From the Newsletter | How We’re Responding to Changes at Twitter
On October 27, Elon Musk became the new CEO of Twitter. It does not seem to be going well.
11
Nov
21
Oct
What You Need to Know About Kanye West’s Recent Comments About Jewish People
This article has been updated to reflect ongoing developments.
Ye, formerly Kanye West, has placed himself amid yet another cycle of conspiracy theories — this time against Jewish people.
This month, Ye—a well-known rapper, business owner, and cultural icon— made several antisemitic comments in television clips and on social media regarding Jewish “control” of media and finance. The comments have caused backlash from celebrities and Twitter users, both Jewish and not.
A pioneer of “introspective, melodic rap music,” according to Complex, a pop culture media outlet, Ye, who is also an artist, entrepreneur and ex of Kim Kardashian, has a large and loyal following and a net worth of approximately $1.8 billion.
Ye’s platform is large. He has 18.2 million followers on Instagram and 31.5 million on Twitter. In 2015, he topped TIME Magazine’s List of 100 Most Influential...
20
Apr
Twitter Explained | Can We Compare Daunte Wright with Ashli Babbitt?
I first noticed the name Ashli Babbitt trending on Twitter late last Tuesday afternoon. It took me a moment to remember why it sounded familiar. Ashli Babbitt? Right—the sole rioter killed by Capitol Police during the January 6 insurrection at the U.S Capitol (three other protestors died—one from a heart attack, one from a stroke, and a third was crushed by fellow rioters).
Mentions of Babbitt’s name spiked when, in response to outrage over the April 11 fatal police shooting of 20-year old Daunte Wright, conservatives began equating his death to that of Ashli Babbitt.
Let’s compare the facts. Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old white female Air Force veteran, was shot and killed by Capitol Police on January 6 while climbing through a broken-in window at the U.S. Capitol as part of a riotous mob. Daunte Wright, a...
08
Apr
Twitter Explained | A Day in the Life of ‘Half of Republicans’
On the morning of April 5, Reuters/Ipsos released a poll that found that half of Republicans believe that the January 6, 2021 attack and invasion of the U.S. Capitol was either peaceful or staged by the left. By the time I logged on to Twitter that day at around noon EST, the phrase “half of Republicans” was trending.
On Twitter, a “trend” begins when users start to include a word, phrase, hashtag or topic at a higher rate than others. Twitter then features these topics in a “Trending” sidebar, tailored to each user based on their interests, geographic location or other account characteristics.
Twitter’s enigmatic algorithm picks trends based on sudden upticks in conversation topics. A gradual increase in the use of a phrase or hashtag won’t cause a trend, but a quick spike will. This explains...
09
Oct
Twitter Explained | Can You Be Anti-Miller Without Being Anti-Semitic?
On Tuesday, October 6, senior White House aide Stephen Miller confirmed his positive COVID status. Miller is one of a dozen staffers close to President Trump to have tested positive, but he’s the only one to have generated a lively Twitter conversation on the dos and don’ts of anti-Semitic tropes.
21
Aug
Twitter Explained | Trump Pardons Susan B. Anthony and Not Joe Exotic
On Tuesday, August 18, President Donald Trump pardoned suffragette Susan B. Anthony—she died in 1906. In 1897, Anthony was arrested for voting before the 19th amendment, passed in 1920, made it legal for women to do so, and Trump thought it was about time someone absolved the now feminist icon of her sins.
Many didn’t approve of Trump’s seemingly righteous gesture. For starters, the Susan B. Anthony Museum rejected the pardon, explaining that Anthony understood her trial, during which the judge dismissed the jury and declared her guilty, to be unjust, and refused to pay any penalties because it would validate the trial. “To pardon Susan B. Anthony does the same," wrote Deborah Hughes, president & CEO of the National Susan B. Anthony Museum in a statement.
Others—aka people on Twitter—were bummed that Trump hadn’t pardoned infamous...
13
Aug
Twitter Explained | Who is Over and Where’s the Party?
Anyone who’s spent anytime on Twitter has probably seen some form of #IsOverParty trending. In its most common usage, IsOverParty is written after the name of someone or something that is “canceled.” Generally, if #IsOverParty is trending, clicking on it will pull up tweets that explain what the person has done to deserve such a party. Recently, however, many on Twitter have used the hashtag to ask why #IsOverParty is trending in the first place, flooding Twitter with tweets of confusion, making it difficult to find the reasons behind the tweets.
28
Jul
Twitter Explained | To Meme or Not to Meme? Analyzing Reactions to the Washington Football Team
To better understand how something becomes the subject of viral memes, simply analyze the recent Twitter reaction to the new Washington football team name, The Washington Football Team.
03
Jul
Twitter Explained | Should the Hype for Hamilton Be Real?
There’s no doubt that Hamilton will become part of larger conversations rethinking depictions of the founding fathers, right alongside the statues and history books that society is beginning to pick apart in an attempt to rectify America’s long history of racial injustices. But today, on what Twitter has ordained Hamilton Day, people seem to be taking a moment to just enjoy the show for it’s groundbreaking, once in a lifetime artfulness, appreciating how lucky we are to be alive right now.
25
Jun
Twitter Explained | Jimmy Kimmel and Tina Fey’s Troubling Histories with Blackface
It’s hard enough to digest current events without an endless stream of unsolicited commentary clogging up your newsfeed. So it’s understandable that some of us avoid Twitter. In this new series, Moment will shed some light on what’s been trending and why.