Twitter may be making it harder to find its most controversial users
Twitter may not be outright banning its most toxic users, but it appears to be making it harder for you to find them.
According to a new report by Gizmodo, Twitter may be downgrading some of its most controversial users in search results.
Now, several prominent far-fight Twitter accounts no longer appear in the dropdown search results on mobile, even when you search their exact handles.
White nationalist Richard Spencer and far-right conspiracy theorists like Laura Loomer and “Pizzagate” promoter Mike Cernovich are some the people who’s accounts appear to be affected by these recent changes to Twitter search. Other accounts that appear to be demoted in Twitter's search results include the organizer of last summer’s Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville and Paul Joseph Watson of Infowars.
As Gizmodo points out, you can actually pull up fake accounts for some of these users in Twitter's dropdown search menu, but not the person’s legitimate account.
SEE ALSO:The biggest winners and losers after Twitter's massive purgeThe new ranking behavior appears to be affecting far-right accounts across mobile search, but not always desktop search.
It's also worth noting that some users that fit right in with demoted ones, like Alex Jones and conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec, remain unfazed by the search result changes. It’s unclear what would set apart Alex Jones, the founder of Infowars, from one of his show’s hosts, Paul Joseph Watson, and why Twitter would choose to downgrade only the latter.
In an effort to replicate Gizmodo’s findings, we tested out the search results for the users mentioned in the article. Mashable was able to replicate the results, including a few of the inconsistencies mentioned about having some of the accounts in question appear on desktop search.
The social media company has long struggled with exactly how to deal with harmful users who use the platform to spread misinformation and harass other users. In May, the company promised to limit the reach of "troll-like behavior" on the platform.
Many critics have called for Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to step in and do something about these far-right accounts. So far, the biggest action Twitter has taken to deal with these users has been to change its verification process. While taking away verification badges and blocking new verifications has certainly helped limit some of the site’s most vile people, some of these users still slip through the cracks and manage to acquire the blue checkmark for their account.
One solution popular among Twitter users who’ve been vocal about this issue, a solution that the company is completely within its right to do both legally and based on its own terms of service, is to simply ban these accounts. So far, minus rare instances like Milo Yiannopoulos, Twitter has been adverse to banning these accounts.
Tweet may have been deleted
Perhaps Twitter thinks burying some of these accounts in search is the best way to reinforce its commitment to freedom of speech while still telling its broad user base that certain behavior will not be endorsed or promoted on the website. Or perhaps it’s just a temporary bug that Twitter will eventually fix, and "Pizzagate" promoters and white nationalists will once again be easy to find in your Twitter searches. For now, it remains unclear.
Mashable has reached out to Twitter for comment and will update as soon as we hear back.
UPDATE: July 23, 2018, 3:40 p.m. EDT: In response to this story, Twitter sent us a company blog post from May that highlights changes the company has made to combat "troll-like behavior." Read more on Twitter's blog post Serving healthy conversation.
UPDATE: July 25, 2018, 3:31 p.m. EDT In a Twitter thread shared by its CEO Jack Dorsey, Twitter's product lead Kayvon Beykpour says they are looking into the issue as Twitter "behavioral ranking doesn’t make judgements based on political views or the substance of tweets."
Tweet may have been deleted
Featured Video For You
How SEO has changed the porn industry
(责任编辑:资讯)
-
I Deleted All My Social Accounts: Three Weeks Without Social Media
To say that a lot of people use social media is an understatement. At last count, Facebook had more ...[详细] -
雅安市农业农村局农产品质量监测检验中心荣获“四川省巾帼文明岗”荣誉称号
本网讯日前,记者从市农业农村局获悉,今年11月, 雅安市农业农村局农产品质量监测检验中心被四川省妇联授予“四川省巾帼文明岗”荣誉称号。据悉,雅安市农业农村局农产品质量监测检验中心,自2009年筹建以来 ...[详细] -
他们尊敬师长、团结同学,在学校是老师的得力助手,在家是父母和长辈眼里的好孩子;他们正直善良,诚实守信,用爱心、恒心、信心、诚心铸就更灿烂美好的明天。他们就是2021年度雅安市“新时代好少年”获得者:雨 ...[详细]
-
树绿了、草青了、花开了春天既是踏青赏花的好时节也是让孩子爱上学习、获取新知的好时机!眼看又要放假啦!小长假去哪儿玩?带“小神兽们”来探秘科学世界吧!海信科学探索中心#科学版迪士 ...[详细]
-
Apple iPod: The First 10 Years of the Ubiquitous Media Player
#ThrowbackThursday: The iPod is one of the most iconic devices of the 21st century and the product t ...[详细] -
中国山东网4月19日讯“没有他们帮我们销,损失大了,全部烂在地里,非常感谢他们。”视频连线中,这位视频里连声感谢的人是湖北省当阳市群益蔬菜专业合作社负责人杜兴国,他要感谢的正是 ...[详细]
-
市市场监督管理局推进市场监管系统常态化扫黑除恶专项斗争工作本网讯 近日,市场监督管理局组成督导组赴天全、荥经、雨城、名山对县区常态化开展扫黑除恶专项斗争工作进行了全面巡查和深入督导。结合市局8个片区督 ...[详细]
-
中欧国际交易所率先在山东自贸区青岛片区设立中欧国际交易所中国(北方)资本市场服务基地
中国山东网5月29日讯2020年5月29日,山东自贸区青岛片区管委和中欧国际交易所签署合作备忘录,中欧国际交易所正式在山东自贸区青岛片区设立中欧国际交易所中国(北方)资本市场服务基地,立足山东,辐射覆 ...[详细] -
Best smartphone deal: Google Pixel 8a on sale for $449 at Amazon
SAVE $50:As of August 27, get the Google Pixel 8a for $449, down from $499, at Amazon. That's 10% of ...[详细] -
石棉县栗子坪彝族乡元根村,一个地处中高山地区的少数民族村落,地理位置偏远。2020年,经村级建制调整改革,该村与同为栗子坪彝族乡的公益村合并,成为今日的元根村。这一年,也是驻村农技员王春涛在此开展帮扶 ...[详细]