Elon-dril

Submission   17,787

Part of a series on Dril. [View Related Entries]


Overview

Elon Musk vs. dril refers to the conflict between Twitter owner Elon Musk and power user @dril over the informal Block the Blue campaign in late 2022 and early 2023. @dril had been a vocal critic in advocating against paid blue checkmarks and Musk forced a blue checkmark onto the account (in addition to many others). Following this, the unwillingly check-marked @dril continually changed their username in order to remove the checkmark and made many jokes at Musk's expense.

Background

Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, and announced a change to the verified accounts and blue checkmark designation of the platform, opening the feature up to people who paid $8 and refusing it to those who wouldn't pay, even if they had a notable account. Early on, @dril expressed opposition to this plan, becoming the first person to tweet #BlocktheBlue (seen below) on November 9th, 2022.[1]

wint @dril. Nov 9, 2022 absolutely block on sight Verified account This account is verified because it's subscribed to Twitter Blue. Learn more 459 wint @dril 17.3K 117K ılı you just paid $8 to eat my ass stupid #BlockTheBlue 4:46 PM Nov 9, 2022 4,445 Retweets 164 Quotes 36K Likes 111 Bookmarks ↑ : :

In various press interviews, @dril (as an iconic early Twitter account) also spoke out against Musk and the changes he brought to the platform.[2]

On April 20th, 2023, Twitter then stripped all legacy blue checkmarks that weren't paid for. However, Elon Musk claimed he was continuing to pay for some of the checkmarks personally.[3] Users including @dril lost their legacy blue checkmarks. The campaign surrounding #BlocktheBlue subsequently picked up steam, as Twitter users advocated for blocking those who had paid for the checkmarks.

Developments

New dril Checkmark April 2023

On April 22nd, 2023, dril was given a new checkmark. This development was notably presaged by a tweet from @MNightShymalan, which received over 6,200 likes on April 21st, 2023 (seen below).[4] Later, @MNightShymalan recognized that what they had predicted had come true.

soul nate @MNateShyamalan Apr 21 he's not funny enough for this but an extremely good bit that elon could do would be to non-consensually verify dril 1 248 65 ACABylon Bot, LLC @ACABylonBee · Apr 21 don't give him any ideas 27 2 soul nate @MNateShyamalan well, 11:36 PM. Apr 22, 2023 · 47.1K Views 5,994 1 Retweet 806 Likes 3 Bookmarks 246 ₁1.8M ılı 60.5K ↑ 소 ... : ...

dril was given a new checkmark, and responded to this development by ironically capitulating to Musk. dril also pointed out Musk's rumored association with Jeffrey Epstein and mocked projects like Dogecoin and Hyperloop (seen below).[7]

slave to Woke @dril. 10h now that i have the baneful blue mark, I undertand the pain ive wrought. i was wrong to torment dog coin guys. im jealous of their million's 336 16,078 ₁3.2M 소 slave to Woke @dril. 10h building a pressurized 3000 mile long tube across the desert instead of a normal train is actually a really good idea. Always has been t 5,216 ₁1.3M 81 72.1K 532 55K slave to Woke @dril. 10h you can disaggrree with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislane Maxwells politics while still hanging out with them in photographs. Its totally fine 10.3K ılı 2.2M 企 68.1K ...

Some in dril's replies, including pundit Keith Olbermann, suggested that if dril changed their photo, username or something else on their account, the blue checkmark would automatically go away.

dril Continues To Change Username and Receive New Checkmarks

Between the hours of 5 and 7 p.m. EST on Saturday, April 22nd, 2023, @dril's username or profile picture changed at least four times, and with each change, the blue checkmark reappeared, often within minutes. Twitter user @zachsilberberg posted a recap of the ongoing drama just before 6 p.m., earning almost 85,000 likes in nine hours.[8] Silberberg also posted screenshots of dril's account taken one minute apart, which showed how rapidly Twitter re-added the checkmark (seen below).

zach silberberg @zachsilberberg ... so they gave dril the checkmark, but the checkmark goes away if you change your name, so dril just changed his name, but they gave him the checkmark again, so he changed his name again... this is the most looney tunes ass fight ive ever seen between a billionaire and a shitposter 11:59 PM. Apr 22, 2023 3M Views 12.2K Retweets 401 Quotes 89.6K Likes 1,650 Bookmarks

zach silberberg @zachsilberberg · 10h waiting to see when musk is gonna catch up with the newest name change the only good guy with the check mark @dril 1 writer director ceo "spider man goes to jail" account sold to Citibank as of 12/14/22, When the posts started getting bad t 119 5,032 zach silberberg @zachsilberberg. 10h there it is ₁203.2K : さん the only good guy with the check mark @dril さ Following ↑ Following : :

Some recorded dril nicknames during this time period included "wint," "only good guy with the checkmark," "forgiven ascended wint," "blough job" and "slave to Woke." With each name change, dril lost their blue checkmark and then was reassigned it.

During the battle of the checkmark, @dril quote-tweeted a poster who had pointed out that "false certification" (falsely and publicly announcing that someone has paid for a service or joined a group that they did not actually join) might count as defamation under U.S. law, meaning that dril could, purportedly, sue Elon Musk for defamation.[9]

slave to Woke @dril its ok he fired the people in charge of telling him its illegal derek @websitehomepage - 9h I plead epic trolling, your honor twitter.com/Papapishu/stat... Overview ^ Under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act, false endorsement occurs when a person's identity is connected with a product or service in such a way that consumers are likely to be misled about that person's sponsorship or approval of the product or service."[1] : ...

Musk, for his part, posted the tweet below during the same 5:00 to 7:00 window, possibly referencing his duel with dril. He received almost 400,000 likes for it.[11]

Elon Musk @elonmusk. 11h Everyone: Don't do that! that 14.6K 37.8K 367.5K me ₁19.6M ↑ :

dril Successfully Removes Check

As of the morning of April 23rd, 2023, the display name of dril was "slave to Woke" and the account did not have a blue checkmark (seen below).

slave to Woke @dril ... Other 413 Following 1.7M Followers tp Following writer director ceo "spider man goes to jail" account sold to Citibank as of 12/14/22, When the posts started getting bad links :linktr.ee/drilreal LA linktr.ee/drilreal Joined September 2008

Online Reactions

Many on Twitter followed the developments of the dril vs. Musk duel closely as it garnered attention during the weekend of April 22nd and 23rd, 2023, some calling it "tremendous content" and filling dril's replies with supportive posts (example seen below, left). Others simply reveled in the drama of the battle between Musk and dril, like @Chinchillazilla, who received over 7,000 likes in two days for their tweet on the 22nd (seen below, right).[6]

Ju pon A dammit @stretch14tw. 10h I feel bad for dril but this is tremendous content 27 4 1 8 151 27 1 adrian @crawf34. 10h it literally disappeared between reading and tapping into this tweet. good website ₁14.2K 269 ↑ ₁31.9K ...
i bless the rains down in castamere @Chinchillazllla oh god. he gave dril a checkmark, I say aloud. my family falls silent. my mother begins to weep 10:49 PM . Apr 22, 2023 249.6K Views 584 Retweets 17 Quotes 6,920 Likes 36 Bookmarks : ...

A few posters imagined Musk or someone he hired personally marking dril's account with a checkmark each time it was deleted. Some criticized Musk for picking a fight with dril, like Twitter user @BBolander who received over 16,400 likes for criticizing Musk (seen below, top).[10] Others, like user @Fred_Delicious, who received over 30,000 likes in less than a day on April 23rd, situated Elon Musk vs. dril in the larger story of Twitter.[5]

Bo Bolander @BBolander imagine the hubris of thinking you can best dril at any of this 11:55 PM. Apr 22, 2023 321.6K Views 1,283 Retweets 11 Quotes 15.3K Likes 88 Bookmarks : ...

Jasmine('s boobs hurt) @Ranting_Trans "Sir, a second blue checkmark has hit the dril account" ALT ME M 2:48 AM Apr 23, 2023 13.3K Views . 89 Retweets 810 Likes 6 Bookmarks :

#BlockTheBlue

Block The Blue, often posted under the hashtag #BlockTheBlue, is an informal Twitter campaign that began in late 2022, and aimed to encourage Twitter users to block accounts with paid Twitter Blue subscriptions. Starting in late 2022, various high-profile Twitter users, including @drill, encouraged their followers to block Twitter Blue subscribers due to their general dissatisfaction with Elon Musk's stewardship of the platform.

External References



Share Pin

Related Entries 9 total

Screen_shot_2017-05-02_at_2.43.53_pm
Someone Who Is Good At The Ec...
Stovetop_corn_on_the_cob_1_horiz
Corn Cobbed
Screen_shot_2017-04-12_at_2.50.31_pm
None Of You Are Free Of Sin
_86915867_27nov_is_gun_(1)
You Do Not, Under Any Circums...


Recent Images 19 total


Recent Videos 0 total

There are no recent videos.




Load 12 Comments