Getting Bigger: Twitter Expands Test for New Censorship Operation ‘Worldwide’

Twitter launched a new tool that allows users to secretly downvote tweets to “better surface the most relevant content,” the platform said in an email to MRC Free Speech America. By moving downvotes to the top of tweets and hiding positive comments, Twitter can poison them.

The Verge published a report Feb. 4 headlined, “Twitter expands downvote test worldwide.” The platform initially gave the option to select web users, but will expand it to include iOS and Android users. “Unlike on sites like Reddit, total tallies for upvotes and downvotes aren’t public, but are being used by Twitter behind the scenes to tweak what replies it shows users,” the report said. In other words, the reply section may be flooded with negative comments from panned tweets. This is a new form of censorship for Twitter. A Jan. 4 report by digital marketing agency Omnicore noted that “American Twitter users are more likely to be Democrats than Republicans,” which suggests that Twitter’s new “downvote” tool is yet another scheme to shut conservatives up. 

We learned a lot about the types of replies you don’t find relevant and we’re expanding this test –– more of you on web and soon iOS and Android will have the option to use reply downvoting.

Downvotes aren’t public, but they’ll help inform us of the content people want to see. https://t.co/g8LcTpQqDv pic.twitter.com/wm5MmdR4Xh

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) February 3, 2022

An October 2020 Pew Research analysis reported that “just 10% of users produced 92% of all tweets from U.S. adults since last November,” and “69% identify themselves as Democrats, Democratic-leaning or independents among these prolific users.” Is there any doubt about what this means for conservatives who could now be subject to a leftist “downvote” avalanche similar to bees protecting their beehive? This is As The Verge conceded, “if [the downvotes] became part of Twitter’s algorithm they could be used to silence dissenting opinion.”

Twitter said in a statement provided to MRC Free Speech America that its “experiment” is in its learning stage and does “not impact how replies are ordered.” But how Twitter orders replies in the future could be subject to change:

Still in the learning stages of the experiment, we are trying to understand more about how Reply downvoting might help us find the best content for users on Twitter. This stage of the experiment, down votes are not public and don’t affect how replies are ordered. [emphasis added.]

But the “downvote” experiment is not the only censorship initiative Twitter started. The platform launched Birdwatch, which “‘allows people to identify information in Tweets they believe is misleading and write notes that provide informative context,’” according to a blog postBy Twitter Vice President Product Keith ColemanJan 2021. “‘We believe this approach has the potential to respond quickly when misleading information spreads, adding context that people trust and find valuable.’” Twitter’s history of playing ball for the left informs how the platform may weaponize its new tools for its ongoing war against free speech and conservatives online.

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