As of last month, Twitter will no longer maintain its policy of opposing incorrect information about covid-19. This has raised fears among public fitness experts, as well as social media researchers, that this could have serious consequences as it could discourage vaccines and other efforts to combat the virus, which continues to spread.
“This is an example of Elon Musk converting Twitter’s policies to appeal to an express audience,” Roy S said. Gutterman, associate professor of virtual journalism at Syracuse University’s Tully Center for Free Speech.
“Maybe that’s how (Musk) sees the absolutism of loose speech,” Gutterman added. “This update underscores our duty to be skeptical about the information we get on social media. But it will probably open the floodgates to all kinds of erroneous data. “
Plus, maybe it’s not just a matter of loose speech for Musk. It may also be just about making Twitter profitable, especially since Musk paid $44 billion to get the social media platform.
“Twitter is billions of dollars in debt, and content moderation is one of the big jobs,” said Dr. Brown. Margot Susca, assistant professor at the American University School of Communication. “It costs billions a year to control disinformation and disinformation, so Musk would possibly call himself a loose-speech absolutist, but he’s a guy who looks at the results. “
Controversy can be smart for business
It can also be argued that Musk is not content to allow such questionable content, but he can actively inspire discourse on the platform.
“Twitter has reinstated tens of thousands of banned accounts in weeks,” said Dr. Brown. Jeanine Guidry, associate professor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture.
While not all of those other people were banned for spreading false information, Guidry said there were many who focused on spreading such content.
“It’s possible that these types of accounts will pick up where they left off,” he said. backwards and you can just post fitness and protection to other degrees and climb into a building in poisonous interactions. “
These extra replacements grab other people to click and inspire them to stay engaged. This is unlikely to replace the minds of those who are in any aspect of a problem, however, in turn it can allow the spread of false data and erroneous data that can unfortunately have serious collateral damage.
“It’s cause for concern,” Guidry said.
Open debate
However, recent revelations suggest that Twitter may have silenced some criticism contrary to the ideals of its executives.
“With Twitter’s policy shift to stop tagging posts, Elon Musk is finding how high the tension is between natural speech and the repercussions of misinformation,” said Amy Bonebright, an assistant professor of journalism in Freedom University’s School of Communication and Digital Content.
“In the most recent post from Musk’s Twitter archives via journalist Bari Weiss, we see that Twitter has become so muzzled with loose speech with little to no consistency or transparency,” Bonebright added.
The platform is not tied to lax speech legislation like the government, so it can be argued that Musk’s attempts at transparency and consistency in platform settings are a first step in the right direction, Bonebright suggested, adding: “The public will be more welcome if they are aware of the rules and can be assured that those rules will be implemented fairly. “
Of course, when it comes to Covid-19, others consider the spread of incorrect information to be a fitness issue.
“It’s going to have health consequences when incorrect information and incorrect information are allowed to swirl,” Susca said. “It may just turn the platform into a sewer. “
Still, as noted, he can still be smart for Musk.
“In my opinion, this is a purely economic decision,” Susca continued. “I see how economically it will have health consequences. “