Debate about whether Twitter could be doing more to prevent harassment on its service has been raging for some time now.
BuzzFeed really put the cat among the pigeons yesterday though, with a hard-hitting investigation into how Twitter became “a honeypot for assholes” over its “10-year failure to stop harassment”. “Harassment on Twitter is rampant — so much so that it has become a primary destination for trolls and hate groups,” wrote journalist Charlie Warzel, who has spoken to a number of former executives at the social network. “Today, Twitter is a well-known hunting ground for women and people of colour, who are targeted by neo-Nazis, racists, misogynists, and trolls, often just for showing up… According to 10 high-level former employees, the social network’s long history with abuse has been fraught with inaction and organisational disarray.” For its part, Twitter has responded: “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,” claimed a short blog post. “There is a lot of work to do but please know we are committed, focused, and will have updates to share soon.”
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Tools: Kaiber
In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…