here a Trust & Safety Council? // (Scott Johnson)
The Associated Press is one anchor of the garbage media’s newsprint form. There are many aspects to garbage. See its story “Musk claims granting amnesty for suspended Twitter accounts.” It is difficult to read and the “reporter” is not identified. However, the story is datelined San Francisco. Maybe that’s all you need to know.
As I call it, the story is saturated with hostility towards new Twitter. The AP is, shall I say, upset that Musk is undoing Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council’s work. New Twitter is also causing discontent among members of the Trust and Safety Council. Despite Musk’s hostility to the story and new Twitter, the AP tweeted the story (below). The tweet takes inspiration from the story’s first paragraph to give away the story’s tilt.
Elon Musk, a new Twitter owner, said that he would grant “amnesty” to suspended accounts. This is according to online safety experts, which will lead to harassment, hate speech, and misinformation. https://t.co/aZ0NyUP7Fp
— The Associated Press (@AP November 24, 2022
Here’s the opening paragraph.
“New Twitter owner Elon Musk stated Thursday that he will grant “amnesty’ for suspended accounts. This is according to online safety experts, which will lead to an increase in harassment, hate speech, and misinformation.
Mr. Musk was observant and counterpunched, while asking a good question about the identity these “online safety experts”.
You have piqued me curiosity… Who are these “online experts”?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk November 25, 2022
The AP laments the Twitter-based structure, but only a small glimpse of details. Continue reading and you will see that these “online safety experts” are part of the Trust and Safety Council. Is this a joke?
According to Danielle Citron, a law professor at The University of Virginia, reinstating banned accounts could mean bringing back “worst offenders”, including neoNazi trolls, people who maliciously post intimate images of people without their permission, and other accounts that repeatedly violated Twitter’s rules against hate speech.
“It’s an accident waiting to happen,” Citron said. He is also vice president of Cyber Civil Rights Initiative and sits as Trust and Safety Council member on Twitter. This council is made up of outside advisers who have not met since Musk’s takeover. “It’s crazy because it’s because these people were so terrible they were bad for business.
Citron stated that an “amnesty” plan would go against years of work, supported by Jack Dorsey, then-Twitter CEO, to create a platform for healthy online conversation that wouldn’t drive away ordinary users afraid of being harassed. Twitter suspended accounts that didn’t respond to temporary suspensions or restricted postings in most cases.
Citron stated that many people learn from suspensions and don’t re-violate. “You must get really bad to get a permanent suspension.”
Alex Holmes, another member of the Trust and Safety Council said that he still needs feedback on the status the council. The council is scheduled to meet in mid December.
Holmes stated that Holmes was unable to see the latest decision sitting right with the council, or what remains of the policy team whose job it would be to create effective policies to keep the platform safe.
Groups that monitor Twitter for racist, anti-Semitic, and other toxic speech have seen a rise in the last month since Musk took control of the platform. This has led to a rise in racist abuse of World Cup soccer stars that Twitter is allegedly failing on.
An anonymous reporter examines the rot at Twitter:
The rise in harmful content is largely due to the disorder that Musk created when he decided to fire top executives, lay off half of the company’s 7,500 employees, and then issue a series ultimatums that caused hundreds to leave. Untold numbers of contractors who were responsible for content moderation were also fired. Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head for trust and safety was one of the many who resigned due to a lack faith in Musk’s willingness keep Twitter from becoming a chaotic chaos of uncontrolled speech.
Major advertisers have also left the platform.
Musk tweeted on Oct. 28, the day after he assumed control, that there would not be any “major content decisions” or account reinstatements. Twitter had formed a “content moderator council” that included diverse viewpoints to consider the cases.
Tuesday’s statement by him was that he had reneged on his promise because he agreed to it at “a large coalition political-social activist groups” who later “broke” the deal by asking that advertisers stop tweeting their business.
Twitter had already reinstated Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s personal account, which was banned in January because it violated COVID misinformation policies.
But that’s not all.
Musk has been becoming more friendly with right-wing figures on Twitter, while Musk is the other. He urged people who are independent-minded to vote Republican before the U.S. midterm elections.
It’s true! Experts believe that this paragraph is the source of AP’s patent animus towards new Twitter.
