After a vicious rumor about the micro-blogging website’s shut down in 2017 made rounds in the tech space, Twitter is in the limelight again. Yesterday, anonymous sources told BuzzFeed that the company’s former CEO Dick Costolo asked his media team to filter out abusive tweets ahead of a question-and-answer session with the US President Barack Obama.
The report emerges amid growing controversy over cyber harassment and abuse on the website. Mr. Costolo reportedly asked staff to develop an algorithm that would strip out abusive language directed at the president before May 2015 #AskPOTUS town hall. However, the former CEO had denied the reports and said its “sensational nonsense.”
According to the report, Mr. Costolo’s orders regarding filtering abusive tweets weren’t shared with other senior executives of the company, as he knew how they would react to his decision. He stepped down from his position two months later, paving way for Twitter’s existing CEO, Jack Dorsey.
2/ shows a lack of understanding of the very basics of how trust and safety works at Twitter. Sensationalist nonsense.
— dick costolo (@dickc) August 11, 2016
“In response to today’s BuzzFeed story on safety, we were contacted just last night for comment and obviously had not seen any part of the story until we read it today.” Twitter said about the overall investigative report and the Costolo remark. The company added: “We feel there are inaccuracies in the details and unfair portrayals but rather than go back and forth with BuzzFeed, we are going to continue our work on making Twitter a safer place. There is a lot of work to do but please know we are committed, focused, and will have updates to share soon.”
On Wednesday, a rumor about the company’s plan to shut its door by next year emerged, citing its failure to protect its users from cyber harassment as the reason behind the decision. Users vented out their dismay by using the hashtag #SaveTwitter, which was the top trend in the world as of Thursday morning.
Twitter is not the only tech company that has been accused of censoring content. Earlier this year, social media giant, Facebook found itself in the middle of a controversy that claimed that its staff had changed the rankings of a popular topic due to political reasons. The company denied all charges.
The latest allegation on Twitter is completely opposite to the company’s position on free speech. The micro-blogging website has been quite vocal in its support of freedom of speech. It hasn’t done enough to curb harassment on its platform, and a growing number of Twitterati have asked the company to take a stronger stance on cyber bullying.