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A stream of insults aimed at Twitter’s new boss Elon Musk was hurled at the company’s San Francisco headquarters after workers were locked out of their offices. Insults included “supreme parasite”, “average man”, “useless billionaire” and “space Karen”, according to videos posted online. Another view showed signage at Twitter’s headquarters with the words “Musk’s hellscape.” An NBC Bay Area reporter on the scene attributed the stunt to someone who described himself as a “broadcast activist.” A video of the screening has been viewed more than 8 million times on Twitter. It comes at a tumultuous time for the social media platform, with about half the staff being laid off following Mr Musk’s $44bn buyout. Those who remained were forced by the billionaire to agree to an “extremely tough” ultimatum if they wanted to continue working. Mr. Musk set a deadline of 5 p.m. ET (10 p.m. GMT) on Thursday for employees to reaffirm their commitment to work “long hours at high intensity” to build “Twitter 2.0.” After the deadline, Twitter employees were told that all office buildings would be temporarily closed, though no specific reason was given for the decision. “Effective immediately, we are temporarily closing our office buildings and all badged access will be suspended,” a message to staff said. “Thank you for your flexibility. Continue to comply with company policy by refraining from discussing confidential company information on social media, with the press or elsewhere. We look forward to working with you on the exciting future of Twitter.”