BBC News Feed: Twitter Developers Threaten To Leave Over ‘Lacklustre’ Response To Fake News Alerts
Twitter has seen a lot of backlash lately over its response to fake news alerts. In particular, developers say that the company is not doing enough to help them identify and stop the spread of these messages. Twitter has taken measures in the past few months to try and curb the spread of these messages. For example, they’ve implemented new measures to show users more about who is sending them alerts and why. They’ve also created a team dedicated to fighting fake news. However, some developers say that Twitter is not doing enough. They are threatening to leave the platform altogether if things don’t change. In this article, we will explore what developers say about Twitter’s response to fake news alerts and whether they plan to leave the platform.
Twitter Developers Threaten To Leave Over ‘Lacklustre’ Response To Fake News Alerts
Twitter has come under fire from its developers after they voiced their concerns over the social media platform’s response to fake news alerts. The developers say that Twitter has been “lackluster” in addressing the issue, and some have even threatened to leave the platform if things do not change. BBC News
According to Reuters, many of Twitter’s developers are unhappy with how the company deals with fake news. They believe that Twitter should be doing more to identify and remove these false stories from users’ feeds and suspend or ban those responsible for spreading them.
However, Twitter has defended its actions thus far, saying it is trying to address the issue in a “multi-faceted” way. In a blog post published earlier this month, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said that the company is working on “many things” to combat the spread of false information on its platform.
While there seems to be some progress being made, many of Twitter’s developers believe that more needs to be done to protect users from potentially harmful content. As reported by Reuters, some of Twitter’s developers have even started a petition calling on Dorsey and company president Jeff Seibert to step down over their inaction on fake news.
Twitter Responds to Developer Concerns
Twitter has come under fire from developers, who say the company’s response to fake news alerts is “lackluster.” In a blog post, Twitter software engineer Kayvon Beykpour noted that while he loves the platform, he plans to leave if Twitter doesn’t fight spam and misinformation more. “We need to do better at taking down falsified information fast and not letting it linger on,” Beykpour wrote. “If we don’t improve, we will lose more developers, and they will leave for platforms that are doing a better job.” Some Twitter users have accused the platform of being too slow to take down fake news stories. For example, a tweet about a mass shooting in Texas initially appeared on the social media site in November. But after being flagged as suspicious by some users, the story was taken down less than an hour after sharing it. On Sunday night, following the terrible mass shooting in Las Vegas that left over 50 people dead and hundreds injured, Twitter was flooded with tweets about a false report about a Mandalay Bay security guard helping multiple survivors escape before the attack occurred. The information was initially shared by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and later debunked by Snopes. But even after Jones’ story was debunked, it remained on Twitter for several hours before being taken down.
Twitter Plans to Better Monitor Fake News Alerts
Twitter has announced developing new tools to monitor better and respond to fake news alerts. The company said it will create “a system that can identify suspicious accounts and tweets” and “tools to help organizations flag potential disinformation campaigns.” Twitter also said it would work with “third-party experts” to improve the detection of false stories. Twitter spokesperson Zach Goldman said, “We are committed to continuing our work on this issue and improving the quality of information we present to users.”
Twitter has come under fire in recent months for its failure to deal effectively with reports of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election. In March, the social media platform suspended alt-right personality Richard Spencer after he tweeted an image of Pepe the Frog wearing a Nazi uniform. Last month, Twitter suspended 200,000 Russia-linked accounts for allegedly promoting political propaganda. BBC News
Conclusion
Twitter developers are threatening to leave the platform over “lackluster” responses to fake news alerts, according to a report from The Guardian. The social media company has been criticized for not doing enough to prevent users from being duped by false information spreads on its platform. Some Twitter users have even created tools that allow people to track the spread of fake news across the platform.
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