Twitter and Weibo: How do they match up? These are two of the most influential social media platforms in the U.S. and China, respectively. But their approaches to hotly contested questions concerning how social media is governed — from how to make money to account verification and content moderation — differ greatly.
A whirlwind of feature changes and policy flip-flops at Twitter have grabbed headlines in recent weeks. And as Twitter lurches from change to change under the mercurial leadership of its new owner, Elon Musk, the platform is becoming, in some ways, increasingly like its Chinese counterpart.
This week, The Wire compares Twitter and Weibo: their financials and business models, from premium services to content moderation.
FINANCIALS
Data: Company annual reports
Weibo is highly profitable; Twitter is not. The former, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, generated $550 million in pre-tax profit last year. Twitter, meanwhile, has reported
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