Pranksters Posing as Laid-Off Twitter Employees Trick Media Outlets

"A pair of pranksters posing as laid-off Twitter employees tricked multiple media outlets Friday as the public anxiously awaited news on whether Elon Musk had begun axing staffers," reports the New York Post: CNBC's Deirdre Bosa interviewed two people who identified themselves as Twitter employees and were seen near the company's San Francisco headquarters carrying cardboard boxes. Skepticism immediately emerged on social media. One of the pranksters said his name was "Rahul Ligma" — a reference to a popular internet meme — and held a copy of Michelle Obama's book "Becoming" aloft while speaking to reporters. The other said his name was "Daniel Johnson." CNBC, Bloomberg, the Daily Mail and NBC were among the outlets that reported layoffs were underway after the duo spoke to the media.... "It's happening," CNBC's Bosa tweeted. Entire team of data engineers let go. These are two of them." "They are visibly shaken," Bosa added. "Daniel tells us he owns a Tesla and doesn't know how he's going to make payments...." Twitter employees have feared for months that Musk would enact sweeping layoffs at the company once his $44 billion takeover was complete. Those fears escalated last week after the Washington Post reported Musk was planning to cut 75% of Twitter's 7,500-employee workforce. Musk immediately fired several executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, but it's still unclear how many employees will be ousted. He denied the 75% figure was accurate while meeting with Twitter employees earlier this week. A source familiar with the situation told the Post that Twitter employees feel as though they're "in limbo," with no one having a clear idea of how many layoffs are coming. "People are just keeping their heads down until they see what happens," the source said. The source added that remaining employees are fearful about speaking to the media now that Musk has assumed control of the company. "Folks don't want to get fired for leaking," the source said. You can still watch video footage of the pranksters' interview on Reuters' official feed on YouTube (headlined "LIVE: Outside Twitter's San Francisco HQ after Elon Musk takes over") The Verge spotted the footage — and then added that "Since we're doing this, here are some other ridiculous things said by Ligma and his box-bearing associate." "It makes me worry about the future of our democracy... the future of celebrity conservatorship. I mean, when Britney [Spears] happened...." "I even own a Tesla, man. I'm a big fan of clean energy, climate change, even free speech too." Elon Musk — who has changed the title on his Twitter profile to "chief Twit" — responded Friday afternoon to the brouhaha, tweeting "Ligma Johnson had it coming." Earlier in the day, Musk had tweeted "Let the good times roll" and "Comedy is now legal on Twitter." On a more serious note, Musk also tweeted Friday that Twitter "will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints. No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes."

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