend, has been testifying at his fraud trial this week. It has us thinking about how choosing a romantic partner can come with consequences. Plus, an initiative pushing back against the “tampon tax.”



Here’s everything we talked about today:


“Six Months Ago NPR Left Twitter. The Effects Have Been Negligible” from Nieman Reports

“Elon Musk told X users to follow accounts known for lies for Israel updates” from The Washington Post

“Caroline Ellison Says She and Sam Bankman-Fried Lied for Years” from The New York Times

The Tampon Tax Back Coalition

“NASA Unveils First Glimpse of Space Rock Collected From Asteroid” from The New York Times





Got a question for the hosts? Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email us at [email protected].