Twitter’s Safety and Trust Team Protested Musk’s Policies

• According to the Washington Post, Twitter’s trust-and-safety team organized a sickout for November 10, according to Washington Post.
• This was protest against Musk’s initial disregard for warnings regarding the dangers of Twitter Blue. 
• Sources claimed that Musk was making policy decisions as he went, without any input from anyone.

Twitter’s trust-and-safety team conducted a one day sickout on November 10, protesting Elon Musk’s approach to safety. The Washington Post reported. 

The protest was sparked by declining morale on the team after Musk launched Twitter Blue on November 9 — an $8-per-month subscription service giving users a blue checkmark and exclusive features — against their advice, the Post said.

The team sent a seven-page documentMusk had warned him a week prior about the dangers of his new badge systems, which include impersonation and widespread confusion as to which accounts are legitimate and fake. 

A sickout is an organized demonstration in which employees are called in sick simultaneously without warning to raise awareness about urgent issues. 

The protest took place on the same day as Yoel Roth, Twitter’s trust and safety head, resigned following the Twitter Blue rollout. He cited Musk’s “lackof legitimacy through his impulsive actions and tweet-length pronouncements regarding Twitter’s rules” as the reason for his resignation. Op-ed in The New York Times.

He had just completed the acquisition of the company a few weeks before. Musk fired Roth’s predecessorVijaya Gadde was the head of Twitter’s trust-and safety team for eleven years. 

Twitter didn’t immediately respond to a request to comment on the sickout. 

The trust and safety group considered mass resignations. Musk issued an ultimatumSources told the Post that Musk wanted workers to sign up for Twitter 2.0, his “hardcore” Twitter 2.0, or to quit by Thursday 17 at 5:00 p.m. According to sources, there was a consensus that Musk didn’t value employees’ work. 

One source said to the Post that there was no strategy. [trust and safety]Elon was simply making up or overriding policy, as he went along without any input.

Twitter Blue’s rollout has been stopped in recent weeks. Users are currently unable sign up for the premium service. Musk told staff Monday that the service would not be reintroduced until they are “confident about significant impersonations” The Verge obtained a transcript of the meeting. 

Musk appointed executive Ella Irwin, the new head of safety and trustLast week. Irwin was initially appointed as vice president of product for Twitter services and health in June. However, he resigned during the early days Musk’s takeover.

Musk brought Irwin back as a leader to persuade other people to join Twitter.Only 50% of employees signed up for Twitter 2.0.