Social media platforms understandably give deference to freedom of speech by political leaders--the essence of democracy--but they seem to be neglecting the duties of government officials not to violate human rights and their power to do great harm. https://t.co/BaplhxzYc6 pic.twitter.com/z5J1uRtKkb

— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) January 15, 2021

*Pretends to be shocked* https://t.co/af5SAcxchE

— ❄️Megan❄️ ~ Open to Queries (@Megan_Manzano) January 17, 2021

This puts the lie to Right-Wing media claim that Twitter banned trump because he's a conservative (part of a vast Left-Wing conspiracy). If so they would have banned him long ago. It was in direct response to the events of Jan 6 to prevent more violence.https://t.co/hoUbWElh4r

— Michael Shermer (@michaelshermer) January 17, 2021

"On September 30, 2020, Cornell University researchers reached a conclusion on the single largest source of COVID-19 online misinformation and falsehoods: the President of the United States." https://t.co/0dhDaNSUie https://t.co/WMnbVrgGV2

— Tarbell (@tarbellorg) January 16, 2021

Remember, one account may be the source of misinformation but it's the followers who make it go viral. The greater the follower count the potential reach increases exponentially. https://t.co/zdiOKqnXgW

— John C. Silva, NBCT (@MrSilva) January 16, 2021

Good rule of thumb: never become the kind of civilian who ends up commanding a group of lieutenants. https://t.co/UrAJRccNDb

— Will Goss (@williambgoss) January 17, 2021

And yes you should contrast this to how Twitter reports to make these similar and very difficult decisions. I noted this in May in some important reporting from @WillOremus. It's even the pinned tweet for Twitter's head of Comms. This firewall matters. /7 https://t.co/YsezyJ44wH pic.twitter.com/d0LAr8UlHR

— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) January 15, 2021

Early attempt at damage control by @twitter responding to criticism arising from The Great Purge. Odd. They are so concerned about incitement to violence yet continue to broadcast incessant hate from ⁦@khamenei_ir⁩ and China. What gives @jack?

https://t.co/XBoI3FpNxD

— Vivian Bercovici (@VivianBercovici) January 16, 2021

Twitter and Facebook did more to spread disinformation and undermine democracy than anyone. https://t.co/e2GUm8PLxt

— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) January 17, 2021

“A powerful, integrated disinformation ecosystem — composed of high-profile influencers, rank-and-file followers & Trump himself — was central to pushing millions of Americans to reject the election results & may have trouble surviving without his social media accounts.” https://t.co/9rvtFDSCEJ

— Rula Jebreal (@rulajebreal) January 17, 2021

*Whole episode underlines the lurching, inconsistent use of all the platform’s moderation rules but also the extraordinary problems Trump presented over last 5 years.

— Peter Kafka (@pkafka) January 16, 2021

Interesting sequence --> Twitter legal head Vijaya Gadde led the decision to ban Trump. She called Jack while he was on vacation to let him know. Jack didn't like it, but had delegated these type of decisions to Gadde. So he let her and the team roll with it. https://t.co/qMOYkaDhzl

— Alex Kantrowitz (@Kantrowitz) January 16, 2021

Imagine how different our nation might be if tech companies had found the courage to do this four years ago. https://t.co/7OV0kb781V

— Marcelino J. Alvarez (@mrlnmarce) January 16, 2021

V good tick tock of Twitter’s move to deplatform Trump:
*Initial call to suspend Trump made by @jack’s execs; he was in the South Pacific.
*He wasn’t happy about it.
*Permanent ban call made by Dorsey + few top leaders, before petition from rank and file employees reached him. https://t.co/yP456PbzmP

— Peter Kafka (@pkafka) January 16, 2021

With legal implications, as well, I'm sure. They can no longer hide behind (or it will be harder for them to hide behind) the "We're just a platform" defence. If "full context and real and potential harms" of tweets are a factor in banning political leaders from Twitter... https://t.co/oVENHiovoG pic.twitter.com/qIKmjrLP9N

— Adrian Hilton (@Adrian_Hilton) January 9, 2021

Misinformation dropped 73% upon Twitter banning Trump. He is clearly corrosive to a society based on facts. Now @YouTube should step up and permanently ban him too. https://t.co/bBoogOaVfD

— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) January 16, 2021

Exactly where I am. https://t.co/vgmEaDopT3

— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) January 9, 2021

I find myself wondering whether this influence racket happened before or after Facebook CEO Zuckerberg posed for the photo hugging Modi in this important news report on company decision making around government power. https://t.co/3VYxQqNYqS pic.twitter.com/2R0NpR7Kmc

— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) January 16, 2021

There was also that massive purge (70k Qanon accounts, iirc) that caused high profile conservatives to lose thousands of followers. https://t.co/1fElCxq5Cv

— Ian Sherr (@iansherr) January 16, 2021

Deplatforming works https://t.co/9rMX82MwO1

— Christopher Ingraham (@_cingraham) January 16, 2021

Misinformation about election fraud plunged 73% after Twitter banned Trump... underscoring the power of tech companies to limit the lies poisoning public debate when they act aggressively.
Insurrectionists decry cancel culture... to avoid accountability. https://t.co/y7ktntKaM0

— Rula Jebreal (@rulajebreal) January 16, 2021

Vitalik gets it. ToSes ARE laws. Literally. They are the laws of the land. But they are primitive legal systems, like Hammurabi’s code. We deserve transparent ones with due process! https://t.co/zqzrU3Pc5Y

— nic carter (@nic__carter) January 12, 2021

Very good @nytimes insider piece on how @jack came to ban Trump begins outrageously:

“Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s chief executive, was working remotely on a private island in French Polynesia frequented by celebrities escaping the paparazzi ...” https://t.co/lcM5tc8Fwv

— Jason Whittaker (@thetowncrier) January 16, 2021

"Many workers, fearing that history would not look kindly upon them, were dissatisfied. Several invoked IBM’s collaboration with the Nazis, said current and former Twitter employees, and started a petition to immediately remove Mr. Trump’s account."https://t.co/wfGKBSg4aq

— R Givan (@rkgwork) January 16, 2021

I’ve heard from a few ppl inside right wing disinfo land that it’s “harder to find good information right now” (meaning it’s hard to find disinfo that adds to their false beliefs). not just Trump, but fb group shutdowns and parler going offline cuts off major sources https://t.co/IL2Su6hjov

— stuart andrew thompson (@stuartathompson) January 16, 2021

Companies went with "this information is too important to censor" instead of "this information is too dangerous NOT to censor" and there was a cost. There was a cost either way. But... https://t.co/8BCYliW6p1

— Felonious Munk ?? (@Felonious_munk) January 16, 2021

The fascinating thing is how this refers to the explicit consultation of content being created on a different platform. Such a far cry from the early days of content moderation, when we insisted that we could only look at the four corners of a particular piece of content. https://t.co/U4Zkstoz9W

— Christine Chen (@christineychen) January 16, 2021

It’s almost like not doing it was an important part of their business model? https://t.co/aIkzOmAycM

— Mar Hicks (@histoftech) January 17, 2021

Several Twitter employees invoked IBM’s collaboration with the Nazis in pushing for a Trump ban https://t.co/dfr2wxOFHf

— Noah Barkin (@noahbarkin) January 16, 2021

4. But at the same time, there are huge flaws in the Jacktatorship of today. A big one is: it's not "lawful" enough. The @TwitterSafety high court's opinion https://t.co/2d7ToWlmZA is honestly poorly argued and reads like after-the-fact justification.

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 12, 2021

The people of the US were PSYOP'd by its own President for FOUR YEARS+. Trumpism waged information warfare on us. Period. Putin called it the #Firehose. Modern propaganda. https://t.co/SQty3BrVTq

— Steve Kling (@stevekling) January 16, 2021

Notes:
*The fact that decision to suspend Trump made w/out CEO’s input syncs with previous statements from Twitter execs that Dorsey gives them very wide latitude.
*Reporting that call was made before Dorsey saw petition will upset employee organizers/activists, who want credit.

— Peter Kafka (@pkafka) January 16, 2021

As has been stated here, endlessly for 10 years, the most influential and destructive misinformation nearly always comes from the top - Politicians, News Media Editors and Personalities, Corporate Lobbyists for Billionaires.

They fill our heads with junk, then blame us. https://t.co/Wq3rhfe3TB

— ED Day - After The Pandemic (@Pandemic_Times) January 16, 2021

NEW: Misinformation dropped DRAMATICALLY across social platforms the week after Trump was banned, early evidence that strong endorsement by tech platforms does actually make a difference. Via me & @craigtimberg https://t.co/ooF86YBXTU

— Dr. Lizza “kiddo” Dwoskin (@lizzadwoskin) January 16, 2021

Kate got the inside story https://t.co/vFWXsBjOMK

— William Turton (@WilliamTurton) January 16, 2021

“Some Twitter employees, fearing the wrath of Mr. Trump’s supporters, have now set their Twitter accounts to private and removed mentions of their employer from online biographies, four people said. Several executives were assigned personal security.” https://t.co/LFkT4jyidN

— Martin SFP Bryant (@MartinSFP) January 16, 2021

.@YouTube you want data? Here it is.

73% DROP in misinformation since Twitter banned #Trump.

The only responsible thing to do is do the same in your platform. Please don’t delay. #misinformation https://t.co/BuUfiqo4Xf

— Debra Messing✍? (@DebraMessing) January 17, 2021

Just sitting here screaming out loud in my house about the complete lack of guts, convictions, or brains living inside of the empty husk of a human named @jack Dorsey. https://t.co/eHj7oCjZoY

— Jacqui Cheng, PhD Blogger School of Hard Knocks (@ejacqui) January 16, 2021

Inside Twitter’s Decision to Cut Off Trump- @KatieConger and @MikeIsaac with a detailed account of the corporate machinations (and a h/t to @evelyndouek's concerns about the enormous questions on corporate power): https://t.co/xZfdl9PKI4

— Justin Hendrix (@justinhendrix) January 16, 2021

An astonishing document from Twitter, on why they permanently banned Donald Trump.

It’s difficult to recall any other time when a social media platform has acknowledged the full context and real and potential harms of the content they spread far and widehttps://t.co/jBpClOKnQN

— Christopher Mims (@mims) January 9, 2021

So stories like this one: https://t.co/21n3Xi6GSV talk about how Jack Dorsey was staying at a resort on a private island in French Polynesia favored by the wealthy, so naturally I wondered which one. I have no proof of course, but a good candidate is The Brando... 1/x

— Mathew Ingram (@mathewi) January 16, 2021

NEW: While everyone is focused on Trump, the pressure is now on for social media companies to change permissive stances toward other bombastic world leaders that push the boundaries of civil discourse. W/@MiriamABerger https://t.co/usvFGDSWNB

— Dr. Lizza “kiddo” Dwoskin (@lizzadwoskin) January 16, 2021

Wildly misleading, given the way most of the misinformation posted on Twitter reaches the public -- via media organizations "reporting" on it.

You can't stop the Murdoch family's Fox "News" and its ilk from promoting the lies. But Big Journalism was a huge amplifier, by choice. https://t.co/QGEZwy7F7N

— Dan Gillmor (@dangillmor) January 17, 2021

It will forever be Twitter’s disgrace for not banning Trump years ago

the damage done to this country.... https://t.co/8kSdjSrFnM

— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) January 16, 2021

And this is why it’s shameful Twitter didn’t act sooner. 73% drop??? The platform they allowed him to have for four years to spread the misinformation that would eventually lead to this. All of it matters btw. Even stuff pre election matters. https://t.co/rJuGOMwes3

— Nora Keelerˣ (@villanellewoods) January 17, 2021

A 73 percent decline in disinformation after the suspension of the President feels like an important data point. https://t.co/ENTcp3URDx

— Molly Jong-Fast? (@MollyJongFast) January 17, 2021

Twitter (and all platforms) could add real value to the public conversation about deplatforming if they would publish this or similar analyses in some detailed form https://t.co/Vt8PTUBaoo pic.twitter.com/rRoY3i8fUC

— David Kaye (@davidakaye) January 16, 2021

??? After Twitter banned Trump, a 73% plunge in election misinformation spread on the Internet in just one week.

Fascinating analysis on how swiftly the president and his allies were able to amplify falsehoods ... via @lizzadwoskin @craigtimberg https://t.co/7qNqP423k8

— Carol Leonnig (@CarolLeonnig) January 16, 2021

Lies superspreader event ends when said SuperSpreader is removed https://t.co/jwALuxOM1i

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 16, 2021

Unlike most people, I think Twitter was right not to ban him before, that they are right to ban him now, and that the other side has a good argument on both of these propositions. https://t.co/0TBfEnLZc2

— Megan McArdle (@asymmetricinfo) January 9, 2021

A host of debunked and misleading narratives have proliferated around last week's events at the Capitol. The New York Times leveraged Zignal intelligence to report on which narratives gained the most traction. https://t.co/1gjGKLzVTc

— Zignal Labs (@ZignalLabs) January 15, 2021

“Measures against rhetoric that led to the Capitol riots can have a tangible impact on social media conversations.
When hatred & dangerous lies are deplatformed, it can stop movements from snowballing into real-world actions with real-world consequences.” https://t.co/ATRJo47oiD

— Dr Iris Sutter G (@IrisSutterG) January 17, 2021

It can never be said enough: De-platforming WORKS. https://t.co/TkcaWzdPls

— FutureShift (@futureshift) January 17, 2021

A 73 percent decline in disinformation after the suspension of the President feels like an important data point. https://t.co/ENTcp3URDx

— Molly Jong-Fast? (@MollyJongFast) January 17, 2021

Misinformation dropped dramatically the week after Twitter banned Trump https://t.co/DtB7Kd9Khu

— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) January 17, 2021

Surprise - removing accounts peddling disinformation reduces the flow of disinformation. That’s why #StopHateforProfit is demanding @Facebook & @Youtube keep Trump permanently off their platforms. #BanTrumpSaveDemocracy https://t.co/RCsLnsHMw3

— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) January 17, 2021

“Online misinformation about election fraud plunged 73 percent after several social media sites suspended President Trump and key allies last week, research firm Zignal Labs has found.”

Deplatforming works. https://t.co/5VfGxMChtT

— David Hogg ? (@davidhogg111) January 17, 2021

Imagine how much less misinformation we’ll get if the likes of Butthead is also banned: https://t.co/tvxqZ8ytiZ

— Edgar Orwell Poe (@poedoepie) January 16, 2021

Fish rots from the head down. https://t.co/rde06dqFyJ

— Wm. F. B. O'Reilly (@wfbor) January 17, 2021

トランプとお仲間がツイッターの垢バンされてから、選挙に関するデマの量が7割以上減ったそうだ。
だから警告付けるだけではなくて、早くからアカウント停止にしておいて欲しかったとつくづく思う。 https://t.co/S9V6ZyOgfC

— リーガン美香 (@Mika_Regan) January 17, 2021

Whatever the morality or legality, it seems that the Twitter ban worked https://t.co/SDOuPaPICq

— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum) January 17, 2021

Misinformation dropped dramatically the week after Twitter banned Trump

Zignal Labs charts 73 percent decline on Twitter and beyond following historic action against the president https://t.co/iR4Wx2Lijh

— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) January 16, 2021

Online misinformation about election fraud dropped 73% after they banned the liar in chief https://t.co/SVvpynGQgP

— Hari Kunzru (@harikunzru) January 16, 2021

The benefits. https://t.co/fDi0ys06x9

— Frederic Filloux (@filloux) January 17, 2021

Well there is this and I think that’s a good thing https://t.co/w2FsmdPWS0

— Still Vigilant Grandma ??? (@midlifewomanon1) January 17, 2021

A 73 percent decline in disinformation after the suspension of the President https://t.co/1lrGirpeIb

— Jonathan Webers (@JWeber988) January 17, 2021

Online misinformation about election fraud plunged 73% after several social media sites suspended President Trump and key allies last week, research firm Zignal Labs found, underscoring the power of tech companies to limit the falsehoods. https://t.co/FH07RkHTfd

— Pervaiz Shallwani (@Pervaizistan) January 17, 2021

One analysis says election-fraud lies on social media have dropped by 73% since platforms started policing them, beginning with banning Trump. Surprised it's been that effective, but kinda hoping to get my mom back from Conspiracy Theory Facebook. https://t.co/CqRvIylWA5

— Tasha Robinson (@TashaRobinson) January 18, 2021

Misinformation dropped dramatically the week after Twitter banned Trump.https://t.co/cFTWdOgtdL

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 17, 2021

"Online misinformation about election fraud plunged 73 percent after several social media sites suspended President Trump and key allies last week" https://t.co/HDIkQNMfDZ

— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) January 17, 2021

73%drop - Misinformation went down after Twitter banned Trump - The Washington Post https://t.co/aFq41qyVqX

— Maria Ressa (@mariaressa) January 16, 2021

Misinformation absolutely plummeted on social media after Trump was banned.

It dropped a staggering 73% this past week. https://t.co/DYs7ug5Qlb

— Shaun King (@shaunking) January 18, 2021

Dear God. Election misinformation down 73% since Twitter banned Trump. That's the president we're talking about. https://t.co/0i3XqG6vbt

— Michael Tomasky (@mtomasky) January 16, 2021

“Bottom line is that de-platforming, especially at the scale that occurred last week, rapidly curbs momentum and ability to reach new audiences,”

73% minder fake news.

Fascinerend, wat een enorme impact heeft het verwijderen van Trump en consorten. https://t.co/tSU50ynpwz

— Kwarc (@marctimmermans) January 18, 2021

Misinformation on social networking sites drops 73% in the wake of Trump being banned from Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Truth is on the rise. Keep it alive. https://t.co/0Rf1eQpZso

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) January 18, 2021

Twitterなどソーシャルメディア各社がトランプアカウントを凍結してから、選挙不正などに関する陰謀論が73%減少。確かに日本においても明らかに減ってる。

これをもって「凍結は正しい」というのは短絡的だけど、凄いデータだ。 https://t.co/nlfkSBpkYH

— 古田大輔 (@masurakusuo) January 17, 2021

Online misinformation about election fraud plunged 73% after social media sites banned Trump & allies last week, research firm has found, underscoring the power of tech companies to limit the falsehoods poisoning public debate when they act aggressively. https://t.co/NGGvdwx1Jh

— Brad Reason ? ? ? ? ? ?? ? (@BradReason) January 16, 2021

Online misinformation about election fraud plunged 73% after several social media sites suspended Trump and key allies last week. https://t.co/dajZLVQB5F

— Vicky Ward (@VickyPJWard) January 17, 2021