Snowden wants Twitter CEO position for compensation in Bitcoin

Edward Snowden offered to take the Twitter CEO position for payment in Bitcoin.

On Dec 18, Elon Musk polled Twitter asking if he should step down as Twitter CEO. With an hour left before closing at press time, 57.4% have voted yes, with the remaining 42.6% saying he should stay on.

The poll has prompted a string of personalities to throw their hat in the ring to replace Musk should he step down.

Snowden wants in

Snowden gained prominence in 2013 after whistleblowing on the National Security Agency (NSA.) He revealed a global surveillance program the agency runs in cooperation with Australian, British, and Canadian intelligence services.

The U.S. Department of Justice charged Snowden with theft of government property and espionage. As a result, he fled to Russia, where the former security contractor was granted asylum. In September 2022, Snowden received Russian citizenship.

Having risked his life to disclose governmental surveillance operations, Snowden has gained a reputation for promoting freedom and free speech. This makes him an appropriate choice based on Musk’s purported intention for Twitter.

However, other candidates have stepped forward, including podcaster Lex Friedman, who offered his services for no salary. Friedman said he wanted to improve engineering and increase “the amount of love in the world.”

Unlike Snowden’s offer, Musk replied to Friedman, saying, “you must like pain a lot,” and are required to put your life savings into the company, which has been losing money since May.

“Still want the job?“

Rapper Snoop Dogg has also expressed an interest in taking over as CEO.

Has Twitter become too hot to handle for Musk?

On Oct 24, Musk finally bought Twitter in a $44 billion deal after months of back and forth.

His first action was to sack 75% of the workforce, equating to a  3,700 reduction in headcount—particularly those responsible for enforcing censorship and pro-leftism.

Musk has since been caught up in controversies, including accusations of hypocrisy following the banning of journalists’ Twitter accounts. Musk justified the move, saying the journalists had violated Twitter’s policy by doxxing his real-time location and threatening his personal safety.

The latest controversy is a change in policy prohibiting the linking of third-party social media platforms. Musk’s mother, Maye, chimed in by saying it makes sense not to promote rival companies.

Musk said he is looking for a candidate able to “keep Twitter alive.”

“The question is not finding a CEO, the question is finding a CEO who can keep Twitter alive.”