3 ms·

I think "preserving the words of the president" probably fits pretty squarely in the realm of public interest, even if they're blatantly false.

jeffbee 6y ago
Giving him a platform in the first place is what necessitates the consequent fact checking. If they didn't distribute his lies they wouldn't need to contradict them. Many media outlets have stopped airing Trump's statements live, because doing so is essentially unethical.
wwright 6y ago
Removing it from the normal tweet status is separate from preserving them. They could archive them and disable replies, retweets, quotes, and so on. They could remove it from feeds. They could frame it differently.
groby_b 6y ago
Not really, no. That's the WH's obligation, not Twitter's. Jack Dorsey's public interest is increasing engagement and making money. That's it.
inimino 6y ago
Especially if, I would say.
HumblyTossed 6y ago
That's not Twitter's job. There are people who are supposed to do this.
- colinmorelli 6y ago
  When you have become one of the de-facto news sources for a sizable portion of the population, it does sort of become your job. Whether it’s good that they have become a news source or not is a valid question. But right now, they are, and I think preserving the president’s tweets seems like a pretty easily defensible decision. Even if it is also (or primarily) motivated by their own business interests.
  - austincheney 6y ago
    Do you need Twitter to preserve the words of the President, though? Rephrasing, can the President’s words be preserved just as well without Twitter? If the answer is yes then Twitter isn’t performing the civil service it claims as it is not an archival medium.
aaaaaaaaaaa10 6y ago
I know for a fact my aunt mails in ballots for her husband, her father and her mother. Claiming that there is no mail-in voter fraud among 300 million Americans is quite absurd in my opinion.
- fzeroracer 6y ago
  So assuming this is true, two things. One, why haven't you reported your aunt for voter fraud? Voter fraud is a very serious issue and it seems to me that you're letting a criminal go free. This can be easily verified by telling the government and having the three others confirm who they voted for. For two, if she is mailing in the ballots, then is she forging their signature as well as collecting their SSNs? Or are they simply signing on the ballots themselves agreeing to the votes? In which case is that truly fraud or not? If she's forging signatures then she's also committing identity theft which is a very serious issue, one that I hope you agree deserves reporting.
  - odkamkfn 6y ago
    Snitches get cross stitches. Don't report your family - talk to them.
    - austincheney 6y ago
      I joke with my kids that it’s snitches get ditches to amp up the nonsense level.
- colinmorelli 6y ago
  I didn’t say there’s zero voter fraud. I said his tweet, which suggests that more mail in ballots will lead to “substantial fraud” is false. That said, perhaps “unsubstantiated” is a better description.
- totalZero 6y ago
  It's a bit absurd when claims of rampant mail-in voter fraud come without evidence from a New Yorker in the District of Columbia who votes in Florida by mail.

jeffbee 6y ago

Giving him a platform in the first place is what necessitates the consequent fact checking. If they didn't distribute his lies they wouldn't need to contradict them. Many media outlets have stopped airing Trump's statements live, because doing so is essentially unethical.

wwright 6y ago

Removing it from the normal tweet status is separate from preserving them. They could archive them and disable replies, retweets, quotes, and so on. They could remove it from feeds. They could frame it differently.

groby_b 6y ago

Not really, no. That's the WH's obligation, not Twitter's. Jack Dorsey's public interest is increasing engagement and making money. That's it.

inimino 6y ago

Especially if, I would say.

HumblyTossed 6y ago

That's not Twitter's job. There are people who are supposed to do this.

colinmorelli 6y ago
When you have become one of the de-facto news sources for a sizable portion of the population, it does sort of become your job. Whether it’s good that they have become a news source or not is a valid question. But right now, they are, and I think preserving the president’s tweets seems like a pretty easily defensible decision. Even if it is also (or primarily) motivated by their own business interests.
- austincheney 6y ago
  Do you need Twitter to preserve the words of the President, though? Rephrasing, can the President’s words be preserved just as well without Twitter? If the answer is yes then Twitter isn’t performing the civil service it claims as it is not an archival medium.

aaaaaaaaaaa10 6y ago

I know for a fact my aunt mails in ballots for her husband, her father and her mother. Claiming that there is no mail-in voter fraud among 300 million Americans is quite absurd in my opinion.

fzeroracer 6y ago
So assuming this is true, two things. One, why haven't you reported your aunt for voter fraud? Voter fraud is a very serious issue and it seems to me that you're letting a criminal go free. This can be easily verified by telling the government and having the three others confirm who they voted for. For two, if she is mailing in the ballots, then is she forging their signature as well as collecting their SSNs? Or are they simply signing on the ballots themselves agreeing to the votes? In which case is that truly fraud or not? If she's forging signatures then she's also committing identity theft which is a very serious issue, one that I hope you agree deserves reporting.
- odkamkfn 6y ago
  Snitches get cross stitches. Don't report your family - talk to them.
  - austincheney 6y ago
    I joke with my kids that it’s snitches get ditches to amp up the nonsense level.
colinmorelli 6y ago
I didn’t say there’s zero voter fraud. I said his tweet, which suggests that more mail in ballots will lead to “substantial fraud” is false. That said, perhaps “unsubstantiated” is a better description.
totalZero 6y ago
It's a bit absurd when claims of rampant mail-in voter fraud come without evidence from a New Yorker in the District of Columbia who votes in Florida by mail.