"Did We Create This Monster?" How Twitter Turned Toxic
https://www.fastcompany.com/40547818/did-we-create-this-monster-how-twitter-turned-toxic
Imposter Buster soon came under attack itself-by racists who
reported it to Twitter for harassment. Unexpectedly, the
company sided with the trolls: It suspended the bot for spammy
behavior the following April. With assistance from the
Anti-Defamation League, Rosenberg and Chandra got that
decision reversed three days later. But their targets
continued to file harassment reports, and last December
Twitter once again blacklisted Imposter Buster, this time for
good. Rosenberg, who considers his effort good citizenship
rather than vigilantism, still isn't sure why Twitter found it
unacceptable; he never received an explanation directly from
the company. But the ruling gave racists a win by technical
knockout. For all the ways in which the Imposter Buster saga
is unique, it's also symptomatic of larger issues that have
long bedeviled Twitter: abuse, the weaponizing of anonymity,
bot wars, and slow-motion decision making by the people
running a real-time platform. These problems have only
intensified since Donald Trump became president and chose
Twitter as his primary mouthpiece. The platform is now the
world's principal venue for politics and outrage, culture and
conversation-the home for both #MAGA and #MeToo.
- - -
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lau...@vortex.com): https://www.vortex.com/lauren
Lauren's Blog: https://lauren.vortex.com
Google Issues Mailing List: https://vortex.com/google-issues
Founder: Network Neutrality Squad: https://www.nnsquad.org
PRIVACY Forum: https://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: https://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Google+: https://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
_______________________________________________
pfir mailing list
https://lists.pfir.org/mailman/listinfo/pfir
