{"id":22345,"date":"2022-12-09T19:04:58","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T19:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/09\/musk-promises-twitter-shadowban-appeal-process\/"},"modified":"2022-12-09T19:04:58","modified_gmt":"2022-12-09T19:04:58","slug":"musk-promises-twitter-shadowban-appeal-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/09\/musk-promises-twitter-shadowban-appeal-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Musk promises Twitter shadowban appeal process"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Twitter CEO Elon Musk said the company is working on a software update that will let users know if they\u2019ve been \u2018shadowbanned,\u2019 explain why they were shadowbanned and offer a way to appeal.<\/p>\n

Shadowbanning, for those unfamiliar, is a term referring to the suppression of posts on social media websites. This can come in various forms, such as limiting how an account can show up in searches or trends on the platform. Musk\u2019s tweet about the shadowbanning appeal process<\/a> followed another round of \u2018Twitter Files,\u2019 an ongoing series of tweets detailing findings from internal Twitter documents.<\/p>\n

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Twitter is working on a software update that will show your true account status, so you know clearly if you\u2019ve been shadowbanned, the reason why and how to appeal<\/p>\n

\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 9, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

So far, journalists Matt Taibbi and Bari Weiss have published Twitter Files threads, with Weiss\u2019 December 8th thread<\/a> focusing on Twitter\u2019s \u201csecret blacklists\u201d and shadowbanning. Weiss also shared details about the \u2018Site Integrity Policy, Policy Escalation Support\u2019 (SIP-PES) group, composed of Twitter\u2019s former head of legal, policy, and trust Vijaya Gadde<\/a>, former head of trust and safety Yoel Roth<\/a>, and former CEOs Jack Dorsey and Parag Agrawal, among others. According to Weiss, SIP-PES handled some of the more sensitive content decisions, particularly around accounts with high follower counts.<\/p>\n

However, much of what Weiss claimed to reveal was previously documented by Vice <\/em>in 2020<\/a> after several high-profile accounts were hacked<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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what Bari Weiss is \u201cunveiling\u201d in her Twitter Files part 2 is also how Elon Musk said he was going to run content moderation on the platform https:\/\/t.co\/sRE2oO6A8d<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/PQ0YQvkPuR<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Matt Binder (@MattBinder) December 9, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Moreover, Musk previously tweeted that under him, Twitter would pursue a policy of \u201cfreedom of speech, but not freedom of reach.\u201d Musk went on to describe a content moderation approach that would downrank and demonetize \u201cnegative\/hate tweets,\u201d which sounds a lot like the shadowbanning practices that Weiss claims to have uncovered.<\/p>\n

Twitter Files may violate FTC agreement<\/h2>\n

Right-wing accounts have long claimed to be victims of shadowbanning and Weiss\u2019 thread tried to build on this narrative. However, Weiss tweeted images of internal documents revealing far-right, anti-LGBT Twitter account \u2018Libs of TikTok\u2019 had received special treatment from Twitter and the account had been internally marked as requiring consultation with SIP-PES before moderators could take action. Libs of TikTok is known for inciting harassment and violence against teachers, children\u2019s hospitals and more, with the account being blamed for bomb threats at some U.S. hospitals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Per a SIP-PES memo shared by Weiss, Twitter had repeatedly given the Libs of TikTok account temporary suspensions, noting the account \u201cindirectly\u201d violated the platform\u2019s Hateful Content Policy. Weiss also pointed out Libs of TikTok was doxxed after Musk took over Twitter and that the platform allowed the doxxing tweet to stay up.<\/p>\n

While right-wing accounts continue to play the victim card, The Intercept <\/em><\/a>reported in November that Twitter began suspending left-wing accounts after far-right extremists directly asked Musk to investigate. Moreover, reporting from over a year ago highlighted Twitter\u2019s own research<\/a> showing that its algorithm amplified right-leaning content more than left-leaning.<\/p>\n

On top of all this, Bloomberg<\/a> <\/em>reported that the screenshots shared in the \u2018Twitter Files\u2019 threads may violate Twitter\u2019s 2022 privacy agreement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). That agreement stipulates that access to sensitive user account data should only be granted to people with a valid business justification for accessing that data. Weiss tweeted that the Twitter Files authors \u201chave broad and expanding access to Twitter\u2019s files,\u201d and those files appear to include potentially sensitive user account data.<\/p>\n

For the latest on Musk\u2019s Twitter saga, read our coverage here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Source: Elon Musk<\/a>, Matt Binder<\/a>, Bloomberg<\/a>, (2)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n