Splitting Twitter into strands to stage rows possible: Musk

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
30 Oct 2022 10:23

Twitter CEO Elon Musk's idea would involve splitting the platform into different strands, in such a way that it would look similar to video game-style modes.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk

Twitter will potentially be split in various strands where users will be able to rate posts and stage online rows in a distinct created space on the platform, according to tech mogul Elon Musk who recently acquired the social network company Twitter for $44bn last week.

Under the pressure of public concerns that hateful content will increase on the platform under his leadership, Musk announced that a special unit for content moderation was created on Friday.

According to Musk in a recent tweet, a "better idea" to this would involve splitting the platform into different strands, in such a way that it would look similar to video game-style modes.

This includes a "player versus player" version where verified accounts can participate in debates over specific tweet posts.

That "better idea" also involves selecting a version of Twitter in a similar way someone would chose a movie based on its ratings.

"Being able to select which version of Twitter you want is probably better, much as it would be for a movie maturity rating," Musk said, adding that the rating of a tweet could be selected and modified by user feedback and that the platform has different modes as in video gaming.

One of the users said Twitter could have a player versus player version "where you can start beef and mob each other on verified personal accounts," a "roleplaying" version for anonymous accounts with minimal moderation and a "normal" version with strong moderation.

Musk said "something like this makes sense."

He informed the advertising team on Thursday that a user should be able to "choose your desired experience according to your preferences."

Dear Twitter Advertisers pic.twitter.com/GMwHmInPAS
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 27, 2022

Responding to a tweet from a user calling for the restoration of an account, Musk said, "Anyone suspended for minor & dubious reasons will be freed from Twitter jail."

See this: Elon Musk; how he became a geopolitical figure

Last Friday, the New York Times reported that Musk and his Tesla staff had met with Twitter employees in what he calls a "war room" to inspect Twitter. Discussions during those meetings involved content moderation and other legal matters of the sort, according to Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro.

To be super clear, we have not yet made any changes to Twitter’s content moderation policies https://t.co/k4guTsXOIu
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 29, 2022

Meta's Oversight Board said it "would welcome the opportunity to discuss Twitter’s plans in more detail with the company."

Facebook's Oversight Board found that Musk's moderation council would simply give the appearance of oversight "without ceding any real power."

Thierry Breton, the European commissioner for the internal market, tweeted to Musk on October 28 that "the bird will fly by our [EU] rules," referring to the EU’s Digital Services Act.

Vijaya Gaddea, the head of Glitch, tweeted: "I am very concerned that the progress Twitter has finally made on safety over the last 6 years will unravel in the next few weeks."

Beeban Kidron, the UK crossbench peer and internet safety campaigner, said, "One man having this much power to set the terms of a global conversation does not constitute free speech," adding that accounts with a wide base of followers should be held to close moderation.

"Twitter needs to have very clear community rules for all users that are routinely upheld, but larger accounts and those with the greatest vitality should be held to a higher standard," she said.

"Material delivered at vast scale is broadcasting, and pretending otherwise is yet another example of tech sector’s bogus claim of exceptionality."