Making A Less Hateful Twitter
A smarter look at “newsworthiness”
Social media has proven itself an influential player in our society, not just as a communications tool, but increasingly as a primary source of information and decision-making. Because of this, some people have undertaken efforts to ensure that discussions on our media are productive, safe, and do not lead to a resurgence of Nazism or thermonuclear war.
Easier said than done.
In this article, I’ll examine a case study that demonstrates the problem, and I’ll propose a solution (half-baked at best) for how to make Twitter a less hateful place.
I’ve chosen Twitter because it’s the platform of choice for Donald Trump — and for yours truly. A less-widely known fact is that it’s also the favored platform of journalists due to its simplicity, speed of use, and chronological layout. This is important for our discussion of “newsworthiness.”
Though some may scoff at social media as a frivolous avenue for sharing of viral humor, online forums have become far more than that. Many important events first rear their heads on Twitter, making the platform’s mechanics important to determining what information the public sees and what it doesn’t. So to start this exploration, we’ll look at the platform’s mechanics.
