What about Twitter with freedom of expression and ‘trolls’?

immediate reactions

Reactions on Twitter were immediate. And different. “If Elon Musk buys Twitter, I’m out from this social network”, some declared like @ElPrimoBigoton. For others like @TuckerCarlson, the news about Musk’s order has held up well, it seems: “We’re back” (“We’re back”), noting the American conservative political commentator for the Fox News network.

@elonmusk wrote a crucial tweet at a time like this: “I hope even my worst critics stay on Twitter because that’s what freedom of speech means” (“I hope even my worst critics stay on Twitter, because that is what freedom of expression means”). They also announced from Fox News that Donald Trump will not return to Twitter, despite the platform being bought by Elon Musk. Another of these controversies: it arose not only on the main, but also on the network. What will Trump do? Will it return or continue with the aim of walking alone and measuring its effect from other channel(s)?

more democratic

One of the keys is to know about algorithms to really know how Twitter works. make it more democratic. “It would be the opposite of other social networks. Both Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn… Just like Google, its value is the secret of the algorithm. It’s impossible to know. And most of the success of the advertising business is there, it depends on the opacity of the algorithm. If Musk makes it public, it would be a big step forward in the transparency of the internet,” said Montse Doval, professor of communication and social networks at the University of Vigo.

difficulties

In the so-called new stage of this social network, he adds many interesting details when analyzing this topic and the cards that should be put on the table next. “The environment on Twitter is not pleasant for many people: aggression, negativity.. Knowing the algorithm is essential for transparency. Authenticating users can also be very helpful in avoiding insults and attacks… Because most of these attacks are hiding behind anonymity,” says Doval. Being able to meet every single person behind their Twitter account will help avoid tweet wars on this social network. But the task is not easy. It will be seen over time whether transparency is possible in both algorithms and users.

Acquisition of The Washington Post in 2013

Doval remembers this in 2013 Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post. “The Washington Post was on the stock market. Bezos picked it up. He bought the entire property and the operation went well. There was fear of interference or personalization of content. But it went well. It left autonomy to managers so that they could continue with the product. It was a kind of return to the great journalism of the 19th and 20th centuries: owners, individual fortunes made with a tool to deliver a quality product,” characterizes Doval as an example of an operation that “gone” despite global fear. good”.

“Aggression under anonymity is a serious problem on Twitter”

Montse Doval believes less interfere with content moderation and thus increase freedom of expression network, make it more democratic in theory. Avoid unidentified accounts, meaning there’s a person behind every profile. In this way, interventions will be more humane. And maybe the insults, aggression, activities of ‘trolls’, brutal ‘hates’ will be more difficult this way… These are all assumptions about what might happen after Twitter is bought by Elon Musk. Or at least, that’s what comes up amongst the businessman’s plans to redefine this social network. We’ll have to wait to see if the footage actually goes there.

What advantages and disadvantages do you see in Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter?

In a way, it reminds me of Jeff Bezos buying the ‘Washington Post’ newspaper in 2013. Musk is now the richest man in the world, he takes Twitter and I remember that previous operation. However, Twitter is not a communication tool. Journalism is part of the communication ecosystem.

And very impressive…

It is very important in the journalism ecosystem. There are some issues going wrong.

Which?

This is bad business. It hasn’t innovated for a long time. For example, there are poor working issues such as ‘trend topics’. Some are absolutely irrelevant considering what happens in a society. Also, Twitter’s main handlers don’t use Twitter. Noting this detail and writing in ‘Atlantic’ magazine, said: It’s like going to a restaurant whose operators have never eaten there. People have no idea if they like the menu or not, why or why not. For example, Musk is a regular Twitter user.

Among the plans to modernize the network that emerged with this acquisition operation: freedom of expression, disclosure algorithms… Do you find them feasible?

It talks about less interference with content moderation. According to him, he went too far and freedom of expression should prevail. Twitter is a public square where no one should interfere unless there is an attack. Another challenge: improving bot detection algorithms (fake accounts), authenticating all people, and making network algorithms public.

Is it possible to make the algorithms of the network known or could it have the opposite effect?

I find this subject very interesting. Uncover how algorithms work to increase user confidence. Twitter is not neutral in treating users. A tweet can be hidden from one person (because they don’t tweet about it regularly) and not from another person. It would be great. The aim is also to explain to the public how ‘trend topics’ are created, also interesting because they can be developed.

And fake profiles: Can it be forced to have all accounts owned by people?

It’s very interesting to verify the identity of all people. It’s also complicated because there may be many people who are concerned with maintaining anonymity and don’t want to pass any authentication, mobile or otherwise. I say interesting in the sense of making the conversation more human. Also, one of Twitter’s biggest problems is harassment, harassment, insults… and the anonymity issue has a lot to do with it, because many take refuge in it, anonymity, insults.

Trump said he did not plan to return to Twitter after learning that Twitter had been bought by Musk.

Trump said he wouldn’t come back even if they wanted to. Pretty chaotic personalities like Trump and Musk. Both at once. However, his personality is unpredictable. I mean, if you see that you’re interested, you can go back to the nets and leave the net you created behind, which, by the way, is not going well. No one can guarantee what he will do now.