X, formerly known as Twitter, is actively searching for a talented brand strategist in order to bolster its presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.Stephanie Terroir, the Lead of Brand Strategy & Creative for MENA (Next) at X, took to LinkedIn to announce the exciting opportunity. In her post, Terroir emphasized the importance of finding an experienced individual to join Next, the acclaimed brand strategy and creative team at X. The chosen candidate will collaborate closely with Terroir and the rest of the dynamic team.The position, based in Dubai, will serve as a pivotal role in X's MENA expansion strategy, requiring frequent travel throughout the region. Terroir highlighted the team's diversity, innovation, and fast-paced environment, underlining their commitment to exploring novel approaches to help brands leverage the power of X to convey their narratives effectively.“We are on the lookout for an exceptional thinker with profound domain expertise to further enhance advertising creativity on X," Terroir stated.This move underscores X's dedication to fostering partnerships and innovation in the MENA market, as it continues to evolve beyond its traditional role as a social media platform. With this strategic hire, X aims to deepen its connections with brands and users across the region, amplifying its impact and relevance in the ever-changing landscape of digital communication.

X (former Twitter) is making strides in its "everything app" plan through a new partnership with Shopify. The partnership aims to provide more opportunities for Shopify merchants to promote their products within the app.The deal is expected to introduce new ways for Shopify sellers to advertise on X. This could potentially enhance the visibility of Shopify products on the platform.X and Shopify are working on facilitating easier catalogue uploads. Shopify merchants may have a streamlined process to showcase their products on X, making it more convenient for both sellers and potential customers. The partnership is intended to enable broader product awareness actions. This could mean increased visibility and exposure for the products offered by Shopify sellers on the X platform. X is working on securing payment transmitter licenses in U.S. states, and there's confidence in enabling peer-to-peer payments in the app. If successful, this could open up new opportunities for retailers, with Shopify merchants leveraging X's reach for in-stream payments and transfers.Shopify's President, Harley Finkelstein, emphasizes the importance of reaching customers wherever they are and suggests that the partnership will boost exposure for Shopify sellers.Elon Musk's "everything app" vision, hints at a comprehensive platform that covers various aspects, potentially including commerce. The success of this vision could significantly impact how businesses operate on the platform.While the details are still to be determined, the collaboration between X and Shopify appears to hold potential for both parties. If the "everything app" vision materializes and in-stream payments become a reality, it could indeed lead to significant opportunities for retailers, particularly those on the Shopify platform.

The European Commission has opened formal proceedings to assess whether X may have breached the Digital Services Act (DSA) in areas linked to risk management, content moderation, dark patterns, advertising transparency and data access for researchers.On the basis of the preliminary investigation conducted so far, including on the basis of an analysis of the risk assessment report submitted by X in September, X's Transparency report published on 3 November, and X's replies to a formal request for information, which, among others, concerned the dissemination of illegal content in the context of Hamas' terrorist attacks against Israel, the Commission has decided to open formal infringement proceedings against X under the Digital Services Act.The proceedings will focus on the following areas:The compliance with the DSA obligations related to countering the dissemination of illegal content in the EU, notably in relation to the risk assessment and mitigation measures adopted by X to counter the dissemination of illegal content in the EU, as well as the functioning of the notice and action mechanism for illegal content in the EU mandated by the DSA, including in light of X's content moderation resources.The effectiveness of measures taken to combat information manipulation on the platform, notably the effectiveness of X's so-called ‘Community Notes' system in the EU and the effectiveness of related policies mitigating risks to civic discourse and electoral processes.The measures taken by X to increase the transparency of its platform. The investigation concerns suspected shortcomings in giving researchers access to X's publicly accessible data as mandated by Article 40 of the DSA, as well as shortcomings in X's ads repository.A suspected deceptive design of the user interface, notably in relation to checkmarks linked to certain subscription products, the so-called Blue checks.If proven, these failures would constitute infringements of Articles 34(1), 34(2) and 35(1), 16(5) and 16(6), 25(1), 39 and 40(12) of the DSA. The Commission will now carry out an in-depth investigation as a matter of priority. The opening of formal infringement proceedings does not prejudge its outcome.These are the first formal proceedings launched by the Commission to enforce the first EU-wide horizontal framework for online platforms' responsibility, just 3 years from its proposal.Next StepsAfter the formal opening of proceedings, the Commission will continue to gather evidence, for example by sending additional requests for information, conducting interviews or inspections.The opening of formal proceedings empowers the Commission to take further enforcement steps, such as interim measures, and non-compliance decisions. The Commission is also empowered to accept any commitment made by X to remedy on the matters subject to the proceeding.The DSA does not set any legal deadline for bringing formal proceedings to an end. The duration of an in-depth investigation depends on a number of factors, including the complexity of the case, the extent to which the company concerned cooperate with the Commission and the exercise of the rights of defence.The opening of formal infringement proceedings does not prejudge its outcome. It relieves Digital Services Coordinators, or any other competent authority of EU Member States, of their powers to supervise and enforce the DSA in relation to the suspected infringements of Articles 16(5), 16(6) and 25(1).

Concerns over the proliferation of antisemitic content and discussions on the social media platform X have intensified, reaching a critical point with advertisers like Apple Inc. pulling out their ads. Musk, who actively interacts with antisemitic users on X, endorsed a post asserting that Jewish people have a "dialectical hatred" of white individuals, to which he responded, "You have said the actual truth."The White House termed Musk's response as "unacceptable," emphasizing its potential threat to Jewish communities. Shareholders of Tesla Inc., where Musk serves as CEO, have also voiced concerns, with some calling for his suspension.The controversy follows a report from Media Matters revealing advertisements from major companies, including IBM, Oracle, Apple, Bravo and Comcast's Xfinity, appearing alongside pro-Nazi content on X. IBM was quick to suspend ads on the platform until the situation is addressed.In response to the backlash, the European Commission, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., Paramount Global, Walt Disney Co., and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. have all announced the withdrawal of their ads from X. The Anti-Defamation League reported a surge in antisemitism on X, increasing by over 900% in the week following the October 7 attack by Hamas.Musk has courted controversies in the past, including a satirical tweet comparing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler. Some stakeholders, like Ross Gerber of Gerber Kawasaki Inc., have expressed concern that Musk's actions are detrimental to the brand and overall reputation of his companies.Apple, a major advertiser on X, announced a pause in showing ads on X, reflecting the precarious nature of their relationship with Musk, who took over the platform last year. Musk's remarks coincide with a global rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.In the midst of this, Musk accused the Anti-Defamation League of undermining X's ad revenue by highlighting extremist content, contributing to a 60% decline in ad sales on the platform. The EC cited an alarming increase in disinformation and hate speech as a reason for staff to stop advertising on X.Despite X's efforts to address offensive content and label sensitive media, the controversy has triggered widespread concerns about the impact of Musk's statements on the brands associated with the platform. Shareholders and advocacy groups are calling for a response, ranging from censure to potential removal of Musk from his positions.

media platform X is gearing up to introduce a news distribution service named XWire, with the intention of competing against established platforms like Cision's PR Newswire.To commemorate the one-year anniversary of Musk's takeover and transformation of Twitter into X, the company held a meeting. During this gathering, company executives expressed their vision of YouTube and LinkedIn as potential future competitors. This suggests that X is considering venturing into the realms of video streaming and recruitment.In fact, the company is already actively working on the latter. In July, a beta version of this service was launched through the account @XHiring. Verified organizations can utilize this service to showcase critical job openings on their profiles, effectively reaching millions of suitable candidates, as stated in the account's description.Furthermore, Musk has recently implemented changes to how news story links are presented on X. He has restricted the display of headlines in previews of third-party links, so that only the link's domain and the main image from the destination page are visible in tweets. This change eliminates additional context from the previews.

Elon Musk has announced that two new tiers of X Premium, earlier known as Twitter, subscriptions will be commencing soon. This announcement was made by the X owner via a tweet on the platform. The two tiers will be differentiated by advertisements. One of the options will cost less but will not have a reduction in ads, while the other will be more expensive and will block all ads. The exact costs of each tier are yet to be confirmed.This announcement comes as no surprise, since Musk has already started charging a few countries for basic access. This can be due to the fact that the ad revenue of X had fallen by 59%, and the company has been eagerly exploring new ways to generate revenue. Earlier this week, the company started charging new users $1 in New Zealand and the Philippines. Users who don’t opt to subscribe and wish to use it for free will only be able to read the content. Non-subscribers will not be able to interact with the tweets or write their own. They will only be able to watch and read content and follow users.The platform has been in the news and gone through its ups and downs since Musk’s takeover last year in October.X is not the only platform that’s shifting to different paid models, with most players now moving from a growth-based strategy to a more profitable strategy.Earlier in the year, Meta also rolled out a subscription model for its blue ticks on its platforms. Netflix also indicated a hike in prices for its ad-free model and opted to create a free advertising-based video-on-demand model for its users.

X, formerly known as Twitter, has launched a pink app icon in partnership with Paris Hilton. It is its latest strategy to boost its ‘X’ Premium subscription offering. The social media platform has teamed up with entrepreneur and media icon Paris Hilton on a variety of initiatives, including a custom Paris pink X icon exclusively for X Premium subscribers. This partnership is part of a larger collaboration between Hilton’s 11:11 media company and X, which includes plans for Hilton to work on live video, live commerce, X Spaces (live audio), and more.Linda Yaccarino, CEO at X, announced that its her first major talent signing with the app, with Paris Hilton becoming the first celebrity to ink an exclusive content deal as part of X’s expanding video content push. Yaccarino’s initial Twitter growth strategy will involve pitching the platform to high-profile users, as a means to get more of them sharing their content to Twitter itself, as opposed to tweeting and linking to other sources, or sharing key updates in other apps.In addition to this, Hilton will also serve as a launch partner for new X products, services, and feature releases.