Tag Archives: End of Free Speech

Jul 3 2023

Aspartame Deemed Carcinogenic


Armstrong Economics Blog/Disease Re-Posted Jul 3, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

The World Health Organization is set to label aspartame as “possibly carcinogenic.” If the FDA or USDA actually considers labeling something as “possibly carcinogenic,” you know it’s bad. They let us eat and drink actual poison to improve their bottom line. Aspartame is an artificial sugar that is allegedly 200 times sweeter than the natural product. The FDA, European Food Safety Authority, Health Canada, Food Standards Australia and New Zealand, and UK Food Standards Agency and Cancer Research ALL approved the use of aspartame in independent studies. It was marketed as a sugar-free weight loss supplement, but that also proved to be false.

“Replacing free sugars with NSS [non-sugar sweetener] does not help with weight control in the long term. People need to consider other ways to reduce free sugars intake, such as consuming food with naturally occurring sugars, like fruit, or unsweetened food and beverages,” says Francesco Branca, WHO Director for Nutrition and Food Safety. “NSS are not essential dietary factors and have no nutritional value. People should reduce the sweetness of the diet altogether, starting early in life, to improve their health.”

Aspartame is in everything from diet sodas, gum, energy drinks, candies, and even sold in pure form under the brands Sugar Twin and Equal. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) found that the gastrointestinal tract hydrolyzed and absorbed aspartame, releasing aspartic acid, methanol, and phenylalanine. The liver oxidizes the methanol to formaldehyde than again to formic acid. Both methanol and formaldehyde are toxic to liver cells. Aspartame has also been linked to neurological disorders such as neuropsychiatric reactions such as headaches, convulsions, and depression.

Healthcare is big business, and they are profiting from keeping the population sick. Let’s see which health agencies ban aspartame in the food supply. It is no coincidence that mental and physical ailments are on the rise despite advancements in modern medicine. Consumers deserve to be aware of what they are unwillingly consuming.

Jul 3 2023

$200 Billion in COVID-19 Funding Missing


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Jul 3, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

What the hell is the US government doing with our tax dollars? We just heard that the Pentagon managed to misplace $600 billion in funds to Ukraine. They simply have no idea where $600 billion wandered off to and are not investigating. Now, a watchdog group revealed that over $200 billion in COVID-19 relief funds also went M.I.A.

We already knew paycheck protection funding was widely abused. But an inspector general from the US Small Business Administration now believes AT LEAST 17% of all COVID-EIDL and PPP funds were “disbursed to fraudulent actors.” Fraud estimates for COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans reached $136 billion, or 33% of the entire program. Then it is estimated that an additional $64 billion was stolen from Paycheck Protection Fraud.

Government agents deny mass fraud. They say that the recent report “contains serious flaws that significantly overestimate fraud and unintentionally mislead the public to believe that the work we did together had no significant impact in protecting against fraud.” The problem here is that this is the money of the American people. In less than two weeks, the US government just announced they lost nearly a trillion due to bad actors and/or accounting errors. We deserve a complete overhaul of government accounting and a thorough investigation into where these funds went. Chalking it up to an accounting error or being duped is not sufficient. They need to tell the people exactly how they are spending our money, especially since they continually ask for more each year while providing nothing in return.

Jul 3 2023

Beware France – Macron Moves to Shut Down Internet Communication to Block Rebellious Uprisings


Posted originally on the CTH on July 3, 2023 | Sundance 

If the lessons of COVID-19 have taught us anything, it should be that each step the totalitarian dictatorships take -under the guise of protecting new democratic norms- must be viewed through the prism of future targeting. Pay attention, lest we find ourselves on the alternate side of populist uprisings under state targeting.

I sent the prior warning message around the collaboration between private industry and western government surrounding financial restrictions placed on Russia. When VISA, Mastercard and other payment mechanisms willingly and willfully supported the intentions of the Western Government coalition, few people thought about the Rubicon this new merge and partnership was establishing. {SEE HERE} In essence, private industry determining the lifestyle of Russian citizens in an effort to target their political leadership. Few people were paying attention.

With France now pledging to shut down internet communication in an effort to control organizing through social media, there is a bigger picture that must be considered.

[SOURCE – Translated from French]

Let me take you back to 2010 and 2011 when the U.S. State Department, Hillary Clinton, Samantha Power, Susan Rice, CIA Director Leon Panetta and French President Nicholas Sarkozy wanted to support the Islamist Spring uprisings in Tunis, Libya, Egypt and Yemen.

What happened then is very much related to what we are seeing right now in Europe, specifically France; only this time we are seeing the inverse of the government interests regarding social media on display.

The bad dictators were targeted for removal following the now famous Barack Obama Cairo, Egypt speech. President Barack Obama triggered the removal of the Zookeepers and released the big cats to become apex predators; the downstream consequences eventually showed up with ISIS burning people in cages.

When the leaders of Tunis, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Sudan and a multitude of other unapproved dictatorships, reacted to the collective effort of the CIA and U.S. state Dept by shutting down cell phone communication, the CIA and DoS responded by enlisting Twitter and Facebook as the messaging platforms for the rebels in each country.

Twitter became the main conduit through which the people on the ground could organize against their regimes. This was the initial merge of the U.S. government using social media to effect political change. [Side Note: this is the atom splitting moment which eventually led to the government’s ability to control, filter and ultimately censor U.S. social media content.]

Twitter, and to a lesser extent Facebook, served the interests of western government by helping the people on the ground to organize protests, violent uprisings, against the dictators in the Arab Spring. As we eventually saw in Libya and Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood (Egypt, AQIM) and al-Qaeda (Libya, AQAP) were supported by the State Dept/CIA during that effort.

The key takeaway is: the uprisings were supported by the western governments, and the social media platforms served the interests of the western government leadership.

Now fast forward to today…

We have the inverse issue for the interests of western government, specifically France and broad parts of the EU as well as the United States.

General uprisings, riots and assorted mayhem created by mostly Islamic immigrants and the subsequent cultural clash, are against the interests of France and the EU. The ability of the cultural insurgents to organize on social media is now against the interests of western government. How are they reacting? They are shutting down the utility of the platforms and shutting down the internet.

The initial takeaway from this might be perceived as good. The rioters are creating social unrest, looting, arson and crisis; they must be stopped and controlled. It seems like the government action will be a good thing.

However, as with the example of private corporations joining in alignment with WEF government to target Russia, what do you think will happen when a populist revolt of yellow vests, or anti-vaxxers, or freedom rebels take to the streets? Precedents are being set.

You might cheer France using control over communication to target the violent brown people now; but what happens when those same EU entities decide to target the communication of a different type of uprising. This is me, sending warning flares to those who might not care about this ‘beta-test’.

Oh, and don’t forget the Senate Intelligence Committee recent effort with the “Restrict Act“, total internet and domestic social media control pushed under the auspices of controlling TikTok data collection.

♦ Let me also point out that it does not seem in the least bit coincidental these French uprisings happen at the same time that Elon Musk and Twitter start limiting the ability of users to engage with the social media platform.

Musk claims that changing and restricting user access is all part of some necessary plan to stop scrapers from scouring the data of Twitter users and creating an AI system for censorship and control. That’s nonsense. Scraping and Spider Crawling happen on just about every site and platform where public comments take place. Reddit and YouTube comment systems are one example. Truth Social is another example.

Google AI has been scraping content from the entire internet for years. It is silly to say that a new censorship system using AI to scrape user information is a valid reason to shut down user engagement with the platform.

When it comes to censorship, Elon Musk would have you believe he is not in control. Again, nonsense.

All censorship starts with the actuated decision of the platform to allow or remove content. Despite Musk claiming there is some entity, some omnipotent system that can force him to censor Twitter content, there is not.

If Elon Musk does not want to censor content, he doesn’t censor content. These are his decisions.

However, Twitter and various social media platforms, but specifically Twitter, are at much heavier levels of user engagement outside the United States. It makes sense because in oppressive regimes where information from state-controlled media is tightly restricted, social media plays a larger role in the transmission and absorption of unfiltered information.

The level of user engagement, likes, retweets etc. is much higher for Twitter users outside the United States. Those users are also far less likely to pay for the service.

When Elon Musk is limiting the ability of non-paid users to engage in his platform, he is essentially assisting the dictators who control the government in those nations to limit information sharing.

Twitter’s current rules on user engagement restrict non-USA users at a much more significant level. As a result, Twitter’s rules are limiting information on a global scale. Elon Musk is well aware of this; he is not stupid.

When your world of enterprise is financially enmeshed with government to pay for it, you end up doing what those government offices tell you to do.

Is the timing of the Twitter decision related to geopolitical events like France? You decide. However, for me personally, and knowing the true operations of Twitter as a public opinion control platform (see Twitter files), I am fairly confident there is a connection of interest.

Is Elon Musk running a Twitter version of the RESTRICT ACT … again, where user data must be protected. 👀

Jul 3 2023

Sunday Talks, Former DNI John Ratcliffe Points Out the Obvious DOJ Corruption in the Hunter Biden Case


Posted originally on the CTH on July 3, 2023 | Sundance 

Former Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, appears on Fox News to point out the obvious inconsistencies with the claims by the DOJ in their effort to protect Hunter Biden and the Biden family from investigations.

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Jul 3 2023

France Burns While Media Demand We Pretend Not to See the Origin of the “Crisis”…


Posted originally on July 2, 2023 | Sundance 

For years, decades even, we have watched as European cultural elites, rich white people, literally chose to accept a path to their own inevitable destruction.

Yet now, even as stores are looted, buildings that withstood World War II are destroyed, and rampant violent mayhem erupts, we are supposed to pretend this had something to do with a 17-year-old named Nahel Marzouk who was shot dead by French police for trying to use his vehicle to kill them.

A Twitter account put together video from recent events in Europe, transposed with a speech given by Enoch Powell 55-years-ago, to highlight the insufferable cultural marxist pretending that is now rampant. {Direct Rumble Link}. Watch closely and see the future of the United States. WATCH:

[Full “Rivers of Blood” Speech Here – YouTube]

[FRANCE] – … “France burnt for a fifth night as rioters rampaged through major cities, torching cars and trashing buildings – prompting the drastic deployment of French special forces in an attempt to stop the mayhem from escalating. 

Up to 7,000 police were deployed into Paris overnight – joining a nationwide force of 45,000 officers – as the civil unrest deepened following the killing of Merzouk.

The worst trouble overnight on Saturday to Sunday was in Marseille, where police fired tear gas and fought street battles with youths around the city centre late into the night. A beefed-up police contingent arrested 55 people there.

In Paris, police increased security on the Champs Elysees and on the Rue de Rivoli after calls on social media to gather there.

[…] Mass police deployment has been welcomed by some frightened residents of targeted neighbourhoods and shop-owners whose stores have been ransacked – but it has further frustrated those who see police behaviour as the core of France’s current crisis.

The unrest took a toll on Macron’s diplomatic standing. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s office said Macron phoned Saturday to request a postponement of what would have been the first state visit by a French president to Germany in 23 years. Macron had been scheduled to fly to Germany on Sunday.

Hundreds of French police and firefighters have been injured in the violence that erupted after the killing, though authorities haven’t released injury tallies of protesters. 

In French Guiana, an overseas territory, a 54-year-old died after being hit by a stray bullet.

On Saturday, France’s justice minister, Dupond-Moretti, warned that young people who share calls for violence on Snapchat or other apps could face legal prosecution. Macron has blamed social media for fuelling violence.

The violence comes just over a year before Paris and other French cities are due to host Olympic athletes and millions of visitors for the summer Olympics, whose organisers were closely monitoring the situation as preparations for the competition continue. (read more)

Jul 3 2023

Representative Byron Donalds Tells Townhall Audience an Important Point…


Posted originally on the CTH on July 2, 2023 | Sundance 

Representative Byron Donalds (MAGA – SWFL) brings an important point to the audience at a local townhall.  The issue of institutional corruption, and the total lack of faith and confidence in the institutions of our government, are at the forefront of the electorate.  Representative Donalds is challenged about the intent of the MAGA republican legislators and what must be done about the transparency of corruption we all witness and know to exist.

During his response, Donalds notes a key distinction.  The MAGA coalition saw what the 2010 Tea Party conservatives went through. The MAGA coalition saw and sees what President Trump has gone through.  The MAGA coalition is delivering a message to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and others, that those who stand on the principles of anti-corrupt influence are not concerned with the perks, benefits, affluence and legislative influence that DC uses to diminish their opposition.

As noted by Donalds sharing his discussions with Kevin McCarthy, the MAGA coalition is in place -in their face- to effect change and remove the corruption, not participate in the process to give the illusion of change.  WATCH:

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Jul 3 2023

Sunday Talks, Neil Oliver Outlines the Globalist Targeting, De-banking and De-personing of Nigel Farage


Posted originally on the CTH on July 2, 2023 | Sundance 

Neil Oliver’s monologues each week are even more critical in the intellectual pushback as the thoughts and monologues of Tucker Carlson.  Neil articulates the issues and reaches an audience thirsting to understand just how corrupt the systems are that flow from the globalist and corporatist constructs.

Behind all the disparate institutional machinations, the larger objective of globalism and nationalism continue to present the most direct reference point of the conflict.  Just as Donald Trump represents this dynamic clearly in the United States, within Europe UK political figure Nigel Farage has been the tip of the spear confronting globalism and representing the face of British nationalism.

As a result of this dynamic almost every multinational and corporate EU institution has attempted to destroy Nigel Farage.  The latest example comes from the banking system in the U.K which has told Mr. Farage he will not be permitted to engage in banking, finance or commerce.  Neil Oliver takes this example and puts the larger context into his monologue.  WATCH:

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Jul 2 2023

The French Riots


Armstrong Blog/Civil Unrest Re-Posted Jul 1, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Martin,

You said to watch France and an early warning indicator. Might Europe be on the precipice?

My family, friends, and I thank you for everything that you do.

Best wishes,

JC
ANSWER: What we are watching in France is far more than simply a police shooting of a 17-year-old youth. The New York Times reported that in subsequent years, several beatings by the police and deaths in custody led to minor protests. This appears to be cumulative, but economic stagnation is eating away at Europe. While the overall unemployment rate in France is about 7%, the youth unemployment rate of ages 15 to 24 remains over 20%. This is a direct source of the unrest. All civil unrest is ALWAYS rooted in economics. A simple correlation between the global economy and economics reveals the source.

The danger is that as the economic conditions of Europe get worse with all the insane regulation for Climate Change that is reducing food production to eliminating jobs, all for a theory pushed by the WEF to create a new world of totalitarian order, we see hostility rising not just internationally, but also domestically and this can spread as a contagion throughout the EU. You cannot destroy the livelihood of so many people without dire consequences. This is partly why they also want the international war to divert attention from their failed climate change agenda.

The recent events in France are an uncanny repeat of the youth/racial riots of the autumn of 2005. That is when two youngsters of Arab origin were electrocuted while trying to escape arrest by the French police. This time, two police officers shot a juvenile of Algerian origin as he tried to escape in a stolen car. The evidence that surfaced showed that the police officer was in no danger. That is what set off the rights once again.

In the hours that followed, literally tens of thousands of primarily young males, many of them minors, poured out and launched violent riots in the suburbs of French cities. These riots appeared Nantes in the north to Marseille in the south. They set fire to cars and public buildings that, included schools. They began to pillage local stores, and hundreds of people were arrested in the process. The government has reported that 170 policemen have been injured. This appears to many as once again racial since the rioters, this time, are third and fourth-generation descendants of migrants. There have been reports that some are said to have used firearms to harass the locals living mostly in social housing.

Terrorist attacks of 2013 on the Bataclan Club in Paris and 2016 in Nice resulted in a significant shock to French society. Consequently, a state of emergency was declared and then extended. It was finally lifted in 2017, but a new law passed simultaneously made some of its provisions permanent. This has left scars that some view as racial against Arab immigrants.

When we look at Europe, what is interesting is that in absolute figures, France remains much more unattractive for continued migration. Social welfare is far better compared to other European countries. In France, the proportion of people born abroad has been stable at around 10% for years because of those terrorist attacks. In Austria, this proportion of migrants has risen from 13% in 2015 to over 20% today. Friends in Austria complain that their society has been forever altered. The massive immigration wave of 2015-2016 hit Germany, the Scandinavian countries, and Austria primarily because of their welfare systems. France was at no time a target country for this mass immigration at that time.

President Emmanuel Macron had to cut his trip short to the pathetic EU summit on migration. Macron has come out and blamed TikTok for the escalation of violence. Interestingly, Twitter began to suppress user accounts in France that posted images and videos of the riots last Friday. Twitter even shut down accounts of non-France origin for posting about the riots. Because of French media law,  Twitter avoided committing a criminal offense. Macron is also making the parents of those rioting minors responsible. Back during the 2005 riots, his predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, in response to the growing violence, cut social benefits for their families. That was 15 years ago.

Jul 2 2023

Interview: Living in a Coup with Massive Election Rigging & War


Armstrong Economics Blog/Armstrong in the Media Re-Posted Jul 2, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Commentary by Greg Hunter:

Legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong was forecasting “chaos” in 2023, and that’s exactly what we got.  His cycle work says don’t look for it to get better anytime soon.  Armstrong explains, “We are in the midst of a coup.  We have all these people who have been neocons for 30 years.  Even Ron Paul said recently that the neocons have been waging war for 30 years and have not won a one single one.  This is what they live for.  Look at the clip of Lindsey Graham saying this is the best money we ever spent killing Russians.  How can you take pleasure in that statement that this is the best money we ever spent killing Russians.  This is not defense.  These are the words of a psychopath in my mind. . . . They are not about to accept anybody who is going to be against war.  The neocons are in full control of the government—period.  We are living in the time of a coup.  The United States is not the free country you thought it was. . . .”

Armstrong also predicts that the neocons will rig the 2024 election so Biden (or some other neocon) gets a second term.  Is there any way to stop this election rigging and fraud in 2024?  Armstrong says, “I don’t believe so.  Our computers show that holy hell breaks loose starting in 2025.  I think the problem will be the cheating will be in everybody’s face this time.”

Armstrong also says the neocons will try to start a war before the 2024 election so Biden will win because a wartime president has never lost an election.  Armstrong says the cheating will be necessary because the real poll numbers for Biden are in the single digits and not the 40% approval ratings the Lying Legacy Media tells you.  Armstrong contends Biden’s approval number is still stuck at 9.5% with his deadly accurate Socrates computer program, but the big reason for Biden and his crew to worry is the real inflation number.  Armstrong says, “Inflation is subsiding a little bit, but it is basically still over 26%.”

Armstrong says Biden’s approval numbers are so low and inflation is so high that they have to have war with Russia.  War is the reason they had to remove Trump out of the White House because Trump was against constant war.  Armstrong adds, “No way they are going to allow a free election.  It you think the CIA cannot rig the vote, I don’t know what planet you live on.”

Don’t expect Fed Head Jay Powell to lower interest rates.  It will be just the opposite.  Armstrong explains, “What is Powell looking at?  War is the number one cause of inflation.  He can’t say because you people are dumping all this money into Ukraine, inflation is only going to go higher because then he is criticizing the government.  So, he just says he’s looking at ‘international considerations.’  Look what the Vietnam war did.  It broke the back of Bretton Woods.  War is always the number one problem.  The neocons only care about winning, and they do not care about the country.  The do not care about your 401-k or your retirement.  They could care less.”

In closing, Armstrong warns, “Russia is like a wild animal, and if it is cornered, it will attack.”  This means the whole thing in Ukraine could go nuclear if Russia is pushed into a corner.  And what about all that debt the western world has built up?  Armstrong says, “They intend to default on all the sovereign debt. . . .I don’t see this succeeding.  I think it’s all going to collapse.  The reason why they are doing this is they realize they are losing power.  They feel it slipping out of their fingers.  The more that happens, the more they become aggressive.  That’s what this is all about.”

Jul 2 2023

Elon Musk Is Self-Immolating on Twitter and Being Disingenuous About the Reasoning


Posted originally on the CTH on July 1, 2023 | Sundance

The Twitter platform decisions are making headlines and opening conversation, because Elon Musk is trying to retain his platform against all odds and not really working to solve his problem.  Several platform changes are taking place that are being less than honestly explained.  As interested CTH readers look on quizzically, perhaps it’s time for me to revisit the truth of Musk’s challenge as it has always existed so people can understand. [NBC ARTICLE HERE, that doesn’t understand]

Keep in mind, long before people realized the Dept of Homeland Security (FBI, DHS, CISA etc.) had a portal into Twitter, I was explaining how transparently obvious it was. {Go Deep – Jack’s Magic Coffee Shop} In part, the transparency of the problem is driven by CTH understanding of the costs associated with Twitter as a very unique platform in the sphere of social media. {Go Deep – Understand the Costs}

With the latest revelations we shared about the financial position of Twitter {Go Deep on FINANCIALS}, all of the moves now underway make sense.  Musk was on track to hit a date in/around October of this year where Twitter would be insolvent. If you had read those previous “Go Deep” links, you will easily see the problem. However, if you have not read those backgrounds, this could be difficult to understand.

[Source Link]

Musk is being disingenuous in his explanation here.  I’m being generous in not calling him a fibber.  His problem is multifaceted, and he is looking at it with two approaches.

First, by Musk’s prior admissions, he’s losing approximately $300 million/month and needs to grow revenue fast.  That’s why he hired Linda Yaccarino.  Second, he’s trying desperately to reduce operational costs for data processing.  Twitter has a systemic platform cost issue that will not change easily – due to his very unique issue of “simultaneous users,” in combination with no proprietary content.  That’s where he is being less than honest about these changes.

Twitter is a global discussion platform, essentially a global commenting system.  Elon Musk is trying to address the cost and utility of his platform at the same time that a similarly constructed META alternative is about to launch.  Yes, Mark Zuckerberg is JUST ABOUT to launch a Twitter version of META that will link Facebook, Instagram, and Google YouTube content into one big instant conversation and commenting system.

Zuckerberg has one key thing Musk doesn’t, proprietary content and actively engaged and solid advertising systems built into the operation.

META CEO Mark Zuckerberg has the revenue options that will cover the extreme costs of the simultaneous user interface and data processing, while simultaneously allowing content creators to cross post their content.

Zuckerberg has multifaceted advertising engagement systems that allow advertisers to target and engage with users in very creative ways on his platform(s). You can even shop directly from Instagram and Facebook with the advertiser.  Setting aside the other issues with advertisers, corporate wokeism etc, Elon Musk has nothing like that – not even close.

However, Musk’s biggest issue is the cost of his platform.  This is what he is trying to tackle right now, while simultaneously fending off the META infringement.

In the big picture of tech platforms, Twitter, as an operating model, is a massive high-user commenting system.

Twitter is not a platform built around a website; Twitter is a platform for comments and discussion that operates in the sphere of social media.  As a consequence, the technology and data processing required to operate the platform does not have an economy of scale.

There is no business model where Twitter is financially viable to operate…. UNLESS the tech architecture under the platform was subsidized.

[NOTE: In my opinion, there is only one technological system and entity that could possibly have underwritten the cost of Twitter to operate.  That entity is the United States Government.  That’s where the quid pro quo in allowing DHS to have a backdoor comes in.]

Unlike websites and other social media, Twitter is unique in that it only represents a platform for user engagement and discussion.  There is no content other than commentary, discussion and the sharing of information – such as linking to other information, pictures, graphics, videos url links etc.

In essence, Twitter is like the commenting system on the CTH website.  It is the global commenting system for users to share information and debate.  It is, in some ways, like the public square of global discussion.   However, the key point is that user engagement on the platform creates a massive amount of data demand.

Within the systems of technology for public (user engagement) commenting, there is no economy of scale.  Each added user represents an increased cost to the operation of the platform, because each user engagement demands database performance to respond to the simultaneous users on the platform.  The term “simultaneous users” is critical to understand because that drives the cost.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Twitter has approximately 217 million registered daily users, and their goal is to expand to 315 million users by the end of 2023.   Let me explain why things are not what they seem.

When people, users, operate on a tech platform using the engagement features, writing comments, hitting likes, posting images, links etc, the user is sending a data request to the platform’s servers.  The servers must then respond allowing all simultaneous users to see the change triggered by the single user.

Example: when you hit the “like” button feature on an engagement system, the response (like increasing by one) must not only be visible to you, but must also be visible to those simultaneously looking at the action you took.   If 100,000 simultaneous users are looking at the same thing, the database must deliver the response to 100,000 people.  As a result, the number of simultaneous users on a user engagement platform drives massive performance costs.  In the example above, a single action by one person requires the server to respond to 100,000 simultaneous users with the updated data.

As a consequence, when a commenting platform increases in users, the cost not only increases because of that one user, the cost increases because the servers need to respond to all the simultaneous users.   Using CTH as an example, 10,000 to 15,000 simultaneous commenting system users, engaging with the servers, costs around $4,500/mo.

This is why most websites, even big media websites, do not have proprietary user engagement, i.e. commenting systems.  Instead, most websites use third party providers like Disqus who run the commenting systems on their own servers.  Their commenting systems are plugged in to the website; that defers the cost from the website operator, and the third party can function as a business by selling ads and controlling the user experience.  [It also sucks because user privacy is non existent]

The key to understanding the Twitter dynamic is to see the difference between, (a) running a website, where it doesn’t really matter how many people come to look at the content (low server costs), and (b) running a user engagement system, where the costs to accommodate the data processing -which increase exponentially with a higher number of simultaneous users- are extremely expensive.   Twitter’s entire platform is based on the latter.

There is no economy of scale in any simultaneous user engagement system.  Every added user costs exponentially more in data-processing demand, because every user needs a response, and every simultaneous user (follower) requires the same simultaneous response.  A Twitter user with 100 followers (simultaneously logged in) that takes an action – costs less than a Twitter user with 100,000 followers (simultaneously logged in), that takes an action.

If you understand the cost increases in the data demand for simultaneous users, you can see the business model for Twitter is non-existent.

Bottom line, more users means it costs Twitter more money to operate.  The business model is backwards from traditional business.  More customers = higher costs, because each customer brings more simultaneous users….. which means exponentially more data performance is needed.

User engagement features on Twitter are significant, because that’s all Twitter does.  Not only can users write comments, graphics, memes, videos, but they can also like comments, retweet comments, subtweet comments, bookmark comments, and participate in DM systems.  That is a massive amount of server/data performance demand, and when you consider simultaneous users, it’s almost unimaginable in scale.  That cost and capacity is also the reason why Twitter does not have an edit function.

With 217 million users, you could expect 50 million simultaneous users on Twitter during peak operating times.  My back of the envelope calculations, which are really just estimations based on known industry costs for data performance and functions per second (pfp), would put the data cost to operate Twitter around $200 to $300 million per month.

In 2021, Twitter generated $5.1 billion in revenue, according to the Wall Street Journal.  According to the New York Times, in 2023 that revenue has dropped to around $1 billion per year.

Musk stated during public conversation that Twitter was essentially break even at $4 billion, which was the position in 2022 just prior to his taking over.  [2022 costs around $4.5 billion and revenue around $4 billion +/-, per public financial statements and reporting].   Musk cut approximately $500 million in expenses from realignment and staffing reductions.

Musk has a $1.5 billion debt service on the loan he took out, per his own admission: that’s more than $100 million per month.  The debt service alone is higher than his revenue.  As I noted last month, Twitter is losing somewhere around $300 million per month.  With $1 billion liquid in the bank, as of June (per Musk), that only gets him to September; by October, he needs another influx of cash, or else.

There is no business model, even with paying subscribers, for Twitter to exist without a major increase in revenue (Yaccarino) or a major decrease in costs.  As the business grows (more users), the costs increase (more simultaneous users), and the costs to subscribers would grow.  Twitter Blue subscriptions are around 180,000 users, paying $11/mo.  That’s around $2 million a month- a pittance in comparison to what he needs.

Right now, meaning literally right now, Musk is trying to reduce operational costs by limiting user engagement.

It is not an accident these solutions target the “simultaneous user” issue?

Can you see it now?

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