Conservative Twitter users say their followers were purged in #TwitterLockout
“Over night Conservatives were targeted by twitter, locked out & followers disappeared for displaying 'automated behavior' according to the CEO of Twitter who evidently is related to Kim Jong-Un. Odd how when you go to #TwitterLockOut I'm only seeing conservative accts,” tweeted one user, … Read More
Editorial: Facebook, Twitter failing to combat foreign meddling
Last week's news shows Facebook, Twitter and other social media companies aren't doing nearly enough to combat foreign meddling in their platforms. On Friday, special prosecutor Robert Mueller charged 13 Russians and three foreign companies with using social media to subvert the 2016 U.S. … Read More
Twitter is being accused of censorship for reportedly purging bots
Did anyone get a “heads up” up from @Twitter @TwitterSupport prior to them purging followers? I'd give them benefit of … Conservatives, however, have long claimed that they're specifically targeted by Twitter; even FCC chair Ajit Pai has accused the company of political discrimination. So it's also not … Read More
Newsweek, Ijeoma Oluo, and the Overhyping of Twitter Bots in Al Franken’s Resignation
On Monday, Newsweek and Raw Story reported that a network of Japanese-appearing Twitter bots helped force the resignation of former Sen. Al Franken. Both reports relied heavily on a February 9 blog post from Mike Farb, who runs a website called Unhack the Vote, which is dedicated to tracking … Read …
Right-wing outrage as Twitter locks down accounts in ‘bot purge’
… accounts – or 'bots' – set up to artificially amplify conservative campaigns online. Twitter is yet to comment on the phenomenon. While some commentators have reacted with incredulity at the loss of hundreds of followers, others have likened the controversy to other infamous faux outrages of the past. Read …
IN MEMES: Yimlo’s cross-dresser confession leaves Twitter shook
Last night's episode of reality show Yimlo was one for the books, as viewers sat glued to their seats as a man confessed to leading a double life. In the reality show, which is hosted by Dineo Ranaka, Sbusiso asked the team to help him tell his family and his …
Twitter’s Stock Keeps Shooting Higher
First, it cleaned out the Twitter bots, checking that the user behind the account is a person and not an algorithm. This, along with enforcing safety policies more aggressively, resulted in an MAU of 330 million in the fourth-quarter. Twitter tweaked the site to detect and re-mediate automatic content and … …
Ivett Toth Skated to AC/DC at the Olympics and Twitter is Thunderstuck
The 2018 Winter Olympics has delivered some vintage moments. Think Shaun White's halfpipe gold, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir's stunning ice dancing routines and Czech Ester Ledecka's surprise Super G win. Add Ivett Toth to the list. Wearing a leather top and appropriately decked out in black, the … Read More
‘Twitter is having a comeback’: What’s on the minds of European publishers
Twitter, Google Amp, Pinterest and LinkedIn took a far larger share of the conversation than they have to date at the Digiday Europe Publishing Summit. Attendees spoke of how Twitter has begun driving a lot more referral traffic back to them. “Twitter is having somewhat of a comeback,” said one … …
Twitter updates its policy on tweets that encourage self-harm and suicide
Twitter, which is constantly criticized for not doing enough to prevent harassment, has updated its guidelines with more information on how it handles tweets or accounts that encourage other people to hurt themselves or commit suicide. The update follows an announcement by Twitter Safety last week … Read More