Social Media

Understanding Twitter suspensions and the need for consistent policies

On Friday evening, January 8, Twitter officially suspended the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, from its platform for violating its stated community policies related to inciting violence and spreading false information.

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Is content moderation stifling public discourse?

Content moderation is difficult work for any social media company. Every day millions of posts and messages are shared on these platforms, most are benign in nature but as with anything there will be abusive, hateful, and sometimes violent content shared or promoted by certain individuals and organizations.

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Social media’s expert culture

Throughout my childhood many saw me as a very confident young man. I was typically up front and vocal about things, confidently asserting my knowledge, skill, and abilities even if I did so with a subdued confidence. I grew up thinking I needed to prove myself in order to be loved, and that desire was often projected through my achievements.

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Explainer: What is Parler, and why does it matter?

In recent months, a new social media platform gained growing popularity in light of controversies over content moderation and fact-checking on traditional social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. Parler was launched in August of 2018 by John Matze, Jared Thomson, and Rebekah Mercer.

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What is our role in social media renewal?

Social media can sometimes bring out the best in humanity. But more often than not, it shows the glaring friction and breakdown of civil discourse in our communities. Social media has become the main place for each of us to get the news, share our thoughts (and our hot takes), signal our political allegiances, and connect with others in the midst of ongoing social distancing and gathering restrictions.

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