Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ “Did We Create This Monster?” How Twitter Turned Toxic

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

One of the more telling criticisms in comedian Michelle Wolf's talk at the White House correspondents' dinner was that the media loves Donald Trump. "You pretend like you hate him, but I think you love him... He's helped you sell your papers and your books and your TV. You helped create this monster, and now you're profiting off of him." I think the same thing applies in the case of Twitter. "Though the company has taken significant steps in recent years to remove bad actors, it hasn't shaken the lingering impression that it isn't trying hard enough to make the service a safer space." The bad actors help pay for Twitter, just as they help serll newspapers and cable television shows. Commercial mass media, whether online or offline, offers the same incentives and creates the same problems.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Dec 22, 2024 11:35 p.m.

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