Vaccine deniers are idiots, so I have no issue blocking conspiracy porn. However, blocking people from finding and discussing legitimate health related issues like long COVID is ridiculous. This feels less user-driven and more political… we’re entering US election season and a resurgence of COVID would not play well with the incumbent’s numbers.
Not saying that the incumbent is forcing anything… but tech companies (Twitter aside) do seem to lean left.
This is the first I’ve ever heard someone say tech companies tend to lean left, or well, at least social media companies.
The employees tend to lean left. Unfortunately workplaces are non-democratic so the direction of the actual company is dictated by the few, sometimes just one, at the top. Lately most large companies have had to adopt the aesthetic of progressivism when dealing in western nations because that’s what’s currently popular, but it’s rarely more than a branding exercise.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
First reported by The Washington Post, Threads today blocks a number of terms for user safety and to drive its early focus on developing a “positive, friendly” culture.
Threads’ goal, explained Mosseri, was not to be “anti-news” as users could find and follow news accounts that share information.
But it also won’t amplify news, saying it’s too risky “given the maturity of the platform.” But not allowing users to engage in discussions around Covid or read reporting on the topic has felt, to some, including The WaPo’s Taylor Lorenz, like a bridge too far.
The broader team is working on deeper integrations into Instagram and Facebook, graph building, EU compliance, Fediverse support, trending, and generally making sure Threads continues to grow,” he added.
In a follow-up, he said that the reality of the situation was that there’s “lots of important work to do” and Threads’ block on Covid would likely lift in a matter of weeks or months.
Reports indicate that Threads’ usage dropped by half from its initial surge and now the company is looking for new ways to revive interest in the app, including by courting creators to post more often.
The original article contains 597 words, the summary contains 193 words. Saved 68%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
