https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/28/23428775/twitter-fake-employee-layoff-rahul-ligma-elon-musk

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People are pretending to be laid-off Twitter employees carrying boxes
outside of HQ

People are pretending to be laid-off Twitter employees carrying boxes
outside of HQ

/

One said his name is 'Rahul Ligma.' He doesn't work at Twitter (also
lol).

By Alex Heath / @alexeheath

Oct 28, 2022, 6:49 PM UTC|

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The Twitter logo on the company's SF headquarters.
Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

In videos circulating on Twitter Friday morning, two men carrying
boxes are seen standing near the entrance to Twitter's San Francisco
building, claiming to have been laid off by Elon Musk, who officially
took over the company Thursday evening.

There are plenty of problems with what these two men say to
reporters. The most glaring is that one man identifies himself as a
software engineer named "Rahul Ligma." The Verge has confirmed that
name does not exist in Twitter's Slack or email system. There is also
no evidence that the employee exists on LinkedIn.

"Ligma" is, of course, also an internet hoax designed to elicit the
response "lick my balls" from people who are in on the joke. That
didn't stop multiple outlets, including CNBC and Bloomberg, from
running headlines Friday saying that laid-off Twitter employees were
leaving the building carrying boxes.

Musk fired many of Twitter's top execs Thursday evening and has
signaled that he will in fact lay off employees. But Ligma is not one
of them. A spokesperson for Twitter didn't respond to a request for
comment.

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..."
  * "Michelle Obama wouldn't have happened if Elon Musk owned
    Twitter. Obama in 2008 wouldn't have happened without Elon Musk
    owning Twitter."
  * "I even own a Tesla, man. I'm a big fan of clean energy, climate
    change, even free speech too."

And here's a video of the exchange:

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