<h2 id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



Many of Twitter&#8217;s most active users abandoned the platform in recent years and have shown no sign of coming back, according to company documents obtained by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-where-did-tweeters-go-twitter-is-losing-its-most-active-users-internal-2022-10-25/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Reuters</a>, sparking serious concerns about Twitter&#8217;s future just days before Elon Musk is slated to take control of it.



<h2>KEY FACTS</h2>



The number of &#8220;heavy tweeters,&#8221; which Twitter defines as someone who uses the platform six or seven days a week and tweets at least three times a week, has been in &#8220;absolute decline&#8221; since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to an internal report viewed by Reuters.



Interest in mainstay topics popular with advertisers like sports, news and entertainment has been in decline among English-speaking frequent users, according to Reuters, while interest in cryptocurrency and pornographic &#8220;not safe for work&#8221; content has been on the rise.



&#8220;Heavy tweeters&#8221; are reportedly responsible for 90% of tweets and half of the company&#8217;s revenue, despite making up less than 10% of all monthly users.



The most significant user losses appear to be among accounts that tweeted about celebrities like the Kardashians, with the company reportedly finding a &#8220;devastating&#8221; decline in that area, possibly due to users migrating to Instagram or TikTok.



Interest in world news and liberal politics have also suffered massive declines, according to Reuters.



Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment from&nbsp;Forbes.



<h2>CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



“It seems as though there is a significant discrepancy between what I might imagine are our company values and our growth patterns,” a company researcher reportedly wrote.



<h2>BIG NUMBER</h2>



237.8 million. That&#8217;s how many total daily active users Twitter&nbsp;<a href="https://s22.q4cdn.com/826641620/files/doc_financials/2022/q2/Final_Q2'22_Earnings_Release.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>&nbsp;in the second quarter of this year, up almost 17% from a year prior. Some 41.5 million active users were U.S.-based.



<h2>WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h2>



A Delaware judge has given Musk, the world&#8217;s richest person, until Friday afternoon to close his $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter and take it private. If the deal doesn’t close by then, a lawsuit from the social media company seeking to force him to follow through with the deal will go to trial. Musk told bankers he plans to abide by the Friday deadline,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/10/25/elon-musk-reportedly-tells-bankers-hell-buy-twitter-by-friday-deadline/?sh=6cbd56814a4c">Bloomberg reported Tuesday</a>.



<h2>KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/10/20/musk-twitter-acquisition-staff-cuts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Washington Post</a>&nbsp;reported last week that Twitter is planning massive staffing cuts due to its turbulent financial situation. The company has a reported goal of slashing $800 million in payroll by 2023, which would impact critical infrastructure such as data centers, potentially making the platform and its users more susceptible to security threats. Musk, meanwhile, has reportedly told prospective investors he’s eyeing even deeper cuts: According to the&nbsp;Post, he plans&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/10/20/musk-plans-to-cut-75-of-twitter-workforce-report-says/?sh=7f91de2e496c">to eliminate about 75%</a>&nbsp;of Twitter&#8217;s 7,500-person workforce if the deal closes. The billionaire also reportedly promised potential investors he will triple the number of users who see ads by the end of his third year as owner, while he&#8217;s also floated a subscription service offering users access to premium content for a fee as a way to raise revenue.



<h2>FORBES VALUATION</h2>



We estimate Musk to be worth $219.6 billion, making him the richest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/elon-musk/?sh=2c0b1ec77999">person in the world</a>.



<h2>FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-where-did-tweeters-go-twitter-is-losing-its-most-active-users-internal-2022-10-25/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Exclusive: Twitter is losing its most active users, internal documents show</a>(Reuters)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/10/20/musk-plans-to-cut-75-of-twitter-workforce-report-says/?sh=7f91de2e496c">Musk Plans To Cut 75% Of Twitter Workforce, Report Says</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/10/25/elon-musk-reportedly-tells-bankers-hell-buy-twitter-by-friday-deadline/?sh=6cbd56814a4c">Elon Musk Reportedly Tells Bankers He’ll Buy Twitter By Friday Deadline</a>(Forbes)



By Nicholas Reimann, Forbes Staff

In this photo illustration the Twitter logo seen displayed

Twitter Hemorrhaging Its Most Active Users, Report Says￼

<h2 id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



Twitter’s Chief Technology Officer Parag Agrawal became the company’s new CEO Monday after co-founder Jack Dorsey&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/11/29/twitter-ceo-jack-dorsey-steps-down/">stepped down</a>, culminating what Dorsey called a “rigorous process” for the company’s board to select a new leader for one of the world’s most powerful social media companies.



<h2 id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



Agrawal joined Twitter in 2011 following stints at Microsoft, AT&amp;T and Yahoo, and has served as the company’s CTO since October 2017, where he had been in charge of technical strategy involving machine learning.



Dorsey said in a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/jack/status/1465347002426867720?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">company email</a>&nbsp;Agrawal was his top choice as he’s been “behind every critical decision that helped turn this company around.”



Agrawal holds a PhD in computer science from Stanford University and became Twitter’s first Distinguished Engineer for his impact on the re-acceleration of audience growth in 2016 and 2017, according to a news release.



He&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/paraga/status/1465349749607854083/photo/1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;in a company email “the world is watching us right now,”&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/paraga/status/1465349749607854083/photo/1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">adding</a>&nbsp;in a news release he is “incredibly energized” by the opportunities ahead for the company as it “reshapes the future of public conversation.”



He is now tasked with meeting Twitter’s aggressive goals, including doubling annual revenue this year and reaching 315 million monetizable daily active users by the end of 2023, CNBC&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/25/twitter-sets-goals-to-double-revenue-reach-315-million-users-by-end-of-2023.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reports</a>.



<h2 id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h2>



“The Board ran a rigorous process considering all options and unanimously appointed Parag. He’s been my choice for some time given how deeply he understands the company and its needs,” Dorsey&nbsp;<a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FFX1IQ0WUAEqaLH.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;in a company-wide email announcing his departure. “He leads with heart and soul, and is someone I learn from daily. My trust in him as our CEO is bone deep.”



<h2 id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Twitter’s user growth struggled in recent years, both with getting existing users to use the app again and with recruiting new users, Recode&nbsp;<a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/3/1/21160375/jack-dorsey-twitter-elliott-management-paul-singer-ceo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reports</a>. Twitter stopped reporting its monthly active users in 2019 as the numbers were stagnating around 300 million—at the time, Facebook reported having approximately 2.5 billion monthly users. Elliott Management, an “activist investor” firm and Twitter stakeholder,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-29/singer-s-elliott-is-said-to-seek-to-replace-twitter-ceo-dorsey" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">attempted</a>&nbsp;to oust Dorsey from his position in 2020 over the company’s slow growth, according to a Bloomberg report. The management group also thought that by replacing Dorsey, who was CEO of Twitter and Square at the time, with a full-time CEO could make Twitter more favorable and valuable on Wall Street, Bloomberg&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-29/singer-s-elliott-is-said-to-seek-to-replace-twitter-ceo-dorsey" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>. Twitter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sergeiklebnikov/2021/10/26/twitter-shares-jump-after-apples-privacy-changes-have-minimal-impact-on-quarterly-earnings/?sh=49d38c4d7169">reported</a>&nbsp;user growth and revenue that met analysts’ expectations in the third quarter of this year, despite Apple’s iPhone privacy changes.



<h2 id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h2>



<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/29/twitter-ceo-jack-dorsey-is-expected-to-step-down-sources-say.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Reports</a>&nbsp;of Dorsey’s impending resignation surfaced Monday morning, and he confirmed he was stepping down, effective immediately in a company-wide&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/jack/status/1465347002426867720?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">email</a>. Dorsey said in the email he believes a company being founder-led is “severely limiting and a signal point of failure,” adding that “there aren’t many founders who choose their company over their own ego.” Dorsey co-founded Twitter in 2006 and served as CEO until he was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2015/10/5/9457277/jack-dorsey-twitter-ceo-timeline" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pushed out</a>&nbsp;in 2008, but&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathleenchaykowski/2015/06/11/twitters-ceo-costolo-steps-down-dorsey-returns-as-interim-ceo/">returned</a>&nbsp;to the role in 2015 after Dick Costolo stepped down. He still serves as CEO of Square, of another company he co-founded in 2010.



<h2 id="h-chief-critic">CHIEF CRITIC</h2>



Dorsey faced criticism in recent years for his hesitations to censor users, including controversial public figures, on the app. Paul Barrett, deputy director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, said in a statement Dorsey “leaves behind a mixed legacy.” “A platform that&#8217;s useful and potent for quick communication but one that&#8217;s been exploited by a range of bad actors, including former President Donald Trump, who did his best on Twitter to undermine democracy—until Dorsey&#8217;s people finally had enough and shut him down,” Barrett said.



<h2 id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/11/29/twitter-ceo-jack-dorsey-steps-down/?sh=5f067f931901">Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey Steps Down: ‘Finally Time For Me To Leave’</a> (Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/annakaplan-1/"></a><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/annakaplan-1/">Anna Kaplan</a>Follow



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/annakaplan-1/"></a>

Twitter tests several new features for its mobile app

What To Know About Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s New CEO

TOPLINE Nigeria blocked access to Twitter in the country indefinitely on Friday evening, shortly after the company deleted a tweet by the country’s president, adding Africa’s most populous country to a short list of nations that have barred their citizens from using Twitter:



<h3 id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



Nigeria: The government&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/FMICNigeria/status/1400843062641717249" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">claimed</a>&nbsp;Twitter was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigerian-telecoms-firms-suspend-twitter-access-2021-06-05/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">banned</a>&nbsp;for “undermining Nigeria&#8217;s corporate existence,” and the Ministry of Justice has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57368535" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">promised to prosecute</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/05/africa/nigeria-prosecute-twitter-users-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">violators</a>.



China: Twitter and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/major-us-tech-companies-blocked-from-operating-in-china-2019-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">several other</a>&nbsp;Western social media networks are barred from operating in China, and authorities&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/11/21/chinas-social-media-crackdown-targets-twitter" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">have spent several years</a>&nbsp;reportedly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/chinese-censors-go-old-school-to-clamp-down-on-twitter-a-knock-on-the-door/2019/01/04/1bd462e4-f331-11e8-9240-e8028a62c722_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cracking down</a>&nbsp;on people who manage to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/10/business/china-twitter-censorship-online.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">circumvent</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-is-now-sending-twitter-users-to-prison-for-posts-most-chinese-cant-see-11611932917" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the Twitter ban</a>.



North Korea: The government generally&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37426725" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">doesn’t allow</a>&nbsp;its citizens to access&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/01/north-korea-announces-blocks-on-facebook-twitter-and-youtube" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">foreign websites</a>, instead confining computer users to a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/11309882/Internet-in-North-Korea-everything-you-need-to-know.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">heavily restricted</a>&nbsp;and walled-off intranet.



Iran: Twitter and Facebook have been off-limits&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/technology/iran-protests-social-media.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">since 2009</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/02/02/will-twitter-ban-irans-supreme-leader-next/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">amid</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ali-khamenei-ap-top-news-elections-international-news-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-ab649e2190834e19b1f006f76493645f?utm_campaign=socialflow&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=ap" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">protests</a>&nbsp;and brutal crackdowns following former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s election win, though many Iranians&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-01-10/iran-s-attempt-to-ban-instagram-is-doomed-to-fail" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">use VPNs</a>&nbsp;to dodge their country’s internet restrictions.



Temporary Or Uncertain Bans: Egypt&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jan/26/egypt-blocks-social-media-websites" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cut off access</a>&nbsp;to Twitter during the 2011 Arab Spring protests, Turkey&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/03/21/turkey-bans-twitter-and-twitter-explodes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">banned Twitter</a>&nbsp;for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/04/world/middleeast/turkey-lifts-ban-on-twitter.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">two weeks</a>&nbsp;in 2014, Uganda&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-uganda-election/uganda-bans-social-media-ahead-of-presidential-election-idUSKBN29H0KH" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cut off social media</a>&nbsp;ahead of an election earlier this year, Pakistan has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-18138278" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">sporadically</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/pakistan-socialmedia-block/update-2-pakistan-restores-social-media-apps-after-temporary-block-on-security-grounds-officials-idUSL1N2M90E0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blocked</a>&nbsp;social media sites for brief periods, and Turkmenistan has restricted access to Twitter according to the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/turkmenistan/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. State Department</a>.



<h3 id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



Nigeria’s faceoff with Twitter started earlier this week, when President Muhammadu Buhari threatened to deal with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/africa/2021-04-06-separatist-group-attacks-nigerian-prison-as-more-than-1800-inmates-escape/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">separatist groups</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nigerian-police-launch-operation-southeast-quell-violence-it-blames-separatists-2021-05-18/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">accused of violence</a>&nbsp;“in the language they understand,” a reference to the country’s brutal civil war more than 50 years ago. Twitter blocked Buhari from tweeting for 12 hours and ordered him to delete the post, which it claimed violated the site’s rules, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-57336571" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BBC reported</a>.



<h3 id="h-surprising-fact">SURPRISING FACT</h3>



Many governments with Twitter bans still use the social media platform, often to disseminate information to foreign audiences. Chinese&nbsp;<a href="https://www.axios.com/china-diplomacy-twitter-7a6b8287-f7f0-4dc1-be8a-0eb146b111bc.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">diplomats</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/05/12/chinas-wolf-warrior-diplomats-like-talk-tough/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">staffers</a>&nbsp;regularly use Twitter to lash out at the country’s critics, Iran’s&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/hassanrouhani?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">president</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/JZarif?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">foreign minister</a>&nbsp;are both active on the site, and Nigeria announced its decision to ban Twitter via tweet.



<h3 id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h3>



Buhari is the latest head of state to face sanctions from Twitter. Earlier this year, the company&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/suspension.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">banned</a>&nbsp;former President Donald Trump and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-dubai-iran-united-arab-emirates-middle-east-b8767244595af326b423316a53635d86" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deleted an account</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/01/22/959736537/twitter-bans-account-linked-to-irans-supreme-leader" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ostensibly linked</a>&nbsp;to Iran’s supreme leader. Likewise, Facebook&nbsp;<a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2021/06/facebook-response-to-oversight-board-recommendations-trump/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said Friday</a>&nbsp;it will stop giving deference to politicians when deciding whether to delete newsworthy content that violates its rules.



<h3 id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/05/world/africa/nigeria-twitter-president.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nigeria Bans Twitter After President’s Tweet Is Deleted (New York Times)</a>



By Joe Walsh, Forbes Staff

SAFRICA-NIGERIA-DIPLOMACY

Nigeria Has Banned Twitter — Along With These Other Countries

TOPLINE Tech CEOs Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Jack Dorsey will soon have to answer to lawmakers about the rise of misinformation on their platforms and how they plan to address it, as the House Energy and Commerce Committee announced Thursday a hearing with the Facebook, Google and Twitter leaders will take place on March 25.



<h3 id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



Zuckerberg, Pichai and Dorsey—who lead Facebook, Google and Twitter, respectively—will testify at a remote hearing on “misinformation and disinformation plaguing online platforms,” the House committee announced.



The hearing will further the committee’s work of “holding online platforms accountable” for the issues on their platforms, committee chair Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.) and subcommittee chairs Reps. Mike Doyle (D-Penn.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) said in a statement.



The lawmakers singled out misinformation on election fraud and the Covid-19 pandemic and vaccine as particular matters of concern.



The tech leaders have previously&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/17/facebook-twitter-ceos-senate-judiciary-committee-prepared-testimony.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">testified</a>&nbsp;before lawmakers in recent months, including an October&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/28/facebook-google-and-twitter-ceos-testify-in-congress-over-section-230-live-updates.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hearing</a>&nbsp;with all three CEOs before the Senate Commerce Committee on Section 230, which shields tech companies from legal liability for the content their users post.



<h3 id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h3>



“For far too long, big tech has failed to acknowledge the role they’ve played in fomenting and elevating blatantly false information to its online audiences. Industry self-regulation has failed,” Pallone, Doyle and Schakowsky said in a statement. “We must begin the work of changing incentives driving social media companies to allow and even promote misinformation and disinformation.”



<h3 id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h3>



93%. That’s the percentage of Americans who say they are either very or somewhat about the spread of misinformation on the internet, according to a Gallup/Knight Foundation&nbsp;<a href="https://knightfoundation.org/articles/most-americans-would-believe-social-media-misinformation-warnings/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;conducted in September.



<h3 id="h-tangent">TANGENT</h3>



The House Judiciary Committee also separately announced plans to investigate big tech Thursday, unveiling a series of antitrust hearings aimed at curbing tech giants’ market dominance as it develops antitrust legislation. The renewed investigation will continue the antitrust subcommittee’s ongoing work probing the tech giants and their monopolistic power, which included a July&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2020/07/29/republicans-use-tech-antitrust-hearing-to-rail-against-anti-conservative-bias/?sh=6f7e186855aa">hearing</a>&nbsp;with Dorsey, Pichai, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.



<h3 id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



Online misinformation and its spread on major social networks has come under significant scrutiny in recent months, particularly amid the Covid-19 pandemic and around the November election. Social media companies have taken significant&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/2020/01/31/heres-how-facebook-twitter-and-tiktok-are-battling-coronavirus-misinformation/?sh=2dfca99c6651">steps</a>&nbsp;to curb the spread of false information, such as Twitter&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2020/10/09/twitter-new-rules-try-to-prevent-election-and-trump-related-chaos-misinformation/?sh=262d250f6840">adding safeguards</a>&nbsp;to limit sharing posts that have been flagged for misinformation and Facebook&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2021/02/18/facebook-continues-fight-against-misinformation-plans-to-debunk-climate-change-myths/?sh=7cac8aee4804">announcing</a>&nbsp;Thursday new efforts to combat misinformation around climate change. Despite their efforts, however, misinformation still continues to persist: an October study by the German Marshall Fund of the United States&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2020/10/12/facebook-users-interacting-with-misinformation-way-more-now-than-in-2016-study-finds/?sh=403d34415973">found</a>&nbsp;that engagement with false content producers on Facebook had gone up by 102% since 2016, for instance, while a September&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/news/releases/covid-related-misinformation-videos-spread-primarily-through-facebook-as-its-fact-checkers-fail-to-spot-false-information-finds-new-oxford-study/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study</a>&nbsp;from the University of Oxford found Facebook’s third-party fact checkers had only caught less than one percent of Covid-19 misinformation videos on the platform.



<h3 id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/02/18/house-antitrust-amazon-apple-facebook-google/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">House to grill Facebook, Google, Twitter CEOs as Washington seeks to crack down on disinformation, antitrust</a>&nbsp;(Washington Post)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2021/02/18/facebook-continues-fight-against-misinformation-plans-to-debunk-climate-change-myths/?sh=7cac8aee4804">Facebook Continues Fight Against Misinformation, Plans To Debunk Climate Change Myths</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/isabeltogoh/2020/01/31/heres-how-facebook-twitter-and-tiktok-are-battling-coronavirus-misinformation/?sh=2dfca99c6651">Here’s How Facebook, Twitter And TikTok Are Battling Coronavirus Misinformation</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2020/10/12/facebook-users-interacting-with-misinformation-way-more-now-than-in-2016-study-finds/?sh=403d34415973">Facebook Users Interacting With Misinformation Way More Now Than In 2016, Study Finds</a> (Forbes)



By Alison Durkee, Forbes Staff

US-politics-computers-internet

Facebook, Google, Twitter CEOs Set To Testify About Misinformation

TOPLINE Twitter’s shares plunged 7% in pre-market trading on Monday after the platform permanently suspended President Donald Trump’s account Friday — Twitter was one of several sites to deplatform the president for his role in inciting violence among supporters Wednesday, including Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.



<h4 id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h4>



After a review of Trump’s recent tweets, Twitter said it felt there was a “risk of further incitement of violence” from the president, who at the time was one of the most followed people on the platform.



The company then virtually chased Trump across the internet to take down posts as the president repeatedly tried to subvert the ban and tweet from other accounts he had access to, such as the official presidential @POTUS account and his presidential campaign account.&nbsp;



The president&nbsp;<a href="https://techcrunch.com/2021/01/08/president-trump-responds-to-twitter-account-ban-in-tweet-storm-from-potus-account/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">claimed</a>&nbsp;he would set up his own social media network in the future.



Twitter also cracked down on the accounts of a number of Trump’s supporters who were encouraging violence and spreading misinformation, like lawyer L. Lin Wood who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2021/01/07/lin-wood-lawyer-closely-tied-to-trump-permanently-banned-from-twitter-after-claiming-capitol-siege-was-staged/?sh=44dc23851be3">suggested</a>&nbsp;the Wednesday insurrection was a coup “staged” by antifa protesters and described Vice President Mike Pence as a traitor and communist.&nbsp;



<h4 id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



After years of pressure to crack down on misinformation, conspiracy and hate speech from Trump, platforms are now abandoning him in droves after the president incited violence among his supporters Wednesday. Of these, Twitter is the most consequential. Twitter was Trump’s preferred way of engaging with the world around him and the president used the platform for everything from announcing policies and denouncing detractors to spreading hate, misinformation and lies. Trump’s communications channels are certainly narrowing — Facebook also banned the president and right wing app Parler has been practically&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2021/01/10/conservative-social-media-app-parler-is-pretty-much-dead/?sh=73e7a2a66a53">run off the internet</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h4 id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h4>



Twitter and San Francisco police are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/San-Francisco-braces-for-possible-pro-Trump-15860077.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly</a>&nbsp;preparing for a pro-Trump protest outside the company’s headquarters on Monday in the wake of the ban.&nbsp;



<h4 id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h4>



88 million. That’s how many Twitter followers Trump had when his account was suspended. This made him one of the most followed on the platform.



<h4 id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h4>



<a href="https://www.axios.com/platforms-social-media-ban-restrict-trump-d9e44f3c-8366-4ba9-a8a1-7f3114f920f1.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">All the platforms that have banned or restricted Trump so far</a> (Axios)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2021/01/08/twitter-permanently-bans-trump/?sh=3969f0e3158d">Twitter Permanently Bans Trump</a> (Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2021/01/10/conservative-social-media-app-parler-is-pretty-much-dead/?sh=73e7a2a66a53">Conservative Social Media App Parler Is Pretty Much Dead</a> (Forbes)



<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-11/twitter-shares-fall-6-following-permanent-trump-ban?srnd=premium" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter Shares Fall 7% Following Permanent Trump Ban</a> (Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jemimamcevoy/2021/01/10/parler-at-risk-of-going-offline-after-bans-from-amazon-apple-and-google/?sh=31fcce28312b">Parler At Risk Of Going Offline After Bans From Amazon, Apple And Google</a> (Forbes)



-By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff

Twitter Permanently Suspends President Donald Trump’s Twitter Account

Twitter Shares Down 7% In Pre-Market Trading After Trump Is Permanently Banned From The Platform

TOPLINE Twitter has permanently suspended President Donald Trump’s account, the company announced Friday, a striking move that comes as the social media network faced growing pressure to remove him following the deadly Capitol riots earlier this week.



<figure class="is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-1 wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped"><ul class="blocks-gallery-grid"><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-1024x683.jpg" alt="" data-id="48752" data-full-url="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-scaled.jpg" data-link="https://www.forbesafrica.com/current-affairs/2020/11/04/twitter-flags-trump-tweet-baselessly-accusing-biden-of-trying-to-steal-the-election/attachment/president-donald-trump-holds-election-night-event-at-the-white-house/" class="wp-image-48752" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="blocks-gallery-item__caption">WASHINGTON, DC &#8211; NOVEMBER 04: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on election night in the East Room of the White House in the early morning hours of November 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></li></ul></figure>



<h4 id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h4>



Twitter said it decided to ban the president “due to the risk of further incitement of violence” after a review of his recent tweets.



Though Twitter has long been criticized for not doing enough to stem the spread of misinformation and hate speech on Trump’s account, the last few days have ratcheted up pressure from prominent figures in tech, Democrats, as well as Twitter’s own employees, for a permanent ban.



Up until this point, Twitter had only locked Trump’s account for 12 hours over tweets where he said he “loved” the rioters and explained the insurrection as “things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously &amp; viciously stripped away.”



After the suspension expired, Trump used Twitter to call his supporters “American Patriots,” say the MAGA movement will have a “GIANT VOICE long into the future” and indicate he would skip Joe Biden’s inauguration.



Twitter said those tweets prompted the ban because they are being interpreted by his supporters as a veiled plan to “continue to support, empower, and shield those who believe he won the election,” especially considering “plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off-Twitter.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">After close review of recent Tweets from the <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a> account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.<a href="https://t.co/CBpE1I6j8Y">https://t.co/CBpE1I6j8Y</a>&mdash; Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1347684877634838528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h4>CRUCIAL QUOTE</h4>



“President Trump’s statement that he will not be attending the Inauguration is being received by a number of his supporters as further confirmation that the election was not legitimate and is seen as him disavowing his previous claim made via two Tweets (<a href="https://twitter.com/DanScavino/status/1347103015493361664" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/DanScavino/status/1347103016311259136" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2</a>) by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Dan Scavino, that there would be an ‘orderly transition’ on January 20th,” Twitter said in its assessment of his final tweets.



<h4>CHIEF CRITIC</h4>



Trump immediately tweeted from the @POTUS account that Twitter’s employees were coordinating with Democrats and the “Radical Left” to silence him. But moments later Twitter removed those posts.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">The president tweeted this from the <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> account but the tweets have already been taken down by Twitter. <a href="https://t.co/pRqpFw8hYY">pic.twitter.com/pRqpFw8hYY</a>&mdash; Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) <a href="https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1347718683351601152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h4>KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



Trump’s Twitter account was his primary way of communicating with the world. He’s used it to announce policies, go after critics, spread falsehoods and, most recently, promote conspiracy theories about election fraud. But after years of pressure to clean up its platform, Twitter began cracking down on Trump this year by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/facebook-twitter-keep-fact-checking-trump-voting-mail-he-s-n1241339" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fact-checking</a>&nbsp;false tweets about mail-in voting, Covid-19 and the election results. The company’s actions angered Trump so much he launched a crusade against tech’s legal shield, Section 230, claiming that social media companies are biased against conservatives.



<h4>TANGENT</h4>



Trump isn’t the only person who got permanently suspended in the wake of the deadly insurrection attempt at the U.S. Capitol. Twitter also <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2021/01/08/twitter-bans-sidney-powell-mike-flynn-for-sharing-qanon-conspiracy-theories/?sh=1eea67932d66">removed </a>several accounts that pushed QAnon conspiracy theories, including Sidney Powell, Mike Flynn, and former 8kun administrator Ron Watkins.



-By Rachel Sandler, Forbes Staff

Twitter Permanently Bans Trump

After Joe Biden expressed optimism about his prospects of winning the election during remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, President Trump fired off a tweet in which he falsely claimed votes were being “cast after the polls closed” and accused the Democratic nominee of trying to “steal” the election—a baseless accusation that the president has floated for weeks—and Twitter flagged the tweet for spreading misinformation about the election.



<h4>KEY FACTS</h4>



“We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election,” Trump wrote in a tweet without proof, adding “Votes cannot be cast after the Polls are closed!”



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1323864823680126977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1323864823680126977%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&#038;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fembedly.forbes.com%2Fwidgets%2Fmedia.html%3Ftype%3Dtext2Fhtmlkey%3Dcfc0fb0733504c77aa4a6ac07caaffc7schema%3Dtwitterurl%3Dhttps3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Frealdonaldtrump%2Fstatus%2F1323864823680126977image%3D
</div></figure>



Twitter slapped a label on the tweet, saying some of the “content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process.”



Facebook followed suit, placing a label on Trump’s tweet that did not comment on the content of the president’s message but did remind users that the results are not final.



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">And now an update. Facebook&#39;s label has now changed. It makes no comment about the content of Trump&#39;s post but suggests that the results are not final. <a href="https://t.co/EWw4guUAL0">pic.twitter.com/EWw4guUAL0</a>&mdash; Ryan Mac🙃 (@RMac18) <a href="https://twitter.com/RMac18/status/1323872220821643265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



For weeks, Trump has laid the groundwork to object to results of the election he doesn’t like, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/09/23/916221894/trump-says-he-expect-election-results-to-end-up-at-supreme-court" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">refused</a>&nbsp;repeatedly to commit to a peaceful transfer of power.



The president has also repeatedly argued the results of the election must be known on election night, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/11/01/930140373/fact-check-trump-falsely-claims-that-votes-shouldnt-be-counted-after-election-da" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">falsely claimed</a>&nbsp;&#8220;that&#8217;s the way it&#8217;s been and that&#8217;s the way it should be.&#8221;



Trump put out the tweet after Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/11/04/it-aint-over-till-every-vote-is-counted-biden-says-hes-on-track-to-win-rejects-trumps-victory-declaration/">told</a>&nbsp;a crowd in Wilmington, Delaware that he felt confident about the election results, saying, &#8220;We believe we&#8217;re on track to win this election.&#8221;



<h4>KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



There is no evidence votes were cast after the polls closed in any state, as the president baselessly claimed. Many states&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2020/11/02/when-well-know-what-on-election-day-a-guide-to-poll-closing-times-vote-counting-procedures-and-the-states-to-watch/">accept ballots</a>&nbsp;postmarked on or before Election Day to account for mail delays.



<h4>WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h4>



Biden currently&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/11/04/electoral-college-2020-trump-takes-florida-biden-wins-minnesota-most-swing-states-too-close-to-call/?sh=2900329f14cd">leads</a>&nbsp;Trump in the electoral college vote 223 to 174, with several key battlegrounds not yet projected, including Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia.



<h4>SURPRISING FACT</h4>



Historian Michael Beschloss notes we did not know the winner on election night during six presidential elections since 1960.



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">We did not know Presidential winner for certain before midnight on election nights in 1960, 1968, 1976, 2000, 2004, 2016. No one should pretend there would be anything historically unusual if that happens again in 2020.&mdash; Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) <a href="https://twitter.com/BeschlossDC/status/1322993565199380491?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 1, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h4>FURTHER READING</h4>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/11/04/it-aint-over-till-every-vote-is-counted-biden-says-hes-on-track-to-win-rejects-trumps-victory-declaration/?sh=15d523062258">‘It Ain’t Over Till Every Vote Is Counted’: Biden Says He’s ‘On Track’ To Win, Rejects Trump’s Victory Declaration</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewsolender/2020/11/04/electoral-college-2020-trump-takes-florida-biden-wins-minnesota-most-swing-states-too-close-to-call/?sh=15dcb314cd61">Electoral College 2020: Trump Takes Florida, Biden Wins Minnesota, Most Swing States Too Close To Call </a>(Forbes)



-By Jack Brewster, Forbes Staff

President Donald Trump Holds Election Night Event At The White House

Twitter Flags Trump Tweet Baselessly Accusing Biden Of Trying To ‘Steal The Election’

TOPLINE Twitter announced Wednesday that it will test a new feature that will prompt users to open up a link to an article before sharing it, which appears to be a move to further combat the spread of misinformation on the platform.



KEY FACTS



<ul><li>Some Twitter uses may be subject to a prompt to click on a link if they try to retweet without reading the article first, billed by Twitter as a feature “designed to <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1270821434462539783?s=20" target="_blank">empower</a> healthy and informed public conversation.”</li></ul>



<ul><li>English speakers on <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1270783537667551233?s=20" target="_blank">Android devices</a> will be the first to see the tests.Users will still have the ability to retweet a message without clicking the link first if they chose to <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1270783537667551233?s=20" target="_blank">tap through</a> the prompt.</li></ul>



<ul><li>According to Twitter Support, an official company account, the platform will only check if a user has clicked the article link recently <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1270804405886091266?s=20" target="_blank">through Twitter</a>, not elsewhere on the internet.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Twitter denied some skeptical users’ accusations that the platform is testing the feature to establish a revenue stream via click-through to outside websites, saying the platform is not <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1270821781843124227?s=20" target="_blank">testing ad products</a> with the prompts.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Twitter Support told one user it would watch to see if reminding users to read an article before they share it leads to more <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1270809139917225985?s=20" target="_blank">informed discussion</a>.</li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Sharing an article can spark conversation, so you may want to read it before you Tweet it. To help promote informed discussion, we&#39;re testing a new prompt on Android –– when you Retweet an article that you haven&#39;t opened on Twitter, we may ask if you&#39;d like to open it first.&mdash; Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) <a href="https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1270783537667551233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



CRUCIAL QUOTE



“It&#8217;s easy for links [and] articles to go viral on Twitter. This can be powerful but sometimes dangerous, especially if people haven&#8217;t read the content they&#8217;re spreading. This feature (on Android for now) encourages people to read a linked article prior to retweeting it,” Twitter product lead Kayvon Beykpour&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/kayvz/status/1270788548002631681?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">commented</a>&nbsp;upon the announcement of the feature testing.



KEY BACKGROUND



The new prompt tests are the latest Twitter effort to curb the spread of misinformation on the platform. Twitter last month displayed <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/iainmartin/2020/05/29/twitter-flags-trump-tweet-threatening-violence-against-minneapolis-protesters/#5684bf57bc33">fact-check tags</a> on two of President Donald Trump’s tweets that featured misleading information regarding mail-in ballots and voter fraud. Twitter also rolled out testing for a new feature to allow users to <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.theverge.com/21286855/twitter-articles-prompt-unread-feature-conversations" target="_blank">limit</a> who can reply to their tweets. The platform has faced <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2020/05/27/heres-why-twitter-is-facing-attacks-from-both-trump-and-democrats/#3a95dad95df0">criticism</a> from both sides of the aisle in recent weeks, from conservatives over accusations of censorship and from the left for not doing enough to stifle misinformation.



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/">Carlie Porterfield</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/business">Business</a>

gettyimages-1196063843-594×594

Twitter Begins Asking Users To Actually Read Articles Before Sharing Them

Twitter published its latest diversity report on Wednesday, revealing, for the sixth consecutive year, that the bulk of its staff is white or Asian and skews male.



Still, the social platform did make good on its two-year&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2018/growingtogetherattwitter.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">diversity targets</a>&nbsp;for female, black and Latinx employees—meeting and, in some cases, exceeding its goals.



Globally, women represent 42.5% of all roles, just half a percentage point shy of Twitter’s 2018 target, and a bump from 38.4% two years ago. Black and Latinx employees make up 5.8% and 4.9% of all roles, compared to 3.4% for both groups at the end of 2017. Twitter’s two-year timeline was 5% for each.



While Twitter’s 2018 goals weren’t exactly ambitions, the results are a promising step in the right direction and show a slight headway on an issue that has long eluded the tech industry.



Broken down by technical and leadership roles, however, the diversity numbers aren’t so laudable. Women represent just a quarter of all technical positions and nearly 36% of leadership positions, while black and Latinx employees combined make up almost 8% of technical roles and 8.7% of leadership roles. Interestingly, a majority of the small percentage of black and Hispanic employees are in leadership positions: 86% and 76% respectively.



Twitter says that its vision is to become the world’s “most diverse and inclusive tech company,” but the company’s relatively homogeneous workforce still mirrors the broader industry’s, and doesn’t fully reflect the community that it serves.Take, for instance, the popularity and influence of Black Twitter. About&nbsp;<a href="https://www.walterkaitz.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/nielsen-from-consumers-to-creators.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">28% of Twitter’s 67 million users</a>&nbsp;are African-American, though they represent just 14% of the total U.S. population, and 40% of African-Americans are on Twitter.&nbsp;



“The stakes are incredibly high and we don’t have the luxury of time or incrementalism. We have a unique responsibility to be bold, move fast–and get this right,” Dalana Brand, Twitter’s head of inclusion and diversity, writes in a blog post.



For Twitter, that means committing to new diversity goals. By 2025, the company pledges to have women comprise half of its global workforce, 42% of technical roles and 41% of leadership positions. The company also set a 25% target for the representation of minority ethnic and racial groups–specifically black, Latinx, Native American, Alaskan or Hawaiian/Pacific Islander or multiracial–and is launching an Inclusive Hiring Program, although no details were given on when that initiative will begin.



Later this year, Twitter plans to publish its progress on workforce representation of military veterans, employees with disabilities and LGBT+ workers for the first time.



Since introducing diversity targets in 2018, the company’s global representation of women has increased by 4% and the figures for black and Latinx employees in the U.S. has climbed by 2.4% and 1.5%. In 2019, nearly half of all new hires were women, 47.1%, and 15.7% of U.S. hires were black or Latinx.



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ruthumoh/">Ruth Umoh</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/diversity-inclusion">Diversity &amp; Inclusion</a>

gettyimages-1206514294-594×594

Twitter’s 2020 Diversity Report Shows Modest Gains As Company Sets New Goals For Representation

Facebook is hiring a small team of journalists to help curate breaking news and repair its strained relationship with news publishers, the social media giant announced Tuesday. 



The company says it will employ journalists to select breaking news and top stories that will appear in its soon-to-be-launched feature called News Tab, rather than using algorithms to determine what is shared with its vast network of users.



With the move, Facebook is part of a growing trend in the tech industry. Apple, Google, Twitter, LinkedIn and Snapchat have all employed journalists to help their companies sort through the news and cozy up to news organizations.



READ MORE | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Facebook Recommits To A More Personalized Dating App, Your Privacy (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/technology/2019/05/02/facebook-recommits-to-a-more-personalized-dating-app-your-privacy/" target="_blank">Facebook Recommits To A More Personalized Dating App, Your Privacy</a>



Apple, for example, has used some form of human curation since its subscription Apple News app launched in 2015. In June 2017, the company hired former New York magazine executive editor Lauren Kern as the app’s editor-in-chief. Twitter has also employed some form of human news curation since 2015. 



Even with a team of in-house journalists, companies like Twitter continue to struggle in the fight against misinformation. On Monday, Twitter announcedit will no longer accept advertising from state-controlled media, in large part as a response to the discovery that China ran a misinformation campaign to combat Hong Kong protesters. 



Facebook, facing similar scrutiny for the same Chinese misinformation campaign, said that employing journalists will help “surface more high quality news.”



“Our goal with the News tab is to provide a personalized, highly relevant experience for people,” Campbell Brown, Facebook’s head of news partnerships said in a statement sent to Forbes. “The majority of stories people will see will appear in the tab via algorithmic selection. To start, for the Top News section of the tab we’re pulling together a small team of journalists to ensure we’re highlighting the right stories.”



READ MORE | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Google, Facebook, Twitter Fail To Live Up To Fake News Pledge (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/current-affairs/2019/02/28/google-facebook-twitter-fail-to-live-up-to-fake-news-pledge/" target="_blank">Google, Facebook, Twitter Fail To Live Up To Fake News Pledge</a>



Facebook says the team will take into account user controls, pages and publisher as well as the news that users interact with or share,&nbsp;and other unnamed signals from its vast network to personalize content.&nbsp;



The company has been under pressure to mitigate its misinformation problem since it was revealed in 2016 that Russian operatives carried out a misinformation campaign in a “sweeping and systematic fashion” on the network, as it was described by special counsel Robert Mueller in his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.



The Mueller Report found that Russia spent $1.25 million per month on digital advertisements in an effort to sow discord in the U.S. and influence the presidential election. On Monday, Facebook came under fire for taking money from China to spread disinformation about Hong Kong protests.



The social media giant remains an important part of many Americans lives, much more than its rivals Twitter and Snapchat. According to Pew Research, about 69% of American adults use Facebook, and of those who use it, about 74% visit the site once a day. By comparison, only one in five U.S. adults (22%) use Twitter.



According to a survey conducted in 2018, about four in ten (43%) U.S. adults get at least some news from Facebook.



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In January 2017, Facebook hired Campbell Brown, a former television news anchor, to lead its news partnerships team. She remains a key figure in easing the tension between large national news outlets—those who have historically provided an endless trove of free content for the social media giant—and the company.



Publishing executives have slammed Facebook for siphoning advertising revenue away from traditional news publishers while also demanding that those same companies provide content for free. Following years of backlash, the social media company is now trying to work with publishers to create a more even relationship.



Facebook’s news partnership program involves deals that are potentially worth millions of dollars. The Wall Street Journal reports that several news outlets including the Washington Post, Bloomberg, Dow Jones, and the New York Times have discussed receiving as much as $3 million per year to license news content.



The News Tab, which has not been publicly viewed, is being positioned in stark contrast to the company’s Trending Topics news section, which shut down in 2016 following increasing pressure from users.



In 2016, the tech website Gizmodo published an article alleging contractors hired to curate the now-defunct Trending Topics feed were actively suppressing conservative news stories. In a letter to Congress, Facebook said, “We could not reconstruct reliable data logs from before December 2014, so were unable to examine each of the reviewer decisions from that period,” thus suggesting that it may have very well suppressed conservative news when the tool first launched.



-Michael Nuñez; Forbes

gettyimages-904274222-170667a

Facebook Joins Other Tech Giants In Employing Journalists To Curate News

Many perspectives have been shared on influencer marketing, but very few from the brands themselves. What are its business imperatives and ROI?



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



In the heart of Sandton, Africa’s richest square mile, is
Brittany Preece, a social media manager at Investec Bank. 



As part of the Private Banking marketing team, Preece and
her team have managed to successfully implement disruptive digital strategies
to meet the growth objectives of the bank. 



Traditionally, the role of marketing has been to support business objectives. Yet when companies experience financial difficulty, more often than not, marketing is seen to be the first in line on the chopping block. As a way of adapting to this reality, most marketing managers have had to look at cost-effective, yet creative, ways of achieving business impact.



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Social and digital media have given room for new ways
businesses can engage and sell to their customers. 



Increasingly gaining traction in South Africa is influencer
marketing, an entirely new branch of the sales and marketing funnel which has
seen brands leverage popular personalities on social media to promote their
products and services online. Globally, the influencer marketing industry is
forecast to be worth $5 billion to $10 billion by 2020, according to a study by
Mediakix.



For Investec, attracting and diversifying into new markets
has informed their decision to leverage influencers as part of their marketing
strategy. 



“Since 2015, we as Investec, have predominantly used influencer marketing to reach the young professional audience,” Preece says. 



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“We (Investec Private Bank) have recently evolved our
qualifying criteria. We’re no longer just the preferred banking partner for
accountants, engineers, lawyers, doctors and actuaries. We’re positioned to be
the bank of choice for those who are under the age of 30, consistently earning
more than R600,000 ($42,582)a year, with a university degree and working in
their area of expertise.” 



Seated in front of a glass wall which looks out to a view of
a bustling and upbeat office environment, she elaborates that to effectively
reach the young professionals’ target market, it is important to identify
individuals that can speak to that audience. 



“What influencer marketing gives you, that a lot of the other marketing channels can’t, is great reach and engagement with your target audience. Using [influencers] brings a lot of authenticity to the brand, where Investec Private Banking was seen as unattainable to a lot of young professionals,” Preece says. 



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In the digital universe, content is king. Authenticity is
paramount. A study conducted by the Mobile Marketing Association reported that
most consumers have banner blindness and suffer from advertising fatigue. They
cannot recall the last digital banner ad that they saw. 



Ad-blocking continues to be a growing phenomenon, further
demonstrating the shift in consumer behavior. Consumers simply don’t want to be
marketed to. To this effect, influencers assist brands to reach their customers
through content that is more relevant to those consumers.



According to Business Insider’s 2018 Influencer Marketing
Report: Research, Strategy &amp; Platforms for Leveraging Social Media
Influencers, the average social media engagement rate from influencer marketing
averages 5.7% per post. 



This is a feat compared to content generated by brands which
fluctuates around 2% – 3% per post. 



With this in mind, it’s even more essential for brands to
involve influencers upfront to co-create an envisioned campaign. 



“You want your influencer to buy into what you stand for as a brand. It shouldn’t be a hard sell – consumers see through that. If not done properly, it can look very fake and [we] never want to make it feel like an ad,” Preece says. 



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Brands and agencies measure awareness and engagement by
analyzing a few parameters, including, inter alia, number of likes, comments,
shares and followers. Proponents of this theory believe an increase in these
parameters lead to brand success. 



Detractors of the theory believe awareness and engagement
alone are not sufficient indicators of brand success. “Likes and follows are
unimpressive without an increase in the bottom line,” says Sinesipho Maninjwa,
a financial analyst and commentator. 



But technology has its limitations. Dianne Joseph, the
Commercial Director of Digital at Nielsen, a leading global information, data
and measurement company, elaborates that there are real challenges in measuring
sales attribution as a result of influencer marketing. 



“The influencer models are difficult to measure because most
influencers use their own personal pages to post, and these organic posts don’t
offer us the opportunity to implement a tag (for tracking purposes) and,
therefore, we aren’t able to track the outcomes,” Joseph says.



The ability to measure what is happening on and off digital
platforms, or across social media platforms, is a challenge that most digital
marketers face. Different platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have their own
unique methods of tracking and storing data. The link between these platforms
is, therefore, a lot more tenuous. 



But in support of influencer marketing, a number of global
studies have come out and shown that influencer marketing does yield a positive
return on investment (ROI). 



Pierre Cassuto, of social media influencer platform Humanz,
who recently set up shop in South Africa from Tel Aviv in Israel, believes that
the use of influencers can lead to increased sales. “In the US market, there is
about a four times ROI on money spent in the influencer marketing space for
retailers, cosmetics and FMCG brands,” he adds.



Cassuto agrees that engagement on its own doesn’t yield conversion. For influencer marketing to yield conversion, the message being broadcast by influencers has to be well thought out and carefully constructed to achieve that objective. 



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">There has to be a reason for someone to do something now as opposed to anytime. That can be around creating urgency around something specific, it can be around creating a limited time availability offer.</blockquote>



Essentially, brands can become creative and purposeful in
how they design their entire campaign to track conversion from the ground up.
“The way we suggest measuring conversion is by making sure that the influencers
have a way that [brands] can track the relationship between the influencers
post and the actual conversion,” Cassuto says.



The first looks at providing the influencer a coupon code
that they can distribute and share. In doing so, the specific brands will know
that the people who redeemed the coupon code came from the influencers. The
second options measures sell over time related to increase in traffic due to
influencer marketing towards a landing page that the brand is driving to. With
this, Cassuto states that brands can do A/B testing to see the impact on days
influencers are posting and days when they’re not. 



With all the advantages of influencer marketing, should
brands solely invest in this sales channel? 



Preece firmly holds the view that influencer marketing on
its own isn’t the be all and end all. “I do believe that it should be a mix. I
believe that an integrated marketing plan that uses out-of-home, billboards, TV
and digital is where you see the most results.”



“Things can go wrong with influencer marketing. You are
putting faith and trust into a human being who is imperfect. We have a saying:
A tweet can tank an economy,” Preece says.



With consumers becoming increasingly selective about what
they consume, influencer marketing continues to grow as an attractive sales
channel. It is imperative that brands place the necessary care and due
diligence before partnering with any influencer. 



The perfect fit between an influencer and the brand will
determine the overall ROI. After all, effective influencer marketing is the
online equivalent of the highly valuable word-of-mouth advertising that
marketers have always coveted.

gettyimages-981661932-170667a

‘A Tweet Can Tank An Economy’

Google, Facebook and Twitter have fallen short of their pledges to combat fake news, three months before key European elections, the European Commission said on Thursday.



The tech companies and trade bodies representing the advertising industry signed up to a voluntary code of conduct in October to tackle the spread of fake news, aiming to stave off more heavy-handed legislation.



Brussels is keen to address the threat of fake news or foreign interference during campaigning for the European Parliament elections in May and also for national elections in Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Poland, Portugal and Ukraine in the coming months.



Europe’s Security Commissioner Julian King criticized the lack of progress on cracking down on fake news made by the three companies based on their monthly reports.



“Sadly they have fallen further behind. They need to live up to the standards we are asking of them, and that they signed up to,” King said in a tweet.



Facebook has not provided details of its actions against political ads in January nor the number of fake accounts deleted due to malicious activities targeting the European Union, the Commission said.



The Commission also found that Google’s measures on political ads were not specific enough nor did the company clarify the extent to which its actions were taken to address fake news or other reasons. It did not provide concrete evidence to show that it had carried out its policies in January, the Commission said.



The EU executive also criticized Twitter for failing to provide benchmarks to measure its progress on monitoring political ads. -Reuters



&#8211; Foo Yun Chee

INDIA-US-INTERNET-FACEBOOK

Google, Facebook, Twitter Fail To Live Up To Fake News Pledge

The Instagram influencer marketing industry is expected to exceed $1 billion by the end of 2017, and more than double by 2019. A Santa Monica-based influencer marketing industry Mediakix forecast these figures by studying the #spon #sp and #ad hashtags on the platform, which saw over 9.7 million posts tagged in 2016, with 14.5 million expected for 2017.
While South Africa may be late to the party for most things digital, there are a fair amount of influencers making waves locally. No matter the niche, there are bloggers and influencers who, through their combined digital platforms, are regarded just as important as journalists when it comes to making an invite list; or taking part in a campaign best aligned with their brand. It is predominant with fashion, beauty and lifestyle bloggers in South Africa where some have quit their full-time jobs to focus on being an ‘influencer’.
<div id="attachment_34458" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-34458" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-34458" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Aqeelah-Harron-Ally-200x300.jpg" alt="Aqeelah Harron Ally" width="300" height="450" />Aqeelah Harron Ally (Photo supplied)</div>
Aqeelah Harron Ally, a 27-year-old fashion, beauty, and travel blogger at <a href="http://fashionbreed.co.za/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FashionBreed</a>, from Cape Town, worked full-time for five years before quitting her job, and tells us she could have afforded to leave sooner, but didn’t have the courage.
Ally, who has been blogging for seven years, initially started her blog so she could work for a magazine to ultimately become a fashion editor. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Film, Media &amp; Writing, and Drama from the University of Cape Town; and a Diploma in Make Up Artistry.
The decision to quit her job has worked out well for Ally, who says she is much happier now, even though being her own boss can be stressful at times.
“I’ve been lucky because for the last two years, I’ve landed many contracts which span over four, six, or even eight months; this helps a lot with stability, however I’m also fine without those kinds of jobs.”
She has other once-off campaigns that are booked a month or two in advance, and out of the events she attends, about 60% are paid attendance, which is generally tied to a campaign she is already creating content for.
“I seldom get paid just to attend an event and cover it, but I have done it in the past.”
Another digital content creator who quit her full-time job after five years is 26-year-old Anna-Belle Durrant from Parktown North in Johannesburg. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature and Philosophy from the University of the Witwatersrand. She started her blog <a href="https://shesaid.co.za/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SheSaid</a> back in 2013 initially to share her love for Johannesburg, but it has blossomed into stories about travel, fashion, healthy living and design.
“So far it’s worked out incredibly well; I love that I am the master of my own time and creations, and I’m still very fortunate to work closely with agencies like Cerebra [previous employer],” says Durrant.
To her, blogging is like freelancing; work comes in when it comes in and you just have to go with the flow. “However, I do work with brands on a retainer basis to create content around their offerings; and my campaigns run across all my social channels and blog. When you become a blogger, your mind-set changes completely, what you earn is in line with how much you work… so work hard and you should be ok,” she says.
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However, the industry has been marred by a fake follower problem where users deceive brands into paying them for being an influencer. Mediakix ran an experiment on two accounts proving how easy it is by purchasing fake followers from as little as $3 for 1,000 followers and $4 for 1,000 likes. Once these accounts reached a threshold of 10,000 followers, they signed up for campaigns – and got accepted for two paying jobs each.
The onus of this falls on PR companies or marketing agencies who need to ensure they’ve done thorough research before approaching an influencer. A quick search on Memeburn.com for an article titled Fake followers are a massive problem, as SA duo proves shows the extent of it in South Africa.
Ally says what they’re doing is illegal.
“It is straight-up fraud because you’re telling a brand to pay you for something you can only pretend to offer. Buying followers is selfish and entitled, but more than anything it’s a charade they won’t be able to keep up with because there are so many tell-tale signs that reveal the cracks in the lie.”
<div id="attachment_34459" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-34459" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class=" wp-image-34459" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Anna-Belle-Durrant-200x300.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="450" />Anna-Belle Durrant (Photo supplied)</div>
Durrant on the other hand feels that while you can cheat anything in life, rather focus on your own content and what you need to do to build your brand as the truth always comes out in the end.
Both Ally and Durrant work extremely hard at being full-time bloggers and share similar sentiments that it’s not all freebies, fame, travel and parties. “You’re a stylist, photographer, writer, curator, art director, model, negotiator/businesswoman, social media manager, video maker; the ultimate definition of a jack-of-all-trades,” says Ally.
Durrant compares it to running a magazine that needs to be published constantly except she’s the CEO, photographer, stylist and janitor, all while fighting for invoices to be paid. “It’s a lifestyle of work hard, play hard.”
Ultimately, both find it very rewarding. For Ally, it’s all about the relationships with her readers, and stresses on how much she values it. “YouTube really extended my reach in this sense which has been so great. It’s also been rewarding growing as a content creator and actually getting paid for it. I’m really thankful for this because creatives don’t often get to say that. It’s really special being able to work for brands I grew up loving and respecting, even more so when their international teams fly to South Africa and get closely involved in what we do.”
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Durrant loves that she gets to do things and go to places she could only have dreamed of.
“A highlight was exploring a music festival on the coast of Wales last year. Traveling makes me happy, I get to do that for my job; I honestly couldn’t ask for anything more. I also get to meet really incredible people and work with truly inspiring charities and brands, I have inspiration around me 24/7.” &#8211; Written by Nafisa Akabor

When It Pays To Be Online

Twitter is is a great platform for raising brand awareness and driving traffic to your business.
It can be used to increase sales and to improve your customers’ experience. Yet, there are a lot of businesses that have not yet taken advantage of Twitter to achieve their goals.
Twitter it is one of the best places to have conversations that support, educate, and delight people. It’s a place for authentic business interactions with clients.
Twitter never sleeps. It gives you access to what’s going on in your industry, community, and around the world every moment of every day. People go on Twitter to discover something new, which makes them open to interacting with businesses.
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People often talk about the products they use on Twitter, so it’s a natural place to provide customer service. In fact, 85% of Twitter users say it&#8217;s important that businesses provide customer support on the social network. Twitter allows you to follow and interact with people outside of your personal network. It’s a great way of joining, or starting, discussions with influencers and industry experts to raise the profile of your business and build valuable connections.
Here are steps to set up a Twitter business profile:
Use a unique Twitter @name
Nothing expresses your brand on Twitter more than your account username, your @name is your unique identifier of your business on Twitter. It can contain up to 15 characters and should help people easily find your business.
Use your business’ name as the profile name and avoid using punctuation; it needs to be easy to find and type on devices. If your exact business name is not available, choose a similar name for consistency.
Your profile photo should represent your brand 
Your Twitter profile photo should probably be your company’s logo so people will instantly recognize your brand. Twitter uses your profile image to represent your account. Your profile picture shows the world who you are, and first impressions count. The image should showcase your best content and accurately sell your brand.
Choose a profile photo that visually represents your business or brand and fits well in a small space. This image isn’t just on your profile page; it is the icon in every Tweet you post.
The recommended image size for your profile pic is 400&#215;400 pixels; the image will be resized to fit.
Your bio must tell a story
Use your bio to explain what your business is about and what people can expect from your Twitter profile.
You have 160 characters to let people know what makes your business special, and why they need your products/services. Include useful information, such as what you tend to Tweet about, your location or business hours, and a link to your website. Use a unique link, so you can track visitors to your site from Twitter.
Jon Ferrara, the CEO of Nimble, says that Twitter marketers should make sure that their company’s identity and voice has great branding. It is important that the bio has a consistent tone so that other people can clearly understand what your company is about.
Your header image 
Your Twitter header image is a large background photo where you can tell a story about your business. It’s important that you use this to tell your business story as well.
Consider it a billboard for your company. You can use it to feature your products/services, or highlight your work and team. Change this image periodically to spotlight promotions, events, product news, or just keep things fresh. The recommended size for a Twitter header image is 1500&#215;500 pixels. On mobile, it’ll be cropped to a 2:1 aspect ratio.
Your pinned Tweet
Keep an important Tweet at the top of your timeline by pinning it there. Use this feature to make sure visitors to your profile can’t miss the biggest and latest news about your brand. &#8211; Written by Wale Bakare, Digital Marketer and Founder of www.webfala.com

Buy A Friend

How To Use Twitter To  Boost Your Business

You wake up each morning but before getting out of bed you’re already caught up with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. By the time you’ve reached the office, you know exactly what’s trending, which celeb made a faux pas, and what your virtual friends are wearing to work. Sound familiar?
According to the SA Social Media Landscape 2017 report issued by World Wide Worx and Ornico, there are 14 million South Africans on Facebook, 7.7 million on Twitter, 5.5 million on LinkedIn and 3.5 million on Instagram. It’s unclear how many are on Snapchat as users themselves don’t know what their follower count is; however, the last global estimate stood at 2% being South African.
Being on multiple social media platforms is the norm, but how has it changed our behavior? Gregory Eccles, a counselling psychologist practicing in Greenstone Hills, Johannesburg, says social media allows us to share far more of our lives with a large audience than we typically would have, creating opportunities for both greater inclusion of others in our lives, as well as for overshare or compromised privacy.
“Like any other communication tool, it gives us the power to affect change in our lives in good and bad ways, but it is our choice of how we use it that ultimately decides its impact,” says Eccles.
“It also allows us to indulge our inherent narcissism more fully than we otherwise may have been able, but those are desires that were there prior to social media.”
Saaleha Bamjee, a 33-year-old writer and photographer based in Johannesburg, who has since deleted her Snapchat account, says she used to catch up on the network in the mornings and evenings, and when not busy, in the afternoons.
“I joined out of a sense of FOMO [fear of missing out], and at first, followed the popular accounts,” she says. “It soon got tiresome, none of what people were sharing was of any value to me personally.”
There have been reports over the years of people going into debt to maintain an online presence and image, while a fair amount of ‘influencers’ overseas have quit Instagram altogether because they couldn’t keep up with the pressure of leading “fake” lives. Eccles says there is certainly pressure to maintain a certain type of social image, and the same applies to our social media presence.
“While some people may experience that pressure as quite overwhelming, it is ultimately still an action of choice for the most part as to how we present ourselves through social media.”
Bamjee says she made purchases on cosmetics and haircare appliances based on the recommendation of a local beauty blogger, while other purchases were tied to being a photographer.
“On Instagram, if I want to be hired or promote my services effectively, I have to upload quality images; this often involves shopping for food ingredients and props.”
Eccles thinks that social media doesn’t actively force us to make purchases. He says that the one aspect of social media when compared to other communication methods is that it allows us greater control over what we present, but we do not always take that into account when viewing posts from other people – an oversight which potentially mars our perspective of our status relative to others.
Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen an increase in new hardware such as better technology in smartphones like higher megapixels on the front-facing cameras, and 360-degree cameras, which Facebook has been supporting for quite some time now. These technologies enable us to share more than ever because it’s no longer just a photo; it’s now full-on livestreams through Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat, and 360-degree photos and videos of every aspect of our lives.
While the availability of these sorts of tools can make it easier to indulge in our vices, Eccles maintains it is not the tools that are to blame.
“We need to look at our own motivations for why we use all of these tools the way we do, and think carefully about what other options we may have to achieve similar results (sense of social connection) and what the consequences of each method are.”
Eccles believes the problem is deeper than what it appears, and thinks that while consumer culture has an influence on our need to be connected all the time, the bigger influence are our own feelings of social connectedness or isolation.
“The truth is we all have a strong desire to connect socially with others, and social media is often the easiest way to do so. Unfortunately, our interactions through social media are quite superficial, forcing those who choose to fulfil their need for social interaction through social media to require more of it.”
Bamjee subsequently stopped following Snapchat accounts that had a “sameness” about it – a preoccupation with affluence and image.
“I soon realized that I didn’t want to see even more than what was already being shared on Facebook or Instagram. I missed having a conversation where I could ask ‘hey, what’s new’ and actually hear something I hadn’t known about previously.”
Perhaps it is time to re-evaluate our reasons for being on social media and the behavior it dictates. “We have a common urge to place blame outside ourselves – Facebook does this to us or smartphones do this to us, but while they often make it easier to behave in ways that may not be particularly healthy, such as ignoring the outside world in favour of spending all your time on your phone, we cannot ignore our own agency in all of this,” concludes Eccles.
While her time is still being monopolised by other social media platforms, Bamjee says she is happier in the sense that she no longer feels she has to know what’s going on with everyone all the time.

Tag: Twitter

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