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Who really cares. The top number of mDAUs on twitter in the US is 41 million, and 42% of that are people 18 to 29 who are not super likely to vote in general. S
by ch4s3 4y ago
Who really cares. The top number of mDAUs on twitter in the US is 41 million, and 42% of that are people 18 to 29 who are not super likely to vote in general. Somewhere north of 6% of active users are too young to vote. The most active twitter users are journalists, a few writers, activists, and celebrities. Twitter also isn't really a place where regular people go for election information.
- hellomyguys 4y agoTwitter has a large off platform impact though. It's where information starts and/or spreads and eventually hits Facebook, less mainstream news sources, and in real life conversations.
- ch4s3 4y agoIs it where information starts? That seems highly questionable to me. Any references here?
- eclipticplane 4y agoI hope to live to see a world where some random famous person tweeting isn't listed as news, at all.
- xenospn 4y agoTweets often end up as major news stories on other outlets.
- yafbum 4y agoIDK maybe care bc Twitter is used by politicians of all stripes to whip up their most rabid fans into violent mobs, and by state-sponsored disinformation outfits to throw fuel on the fire?
- ch4s3 4y agoSo they do that on twitter though? To clarify, in the US this seems to mostly happen at in person rallies advertised on Facebook and radio. In other countries WhatsApp seems to be the tool most favored for organizing angry right populists. Twitter just doesn’t seem to be used that way. It’s mostly just hot takes, flaming, journalists arguing, and occasionally people mobbing to try to get some random person fired from their job.
- yafbum 4y agoYes https://www.npr.org/2022/07/13/1111341161/how-trumps-will-be-wild-tweet-drew-rioters-to-the-capitol-on-jan-6 https://www.npr.org/2022/07/13/1111341161/how-trumps-will-be...
- ch4s3 4y agoThat article literally says that the organization happened on facebook and only referred to that tweet. But that is cherrypicking, the rally had already been organized and was being advertised on all channels. We know for a fact that these groups primarily operate on Facebook. They could just as easily posted a short video of the man saying something similar. Twitter is incidental here.
- yafbum 4y agoSure, it was not the only network involved but it clearly provided the initial spark. During the Jan 6 events as well, rioters were watching Trump's tweets and acting on them. https://www.nbcboston.com/news/national-international/crowds-at-u-s-capitol-on-jan-6-surged-after-trump-tweet-rep-aguilar/2749786/ https://www.nbcboston.com/news/national-international/crowds... I'm not trying to say, fix Twitter and everything is fixed. But I take issue with the argument that it doesn't matter bc it has a small audience relative to other networks. It has been useful to reach a certain demographic and has real-life impact.