Business

The New York Times reports: The World Cup has historically been a boon for Twitter, bringing in record traffic and an influx of advertising dollars. But this time, when the global soccer tournament started on Nov. 20, Twitter’s U.S. ad revenue was running at 80 percent below internal expectations for that week, three people with knowledge of the figures said. …

The Wall Street Journal reports: In recent weeks, Apple as accelerated plans to shift some of its production outside China, long the dominant country in the supply chain that built the world’s most valuable company, say people involved in the discussions. It is telling suppliers to plan more actively for assembling Apple products elsewhere in Asia, particularly India and Vietnam, …

The New York Times reports: Before Elon Musk bought Twitter, slurs against Black Americans showed up on the social media service an average of 1,282 times a day. After the billionaire became Twitter’s owner, they jumped to 3,876 times a day. Slurs against gay men appeared on Twitter 2,506 times a day on average before Mr. Musk took over. Afterward, …

Orlando’s Fox affiliate reports: A resolution to the politically charged conflict that developed this year between the state of Florida and the Walt Disney Company may reportedly be in the works. The state’s lawmakers are working on plans to reverse a move that would strip Disney of its right to operate a private government around its theme parks, according to …

Axios reports: Elon Musk took to Twitter on Wednesday in an attempt to lower the heat in a fight he picked with Apple on Monday. “We resolved the misunderstanding about Twitter potentially being removed from the [Apple] App Store,” Musk claimed in a tweet, after thanking Apple CEO Tim Cook for taking him around Apple headquarters Wednesday. “Tim was clear …

Bloomberg News reports: Elon Musk’s Neuralink Corp. aims to start putting its coin-sized computing brain implant into human patients within six months, the company announced at an event at its Fremont, Calif. headquarters on Wednesday evening. Neuralink has been refining the product, which consists of a tiny device and electrode-laced wires, along with a robot that carves out a piece of …

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. House moved urgently to head off the looming nationwide rail strike on Wednesday, passing a bill that would bind companies and workers to a proposed settlement that was reached in September but rejected by some of the 12 unions involved. The measure passed by a vote of 290-137 and now heads to the Senate. …

Florida Politics reports: Presented with regretful comments from Disney CEO Bob Iger about consequences for the company’s opposition to the state’s Parental Rights in Education law, DeSantis did not back down from previous critiques of the “Burbank-based” corporation. “We didn’t drag them in, Tucker, they went in on their own,” DeSantis said on Fox News. “And not only opposed the bill. They …

“So, when Parler was thrown off of the app store because they allowed Donald Trump to speak, you would think it was an anomaly. It wasn’t. “For years the most cynical observers assumed that Big Tech companies like Apple censor speech but only in extraordinary circumstances. “Oh, no. They do it all the time. In fact, Apple engages in large-scale …

Platformer reports: On Monday morning, a revenue analyst for Twitter in Europe shared some disheartening news. “We are seeing a significant decline in bookings,” the analyst posted in Slack, before sharing the numbers. Twitter’s ad revenue in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) is down 15 percent year over year, he said, and weekly bookings are down 49 percent, …

The Confider reports: After peaking in August, Truth Social, the right-wing Twitter knockoff created by former president Donald Trump, has experienced two straight months of decline in unique visitors. According to Comscore data reviewed by TheRighting, a watchdog that reports on and analyzes trends in right-wing media, Truth Social went from 4.02 million visitors in August to 3.38 million in …

9 To 5 Mac reports: In the latest development at Twitter, Elon Musk has taken to his social platform to share that Apple has “mostly stopped advertising.” Along with the announcement, he implied in his short tweet that the decision makes the iPhone maker an opponent of free speech It comes after a series of events have led to speculation …

CNBC reports: Distressed crypto firm BlockFi has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey following the implosion of putative acquirer FTX. In the filing, the company indicated that it had more than 100,000 creditors, with liabilities and assets ranging to $10 billion. In the filing, the company listed an outstanding …

The New York Post reports: Twitter CEO Elon Musk posted a photo of his “bedside table” on Monday featuring a few odd decorations – including a pair of non-firing guns, a Buddhist amulet and a multiple cans of Diet Coke. The billionaire’s photo included a non-firing replica of George Washington’s flintlock pistol, lying in a wooden box whose open lid …

The Washington Post reports: Complete with what appear to be flames that shoot from the rocket, the statue was commissioned by the cryptocurrency company Elon GOAT Token. The company was delivering it to Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin on Saturday, during what it dubbed “Goatsgiving.” Costing a total of $600,000, according to Elon GOAT Token, the Musk sculpture is a nod …

Axios reports: A record $9.12 billion was spent online for Black Friday, with electronics driving much of the growth compared to last year, according to new Adobe Analytics data. These record-breaking sales happened amid rising concerns about inflation and the cost of living. Purchases on electronics led the way, soaring by 221% compared to an average day in October. Smart …

CNBC reports: Say goodbye to the airline call center −at least at Frontier Airlines. The budget carrier last weekend completed its transition to online, mobile and text support, which enables it to ensure that customers get “the information they need as expeditiously and efficiently as possible,” spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz told CNBC in an e-mailed statement. Passengers who call …

Business Insider reports: Elon Musk has a simple plan if Apple decides to boot Twitter from the App Store. The billionaire will create his own smartphone. Musk wrote in a Friday tweet he would “make an alternative phone” to compete with Apple’s iPhone if the tech giant ends up blocking Twitter from its powerful App Store. Musk’s stance on content …

NPR reports: Half of Twitter’s top 100 advertisers appear to no longer be advertising on the website. A report from Media Matters for America states that these 50 advertisers have spent almost $2 billion on Twitter ads since 2020 and more than $750 million just in 2022. Seven additional advertisers have slowed their advertising to almost nothing, according to the …

Reuters reports: Twitter Inc is planning to roll out its verified service next Friday with different colored checks for individuals, companies and governments, after a botched initial launch led to a surge in users impersonating celebrities and brands on the platform. Chief Executive Elon Musk on Friday allotted colors for the categories – gold for companies, grey for governments and …