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Twitter Confirms It's Working On a 'Hide Tweet' Feature (techcrunch.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Twitter today confirmed it's developing a new "Hide Tweet" feature, which it says will give users another option to protect their conversations. The option, spotted in Twitter's code, is available from a list of moderation choices that appear when you click the "Share" button on a tweet -- a button whose icon has also been given a refresh, it seems. Like it sounds, "Hide Tweet" functions as an alternative to muting or blocking a user, while still offering some control over a conversation. Related to this, an option to "View Hidden Tweets" was also found to be in the works. This allows a user to unhide those tweets that were previously hidden by the original poster.
Immediately, there were concerns that an option like this would allow users to silence their critics -- not just for themselves, as is possible today with muting and blocking -- but for anyone reading through a stream of Twitter Replies. Imagine, for example, if a controversial politician began to hide tweets they didn't like or those that contradicted an outrageous claim with a fact check, people said. It also requires the user to click to view the Replies that were hidden, which some users may not know to do and others may not bother to do. They may then miss out on an important point in the conversation, or a critical fact check. On the flip side, putting the original poster back in control of which Replies are visible may allow people to feel more comfortable with sharing on Twitter, which could impact user growth -- a number Twitter struggles with today. And it could encourage people to debate things with less vitriol, knowing that their nastier tweets could get hidden view. The "Hide Tweet" feature was first discovered by Jane Manchun Wong.
Immediately, there were concerns that an option like this would allow users to silence their critics -- not just for themselves, as is possible today with muting and blocking -- but for anyone reading through a stream of Twitter Replies. Imagine, for example, if a controversial politician began to hide tweets they didn't like or those that contradicted an outrageous claim with a fact check, people said. It also requires the user to click to view the Replies that were hidden, which some users may not know to do and others may not bother to do. They may then miss out on an important point in the conversation, or a critical fact check. On the flip side, putting the original poster back in control of which Replies are visible may allow people to feel more comfortable with sharing on Twitter, which could impact user growth -- a number Twitter struggles with today. And it could encourage people to debate things with less vitriol, knowing that their nastier tweets could get hidden view. The "Hide Tweet" feature was first discovered by Jane Manchun Wong.
Imagine, for example, if a controversial politician began to hide tweets they didn't like or those that contradicted an outrageous claim with a fact check, people said.
Yeah, it's clearly designed only for dishonest, blue-checkmark journalists to do this (hide criticism and fact checks) instead.
one can also delete tweets. This is not an issue. With respect to accountability. Tweets of relevant politicians are anyway backed up by activists) and even if the tweets should disappear, somebody has a copy. Having politicians twitter is not a bad thing. It often reveals what they really think, often unfiltered, not run through a PR machine. That might change in the future and twitter might be run more and more by PR agencies promoting a person. Given the users more rights is good. What would be a problem is a feature where one could change a tweet later or change the time stamp of a tweet.
Journolist 2.0
When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
Why canâ(TM)t Twitter add a spellcheck or an edit button so we can fix typos? They keep adding features nobody gives a fuck about.
Remember kids, if you're not paying for the service, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT THAT IS BEING SOLD.