May 19 News Quiz: WTF did Musk do THIS week?

On May 12, 2023, Twitter announced that it would limit access to some tweets and accounts in Turkey without specifying which ones or why. The company said it complied with the legal process and tried to keep Twitter available in Turkey. The decision sparked controversy and criticism from some observers who accused Twitter CEO Elon Musk of censoring Erdogan’s opponents and betraying his free speech principles. The content restriction came ahead of Turkey’s May 14, 2023, presidential election. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faced a close race against opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Both sides dispute the election results, and Turkey remains in a state of political uncertainty.

Linda Yaccarino, previously the head of advertising and partnerships for NBCUniversal, was confirmed as the new CEO of Twitter on May 12, 2023. She was appointed by Elon Musk, who bought the platform last year for $44 billion. She will focus on business operations while Musk works on product design and technology. Yaccarino is one of the rare female chief executives in technology. She has often said she was the only woman at the table and faced bias incidents in her career.

George Soros. Photo: Niccolò Caranti, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

George Soros, a Holocaust-surviving Jewish-born investor, and philanthropist, is often the target of far-right, anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. According to a regulatory filing, Soros Fund Management LLC sold all of its 2.5 million shares of Tesla Inc. in the first quarter of 2023. It also bought shares of Lucid Motors Inc., a competitor in the electric vehicle market. This prompted Musk to tweet on May 16, 2023: “Soros is a traitor to humanity and a threat to our planet,” comparing him to the X-Men’s civilization-crushing Magneto.

Soros Fund Management, Fortress Investment Group, and Monroe Capital formed a lender consortium to provide about $225 million in a credit bid. The bankruptcy filing was announced on May 15, 2023, as Vice Media Group faced financial difficulties and top-executive departures. Vice Media Group is known for its websites, such as Vice, Refinery29, i-D, and Motherboard, and its TV program “Vice News Tonight,” which was canceled in April 2023.

Factcheck: Billionaire George Soros said he is “alive and healthy” on May 15, 2023, after viral posts on social media falsely claimed he had a fatal heart attack a day earlier. Soros, 92, has been a frequent target of antisemitism, conspiracy theories, personal attacks by Viktor Orban and Vladimir Putin, and endless “death” hoaxes.

Sam Altman is a tech entrepreneur and the CEO of OpenAI, a San Francisco-based research lab that creates artificial intelligence. OpenAI’s ChatGPT has been praised for its versatility and flexibility but criticized for its potential to spread misinformation. Altman testified before a Senate subcommittee on privacy, technology, and the law on May 16, 2023. He proposed the creation of a US or global agency to license the most powerful AI systems. Altman is also known for his previous role as president of Y Combinator. This startup accelerator has funded some of Silicon Valley’s most successful tech companies, including Airbnb, Dropbox, and Stripe.

Pelé, who won three World Cups with Brazil and scored over 1,000 goals in his career, died on Dec. 29, 2022, at 82. His body was placed in a golden casket and laid to rest in a mausoleum in Santos, where he played most of his club soccer.

Fun Facts: The mausoleum has two golden statues of Pelé, artificial grass, images of fans in a stadium, and an endless soundtrack of cheers. It opened to visitors on May 15, 2023. Fans visiting the mausoleum must book a time on the Memorial Cemetery website.

Johnny Logan at Eurovision 1987

Johnny Logan won the Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland twice: in 1980 with “What’s Another Year” and in 1987 with “Hold Me Now.” He also wrote the winning song for Ireland in 1992, “Why Me?” performed by Linda Martin.

Loreen matched his record by winning for Sweden in 2012 with “Euphoria” and in 2023 with “Tattoo,” bringing the contest back to Sweden for the 50th anniversary of ABBA’s win in 1974 with “Waterloo,” and becoming the first female singer to achieve the feat.

Kate Winslet won the Bafta TV Award for Leading Actress for her performance in Channel 4’s I Am Ruth on May 14, 2023. She previously won three Bafta Film Awards for Sense and Sensibility, The Reader, and Steve Jobs. The Reader also won her an Oscar. Winslet starred in Mare of Easttown, another TV drama that did not win her a Bafta TV Award but did get her an Emmy.

The Queen’s Paddington Bear skit won the Most Memorable Moment Award at the Bafta TV Awards on May 14, 2023. The skit was created as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations and featured the Queen and Paddington Bear having a dance-off. It marked the first time a royal won the public vote at the Bafta TV Awards.

Bobi is a 31-year-old Rafeiro do Alentejo, a purebred livestock guardian dog who lives in Conqueiros, a rural village in Portugal. He was born on May 11, 1992, and declared the world’s oldest dog by Guinness World Records on February 2, 2023.

Fun Facts: Bobi celebrated his 31st birthday on May 11, 2023, with a traditional Portuguese party that included local meats and fish, a dance troupe, and over 100 guests. His owner, Leonel Costa, said Bobi only eats human food and lives peacefully surrounded by other animals and nature. Bobi has also broken the record for the oldest dog ever. This record was previously held by Bluey, an Australian cattle dog who lived for 29 years and 5 months from 1910 to 1939.

Martha Stewart was born August 3, 1941, in Jersey City, New Jersey. In May 2023, she made history as the oldest model to grace the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition cover at 81. She posed for nine bathing suits in different styles and colors in the Dominican Republic.