Twitter co-founder: 'Very bad' if Twitter helped make Trump president

[riversedge]

Source: the hill





By Paulina Firozi - 05/20/17 08:46 AM EDT



Twitter co-founder Evan Williams apologized for the role Twitter may have played in electing President Trump.

In an interview published Saturday in The New York Times, Williams discussed the president’s March claim to Fox News that “I think that maybe I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Twitter.”

“It’s a very bad thing, Twitter’s role in that,” Williams told the Times. “If it’s true that he wouldn’t be president if it weren’t for Twitter, then yeah, I’m sorry.”

During the March interview with Fox News' Tucker Carlson, Trump also said he has “my own form of media” and boasted of 100 million social media followers. Trump has nearly 30 million followers on his personal Twitter account, and there are more than 17 million people who follow the official @POTUS account......................

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/news/334367-twitter-co-founder-apologizes-for-platforms-role-in-making-trump-president

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I certainly am not a follower of either of his accounts.






?itok=kAaa-HQA

[FarPoint]

1. Twitter was and still is a valuable tool to tRump.

It did indeed help him not be available for media confrontational option during the campaign.

[murielm99]

3. On the other hand,

I agree with Senator Durbin. He says that trump will hang himself, 140 characters at a time.

[FarPoint]

7. Yes he will....

He can't stop ....He feels in control with Twitter...he himself never experienced true life consequences which teach the need for boundaries, respect etc...so he will remain delusional.

[samnsara]

2. its easy to post shit but these folks never read what their followers are....

...actually tweeting back to them.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. It is a grand tool for manipulation

that is the nature of the beast.

People and companies push products on there, public and private
investors and companies push recommendations on there

Is any of it in violation of the law? The SEC might look into it.

Twitter is great for news, real-time information, but it's also a lot of BS.

The Madness of Crowds never had a better venue.

[emulatorloo]

5. Well, Twitter was mostly a big ole sewage pipe of Russian fake news in 2016

Too bad, huh?

[dalton99a]

6. Twitter and Facebook were the perfect operating environment for Putin's troll army

[keithbvadu2]

8. Ya might even say - SAD

[bettyellen]

9. There was a weird Russian death threat to Mueller in a Tweet ....

Link to tweet

[Kleveland]

10. Well, call me "old school" or whatever

I for one do not, and am not interested in having a Twitter account.

In fact, I have no social media account, except for LinkedIn, which is only for professional reasons.

People talk too much, and are way too attached to their personal devices, phones, or whatever the popular jargon is these days.

For goodness sake, people, read a freakin' book! Put down that damned phone!

I cannot say that I am not amused reading the idiotic things that pass across Twitter, that folks are kind enough to share, especially the lunacy that comes from those little fingers attached to that ferret wearing moron.

However, I think people should take the time to look at what life has given them, as far as their minds, the natural surroundings, the beasts of the world and get in contact with what is real.

Social media may have its purposes in helping to make people aware of what is going on in this maddening world, but stop, turn of your TV and other devices, and take a minute to maybe walk in a park, listen to some birds, smile at the beauty that is on this earth.

We all need a break from this man-made madness that is engulfing our consciousness.

In the big scheme of things, it shall all pass, as we all will.

Take a moment to realize, that you are alive.

Imagine being without electricity for a minute....

Can any one hear me out there?

[bucolic_frolic]

12. There is only

so much news, efficiency, social contacts, business that one can wring
from social media. Once that point is reached, it may continue at a high
level, but there is a peak for everything.
]
We all have x hours of top performance a day. Beyond that, it's noise.

[Blue_Adept]

13. I'm glad you know what people are doing on their phones.

For goodness sake, people, read a freakin' book! Put down that damned phone!

I haven't read a paper book in ten years. I read all of them on my phone now and have for all that time. And I read more than I was ever able to.

My kids are looking at their phones regularly because they're using language learning tools on it.

One uses it to help destress from anxiety attacks with music and key word help on it.

My parents use theirs to check their blood pressure and keep track of other things on it.

Hell, I can run my entire website, which is where I generate my income, from my phone.

I have no problem with the kind of world you live in - I was there, back in the early 80's, before I first got online and worked with computers.

But I'd rather have what I have now with the accessibility of information and all that I learn while also keeping in contact with friends, the vast majority of which are spread out over the world that I would never communicate with otherwise in the "old days."

[Kleveland]

17. I am not one to argue...

Nor am I ignorant of all of the good things that technology brings to us, as I am a technician.

I believe that you are over reacting, and missing my point.

Nuff said.

[randr]

11. Twitter is a tool

for anyone who wants to spread lies. The underbelly of the web.

[Mr. Ected]

14. 'Very Good' if Twitter helps bring him down

And in an ironic twist, Twitter could be the noose by which Trump hangs himself.

[Bigredhunk]

15. -

Yeah, and how many of your social media followers are bots/fakes shithead?

[cyclonefence]

16. "IF???"

[helpisontheway]

18. He would have a breakdown if he could not tweet. Nt

[world wide wally]

19. Ban him!

You could make him cry!

[LiberalLovinLug]

20. This

That would be one of the single biggest blows to Trump. If he was denied Twitter. Like a parent denying a child's privileges, Twitter should ban him from Twitter for abusing it by telling so many lies. Can't they legally do this? They are a private company.

But I suppose they wouldn't do that because most of his followers would then abandon Twitter as well. And also, it may be that by taking away Twitter from him, it would be the best thing for him and his chances of winning again. So let him hang himself 140 characters at a time.

[stuffmatters]

22. Could they ban hate speech and hate groups? Or false facts?

Or would "free speech" defense prevent Twitter from exercising at least this modicum of social responsibility?

If this Twitter cofounder feels so sorry, shouldn't he be thinking of someway to clean up his mess for the future of our democracy?

[LiberalLovinLug]

24. I guess they don't police the posts themselves

From their Terms of Service page:

https://twitter.com/tos?lang=en

"Any use or reliance on any Content or materials posted via the Services or obtained by you through the Services is at your own risk. We do not endorse, support, represent or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any Content or communications posted via the Services or endorse any opinions expressed via the Services. You understand that by using the Services, you may be exposed to Content that might be offensive, harmful, inaccurate or otherwise inappropriate, or in some cases, postings that have been mislabeled or are otherwise deceptive. All Content is the sole responsibility of the person who originated such Content. We may not monitor or control the Content posted via the Services and, we cannot take responsibility for such Content."


I find that somewhat strange. That they don't even have any clause that says they have a right, as a private company, to deny services to any racist, or sexist or otherwise abusive commenters. No shirt, no shoes, no service!

[stuffmatters]

26. Agree. Twitter TOS essentially admitting no more responsibility to truth than a hate site.

Maybe Twitter needs to be officially classified as a hate site by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Perhaps a labeling like that might shake this and other billionaires to exercise some social decency/responsibility over thei online conduits with such enormous power and reach...and perhaps cause a fair portion of their decent users to close their accounts.

I can dream

[hrmjustin]

25. +1

[BumRushDaShow]

21. Meanwhile, Barack Obama has over 88 million followers

https://twittercounter.com/BarackObama

[JI7]

23. I don't think it's twitter as much as the msm

The msm normalized him and any negative reporting on him had to have something negative on Hillary.

But equal time was not given for just things like showing speeches and rallies