Elon Musk Threatens To Terminate Deal To Buy Twitter If Spam Bot Demands Aren’t Met
Elon Musk is threatening to walk away from his blockbuster deal from Twitter, claiming that the social media giant is in "material breach" of the merger agreement as the two continue to wrangle over how many spam bots and fake accounts are on the platform.
Musk's ongoing complaints were revealed in a letter to Twitter dated June 6 that was disclosed in a filing with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC]. In the letter, Musk's lawyers claim that Twitter hasn't done enough to reveal the true number of spam bots and fake accounts on the platform, which the company claims hovers around 5 percent of total users.
"Based on Twitter’s behavior to date, and the company's latest correspondence in particular, Mr. Musk believes the company is actively resisting and thwarting his information rights (and the company’s corresponding obligations) under the merger agreement," Musk's lawyers wrote.
"This is a clear material breach of Twitter's obligations under the merger agreement and Mr. Musk reserves all rights resulting therefrom, including his right not to consummate the transaction and his right to terminate the merger agreement."
Musks has previously said that that his buyout deal with Twitter "cannot move forward" until he is satisfied with its data on fake accounts, which he claims is around 20 percent. When Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal weighed in on the subject, Musk responded with the classic poo emoji.
Twitter responded to Musk's latest broadside by essentially holding the billionaire's feet to the fire, reportedly saying it "intends to close the transaction with Elon Musk and enforce the merger agreement at the agreed price and terms."
TWITTER SAYS CO HAS AND WILL CONTINUE TO COOPERATIVELY SHARE INFORMATION WITH ELON MUSK TO CONSUMMATE DEAL IN ACCORDANCE WITH TERMS OF MERGER AGREEMENT$TWTR
— *Walter Bloomberg (@DeItaone) June 6, 2022
Musk's move to buy Twitter has been brewing for months now, with the billionaire's offer being accepted on April 25 for $44 billion. He's since been vocal about the changes he would make on the platform, which include unbanning former president Donald Trump and taking the company private.
"Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy," Musk said in a statement communicating his intentions for the platform, "and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated."
For now, though, what would be a landmark deal is far from certain.
Blogroll image credit: Jim Watson/Getty Images.
Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power’s Final Shot Has Already Been Planned Out
Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power hasn’t even premiered yet, but that won’t stop the showrunners from crafting an impressively detailed roadmap, which even includes the final shot of the multiple season-long show.
According to a report by Empire, the upcoming Prime Video show is roughly 50 hours long and covers a massive scope. Impressively, the show’s plot lines and cinematography have already been planned multiple seasons in advance.
“There are things in the first season that don’t pay off until Season 5,” co-showrunner JD Payne told Empire. “We even know what our final shot of the last episode is going to be.”
Payne also made it clear that the production team wishes to preserve the integrity of author J.R.R. Tolkien’s original novels and is adapting ideas from appendices and footnotes to form the show’s lore.
“We’re doing what Tolkien wanted,” Payne noted. “As long as we felt like every invention of ours was true to his essence, we knew we were on the right track.”
Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power is slated to premiere on September 2. The show acts as a prequel for the beloved series, telling the origin stories of Middle-earth’s Second Age, the Dark Lord Sauron, and, of course, the iconic rings.
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.
What We Do In the Shadows Is Getting Two More Seasons
Everyone’s favorite vampire mockumentary, What We Do in the Shadows, is coming back for a fifth and sixth season on FX. The announcement comes before the hit show’s fourth season’s premiere on July 12.
“There’s a lot of life left in our favorite vampires from Staten Island and FX couldn’t be more thrilled to commit to two additional seasons of this phenomenal series,” said Nick Grad, president of original programming at FX, in a statement today.
“What We Do in the Shadows excels on every level, from the brilliant cast and surprising guest stars to the producers, writers, directors and crew. We can’t wait for everyone to enjoy season four, knowing that the next two are on the way.”
They'd have disco fever if they weren't already dead. FX's What We Do in the Shadows returns 7/12. Stream on Hulu. pic.twitter.com/aSdGM6Jv8N
— FX Networks (@FXNetworks) June 6, 2022
Besides the announcement of at least two more seasons, a new poster for the series’s fourth outing was revealed featuring the core cast on a disco dance floor with a tiny, baby Colin Robinson grinning maniacally.
The series follows a group of centuries-old vampires who are struggling with their mundane modern life. What We Do in the Shadows has always given us a look at their misadventures, and with today’s renewal, that doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon.
What We Do in the Shadows’ third season ended in late 2021, and thankfully, we haven’t had to wait too long for the vampire crew’s next outing. We loved the third season so much that it was nominated as one of our favorite TV series in 2021.
Here's hoping the fourth season's premiere is as excellent as the third which we praised for its returning cast of "loveable losers trying to find their way in an absurd world that provides plenty of opportunity for future misadventures."
Casey is a freelance writer for IGN. You can usually find him talking about JRPGs on Twitter at @caseydavidmt.
Apple Announces MacBook Air With the M2 Chip
Apple has finally announced a new model refresh of its MacBook Air line after the product shifted to the tech giant's Apple silicon in late 2020.
As part of its WWDC 2022 keynote, the MacBook Air 2022 will include the new M2 chip. The MacBook Air (2022) will feature two Thunderbolt ports, a headphone jack, and MagSafe charging. True to the MacBook Air line, which are known for being thin and lightweight laptops, the latest MacBook Air refresh weighs in at just 2.7 pounds. The MacBook Air will be available in four colors (Midnight Blue, Silver, Space Grey, and Gold).
Apple promises up to 18 hours of battery life on the MacBook Air (2022), a 1080p built-in camera, up to 2TB of SSD storage, and up to 24GB of memory. Like the M1-powered MacBook Air, the MacBook Air (2022) features a fanless design.
The M2 model's retail price starts at $1,199, and Apple confirmed that it will still keep selling the M1-powered MacBook Air, which will still retail for $999. Alongside a new MacBook Air refresh, Apple also confirmed that its 13-inch MacBook Pro model will offer a configuration that includes the M2 chip and will retail for $1,299.
Both the MacBook Air (2022) and MacBook Pro 13-inch with the M2 chip will be available starting next month.
Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
Netflix Geeked Week 2022: Everything Announced
Netflix Geeked Week 2022 is in full swing, as the streaming service will fill every day this week with new announcements, release dates, and more. Day one wrapped up earlier today, largely focusing on upcoming horror series coming to Netflix. If you want to tune into the rest of the show, check out our piece on how to watch and what to expect from Netflix Geeked Week 2022.
Netflix Geeked Week 2022 Day One: Series
The first day of Netflix Geeked Week 2022 included looks at the live-action One Piece series, the upcoming Resident Evil series, the long-awaited Sandman adaptation, and more. Read on to learn about everything announced on day one of Netflix Geeked Week.
One Piece: Live Action Adaptation Shares Set Photos and Casting News
Netflix shared a first look at its upcoming live-action adaptation of One Piece, showing off some of the enormous life-size pirate ship sets. Iñaki Godoy, who is playing Luffy, introduced the clip, showing a timelapse of the Baratie Bar being built piece by piece. We also got some casting news, learning Langley Kirkwood, Celeste Loots, Alexander Maniatis, Craig Fairbrass, Steven Ward and Chioma Umeala are attached to the project.
✔️ The Going Merry
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) June 6, 2022
✔️ Miss Love Duck
✔️ BaratieTake a tour inside the massive sets of ONE PIECE, now in production #GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/104rCQmXsj
Official Trailer and Poster for Upcoming Resident Evil Series
Netflix's upcoming Resident Evil series will include several monsters from the first game, as well as a monster that appears to be the Tyrant. The series will take place on two timelines, following the lives of Jade and Billie Wesker in New Raccoon City both before and after the zombie outbreak. The new look showed us zombie dogs, giant spiders, and Lickers. The show is set to premiere on July 14.
The Sandman Is Coming on August 5
The long-awaited adaptation of The Sandman comic is coming to Netflix on August 5. Along with the release date announcement, we got a new trailer showing Sandman's escape from captivity and the ensuing chaos. The show stars Tom Sturridge as Dream, Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne, and Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian. You can watch the new trailer below.
THE SANDMAN
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) June 6, 2022
coming to Netflix
August 5 #GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/3pslBEVSqG
First Look at Wednesday: The New Addams Family Spinoff from Tim Burton
We've gotten our first proper look at Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in Tim Burton's upcoming Addams family spinoff, appropriately titled Wednesday. The trailer also included Thing, the disembodied hand. In the show, Wednesday is pulled into a murder mystery with "major implications" for her entire family. We first learned of the series last year, when Netflix announced the new 8-episode live-action series. The show is set to debut later this year.
The Umbrella Academy Cast Discusses Upcoming Third Season
You can take your first look at The Umbrella Academy season 3, which is coming to Netflix later this month on June 22. The trailer dives into The Hotel Obsidian for an extended look at what's coming later this month. You can check out the trailer below.
you're invited! take a step into The Hotel Obsidian in this brand new clip from Season 3 of #TheUmbrellaAcademy. #GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/CvDfrZIaeX
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) June 6, 2022
Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities Will Feature Rupert Grint, Eric Andre, and More
Netflix shared a new look at Guillermo Del Toro's long-awaited eight-episode series, Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities. This horror anthology series is set to star plenty of recognizable names, and today Netflix added Eric André, Sofia Boutella, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Rupert Grint, and Kate Micucci to the cast. We previously learned the series will feature stories ranging from “macabre to magical, gothic to grotesque or classically creepy”, and this new trailer seems to live up to that promise.
Rahul Kohli Introduces The Midnight Club, a New Series from Producers of The Haunting of Hill House
Rahul Kohli, who starred in Mike Flanagan's Midnight Mass, appeared to introduce The Midnight Club, the next horror series coming from Flanagan. The teaser shows a group of teens in one of Flanagan's classic manors, which Kohli said is "shape-shifting". The group gets together to share horror stories every night, eventually finding themselves in a horror story of their own. The cast includes Samantha Sloyan, Zach Gilford, Annarah Cymone, Igby Rigney, Matt Biedel, and Kohli. Flanagan is also known for working on The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, so you know this new series is going to be spooky.
School Tales The Series Is A Horror Anthology Series from Thailand
We got a look at three different episodes of the upcoming School Tales The Series, a horror anthology show coming to Netflix. One episode shows the characters trying to debunk the existence of ghosts, another shows the fallout with angry spirits after the death of a student, and the last teaser showed the lunch lady putting some very questionable ingredients in the school lunch.
The Imperfects Is a New Sci-Fi Series
Netflix shared a first look at The Imperfects, a brand new sci-fi drama series about young adults being turned into monsters by evil scientists against their will. The teaser shows a look at some of the mutations the main characters have, including transforming into a beast, supersonic singing, and more.
Sweet Tooth Season 2 Shares a Behind-the-Scenes Update
Sweet Tooth, the show that adapts Jeff Lemire’s comic about a young boy with deer-like features, got a behind-the-scenes look for season 2. The cast and crew just wrapped up production on season 2 in New Zealand.
Locke and Key Season 3 Gets a Teaser Trailer
Locke and Key's third and final season is coming to Netflix on August 10, and we got a new look at the upcoming episodes. It shows the heroes working to defend the house from a new batch of threats. Darby Stanchfield, Connor Jessup, Emilia Jones, Jackson Robert Scott, Brendan Hines, Sherri Saum, Kevin Durand, and Coby Bird are set to appear in the final season. We called season two of the show "good" in our review.
Fate: The Winx Saga Season 2 Clip Reveals New Character
Fate: The Winx Saga focuses on magical teens at a magical boarding school, and we got a quick teaser look at the new season. The video showed a look at Paulina Chavez's earth fairy Flora. Fate season 2 will debut this Fall.
Warrior Nun First Look at Season 2
Warrior Nun is based on the '90s comic series Warrior Nun Areala, and we got our first look at season 2. It follows a 19-year-old woman who awakens in a morgue and discovers she has superpowers. The season 2 clip shows more action, and shows Alba Baptista's Ava Silva running on water. You can check out our review for Warrior Nun season 1.
Shadow And Bone Cast Returns with Season 2 Update
Shadow and Bone was renewed for season 2 during Netflix Geeked Week 2021, and the cast returned this year to hype us up for the new set of episodes. Production has wrapped on the second season of the beloved fantasy adaptation. You can check out the new characters that have been announced for Shadow and Bone season 2.
Manifest Season 4 Sneak Peek Clip Revealed
Josh Dallas, who plays Ben Stone in Manifest, appeared to announce the upcoming fourth season of the show. The 10-episode season will be released across two parts, following the crew and passengers of Montego Air Flight 828 who land to find that the world had aged five years during their absence.
Vikings: Valhalla Shares a Season One Blooper Reel
Vikings: Valhalla has been renewed for both season 2 and season 3, but Netflix isn't ready to pull the curtain back on the series just yet. Instead, they shared a lighthearted blooper reel from the show's first season.
Barbarians II Is Coming to Netflix This Fall
Barbarians season 2 is coming to Netflix this fall, and we got a teaser of the upcoming series. It will pick up after season 1's big battle between the Romans and the Barbarians. The new teaser was short, but it implied plenty of fighting and bloodshed to come.
All Of Us Are Dead Renewed for Season 2
All of Us Are Dead is a Korean coming-of-age zombie series based on a webtoon titled Now At Our School. Netflix has confirmed the series is returning for season 2. While you wait, you can check out our review for All of Us Are Dead season 1.
Alice In Borderland: Season 2 First Look Images
Alice In Borderland is coming back for season 2, and we got a first look at some new images from the show. The series follows gamer and his two friends transported to a parallel version of Tokyo, where they're forced to compete in a series of sadistic games to survive.
The next stage of the game has begun. ALICE IN BORDERLAND Season 2 is coming soon to Netflix #GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/O6XZOCeC8l
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) June 6, 2022
1899: Emily Beecham Reveals Teaser for Upcoming Series
Another brand new series coming to Netflix, 1899 is a mystery-horror series starring Emily Beecham. IThe show is coming from the creators of Dark, and it largely appears to take place on a ship at sea. You can check out the first trailer below.
get your first look at your next obsession
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) June 6, 2022
from the creators of DARK comes the new mystery-horror series 1899 #GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/dAQCHeWAdu
Apple Announces M2 Chip
During Apple's annual Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC), the tech giant announced the long-rumored M2 chip during its keynote.
The M2 chip joins the M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 Ultra, with the M1 Ultra being announced just a few months ago during Apple's Peek Performance event in March. While the M1 Pro and M1 Max were announced last Fall.
Apple notes that the M2 chip has an 18 percent performance increase over the M1 chip which was released back in 2020. The M2 chip will use Apple's Arm architecture, the same architecture used in the M1 Ultra. The M2 also features 100Gbps of memory bandwidth and 24GB of uniified memory, offering more bandwidth than the M1 chip.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro (2022) and the MacBook Air (2022) models are confirmed to include the M2 chip, as Apple noted in its keynote. Both laptops will be available next month.
Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
Netflix’s The Sandman Arrives This August
Netflix has announced that its live-action adaptation of The Sandman will premiere on August 5.
Revealed during the first day of Netflix's announcement-filled Geeked Week, the release date for the long awaited series was dropped at the end of a new trailer. The trailer shows off the titular charcater's escape from captivity, and a glimpse at the chaos it causes as a result.
THE SANDMAN
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) June 6, 2022
coming to Netflix
August 5 #GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/3pslBEVSqG
In it we see more of Tom Sturridge as Dream, Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne, and Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian within the horror and fantasy-blended world created by Neil Gaiman, Mike Dringenberg and Sam Keith. Though she was missing from this latest trailer, Netflix has previously released a poster featuring Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer (Brienne of Tarth in HBO's Game of Thrones) which also showed off comic-accurate visuals.
The comic's creepy atmosphere is brought into Netflix's adaptation, helped by Gaiman executive producing the series alongside Allan Heinberg and David Goyer, with certain scenes pulled directly from the comic.
While fans had a brief glimpse of The Sandman in the teaser trailer released last month, this is the first proper look since the initial trailer was revealed in September last year.
The Sandman focuses on Dream (also known as Morpheus amongst other names), the living embodiment of dreams and one of The Endless, a family of immortal and incredibly powerful, god-like beings.
Each represents a different aspect of reality, with Dream joined by Destiny, Death, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirium.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl now has Voice Acting and Items
Today, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl received a significant update that adds voice acting and items to the game.
The new update is free for all players across PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. It'll come to the Nintendo Switch version of the game soon. The voice actor roster comprises both returning talent from the original shows, as well as some new voices.
Here's the complete list.
Returning talent:
- Jim Cummings - Shredder/Catdog (Cat)
- Tom Kenny - SpongeBob/CatDog (Dog)
- Bill Fagerbakke - Patrick
- Carolyn Lawrence - Sandy
- Richard Horvitz - Zim
- Fred Tatasciore - Reptar (Paramount+ reboot)
- Bentley Griffin - Lincoln Loud
- Jessica DiCicco - Lucy Loud
- Janet Varney - Korra
- Francesca Marie Smith - Helga
- Townsend Coleman - Michelangelo
- Cam Clarke - Leonardo
- Frank Welker - Garfield
- Billy West - Ren & Stimpy
- David Kaufman - Danny Phantom
- Janice Kawaye - Jenny
New talent:
- Alex Cazares - Oblina
- Jim Meskimen - Nigel Thornberry
- Vivian Vencer - Toph
- Dustin Sardella - Aang
- Abby Trott - April O'Neil
- David Kaye - Powdered Toast Man
Our next major FREE update is here - and it's a big one! We're super excited to announce that voice acting and items are available TODAY on PC, @Xbox and @Playstation. @Nintendo Switch coming soon! #NickBrawl pic.twitter.com/nTLK5T6zEG
— Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl (@NickBrawlGame) June 6, 2022
Voice actor Mark DeCarlo, the original voice of Hugh Neutron, also revealed that he'll be reprising his role as well for the game when the character drops later this summer.
As for the items, they include ones like the Krabby Patty from SpongeBob Squarepants, Sokka's boomerang from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Tommy's ball and Reptar toy from Rugrats, and the Log from Ren & Stimpy.
In our Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl review, we said, "Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is a very respectable platform fighter that serves as a fun, though far less polished and less fully featured alternative to its competition." One of our main criticisms was that the game felt soulless without the voice acting, but this new update addresses it.
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey
Tales of the Walking Dead Series Premiere Date Announced
AMC has announced that Tales of the Walking Dead, the fourth show set in Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead universe, will premiere on August 14.
Rather than a serial show akin to the original Walking Dead, Tales of the Walking Dead is an anthology show made up of six one-hour standalone episodes, each of which focuses on a mix of both new and estabished characters from the universe.
Alongside the announcement of the August 14 at 9pm ET premiere, AMC also announced that the first two episodes will be available on AMC+ at the same time. AMC+ subscribers will also be able to watch the remaining four episodes a week early each, starting from August 21.
AMC has also revealed seven images from the show, which can be seen in the gallery above.
Among the show's stars are Olivia Munn, Samantha Morton, Terry Crews, Parker Posey, Anthony Edwards, Poppy Liu, Jillian Bell, Loan Chabanol, Embeth Davidtz, Jessie T. Usher, Daniella Pineda, and Danny Ramierez.
While The Walking Dead has officially finished filming, the end is not nigh for the zombie franchise. A Daryl spinoff is in production, although it recently lost popular character Carol from its roster. Another spin-off will see Negan and Maggie head to NYC.
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Features Editor.
Resident Evil Netflix: New Trailer Shows Off Monsters and Mayhem
Netflix has unveiled a new look at its incoming Resident Evil series, which includes several monsters straight from the first game - including what could be the Tyrant.
Revealed during day one of Netflix's Geeked Week, the trailer delves deeper into the series' two timelines, which follow the lives of Jade and Billie Wesker both before and after the world is overrun with zombies. Arriving in the seemingly idyllic New Racoon City, things soon go wrong for the sisters when the Umbrella Corporation (surprise, surprise) start experimenting with DNA, bugs, blood, and beyond.
the world ended a long time ago
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) June 6, 2022
take a look at the all new trailer for RESIDENT EVIL, only on Netflix July 14 #GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/4PjjjlJxxC
Though the eight-episode series does appear to have a fairly serious tone, with plenty of violence and heartbreak, it also seems to retain the sheer wackiness present in the Resident Evil video game series. Alongside hoards of zombies, the trailer also shows off zombie dogs, giant spiders, and Lickers from the original 1996 title.
The final shots of the trailer also seem to show us a glimpse of what may be the series' take on the Tyrant, an iconic monster from the original games. It may also be a clue as to how Albert Wesker (playerd here by Lance Reddick) is still alive, despite his canonical death by way of a rocket launcher and a volcano.
This may be the last good look fans get at the series ahead of its premiere date on July 14, with the trailer also giving further looks at the roles of Ella Balinska as Jade and Siena Agudong as Billie.
The Resident Evil series was first rumoured to be in production in February 2020 before Netflix finally confirmed its existence in August. The cast was announced at last year's Geeked Week, when the streaming service announced that Lance Reddick is playing Albert Wesker.
For more on Resident Evil, check out IGN's full teaser breakdown and and preview of Season 1.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.