INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Today, Jack Dorsey tweeted a link to his company latest gesture toward ongoing political relevance, a U.S
midterms news center collecting &the latest news and top commentary& on the country extraordinarily consequential upcoming election
If curated and filtered properly, that could be useful! Imagine
Unfortunately, rife with fake news, the tool is just another of Twitter small yet increasingly consequential disasters.
The midterm
elections right now #Midterms2018 https://t.co/7T2IojpxWw
— jack (@jack) October 30, 2018
Beyond a promotional tweet from Dorsey, Twitter
new offering is kind of buried — probably for the best
On desktop it a not particularly useful mash of national news reporters, local candidates and assorted unverifiable partisans
As Buzzfeed news details, the tool is swimming with conspiracy theories, including ones involving the migrant caravan
According to his social media posts, the Pittsburgh shooter was at least partially motivated by similar conspiracies, so this is not a good
look to say the least.
Why launch a tool like this before performing the most basic cursory scan for the kind of low-quality sources that
already have your company in hot water Why have your chief executive promote it Why why why
A few hours after Dorsey tweet, likely after the
prominent callout, the main feed looked a bit tamer than it did at first glance
Subpages for local races appear mostly populated by candidates themselves, while the national feed looks more like an algorithmically
generated echo chamber version of my regular Twitter feed, with inexplicably generous helpings of MSNBC pundits and more lefty
activists.
For Twitter users already immersed in conspiracies, particularly those that incubate so successfully on the far right, does this
feed offer yet another echo chamber disguised as a neutral news source In spite of its sometimes dubiously left-leanings, my feed is still
peppered with tweets from undercover video provocateur James O&Keefe — not exactly a high quality source.
In May, Twitter announced that
political candidates would get a special badge, making them stand out from other users and potential imposters
That was useful! Anything that helps Twitter function as a fast news source with light context is a positive step, but unfortunately we
haven&t seen a whole lot in this direction.
Social media companies need to stop launching additional amplification tools into the ominous
No social tech company has yet exhibited a meaningful understanding of the systemic shifts that need to happen — possibly product-rending
shifts — to dissuade bad actors and straight up disinformation from spreading like a back-to-school virus.
Unfortunately, a week before
midterm elections, Twitter looks as disinterested as ever in the social disease wreaking havoc on its platform, even as users suffer its
Even more unfortunate for any members of its still dedicated, weary userbase, Twitter latest wholly avoidable minor catastrophe comes as a
surprise to no one.
Twitter suspends accounts linked to mail bomb suspect
