When wasn't Twitter toxic? It is designed and implemented to breed toxicity. It is optimized for engagement, but people don't just engage when they are happy a

When wasn't Twitter toxic? It is designed and implemented to breed toxicity. It is optimized for engagement, but people don't just engage when they are happy and want to share the joy they also engage when they are angry, upset, want to argue and debate. So they end up arguing in 140 character short quips and sarcastic remarks. Which gets other people angry and they respond with more short sarcastic remarks. How often has anyone said in such an exchange "Oh your witty remark and calling me an fucking idiot gave me pause, I went back, reevaluated my position and now I agree with you". But engagement goes up, and why bother removing bots, they just add more activity and users. "Oh look we have 330M active monthly users" they can say to the shareholders. Buy more shares! There is no mention how they went to RT, a Russian state propaganda outlet and offered them deals and access to US voters ahead of the 2016 election. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/26/twitter-bans-ads-from-russia-today-and-sputnik-over-election-interference https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/26/twitter-b... . Forgot what Twitter's response was, something like "we do not comment on private pitch decks". Which pretty much acknowledges it. So they breed and encourage toxicity then turn around and blast PR how they want more civility and are protecting democracy.