Twitter has long been criticized for not doing more to crack down on the hate speech that floods its platform on a daily basis. Yet to cap off a week filled with package bombs sent to prominent Democrats and CNN — and the news that suspect Cesar Sayoc Jr. filled his own Twitter account with right-wing, trollish behavior — Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has made what seems like an oddly timed announcement.
The Telegraph reports that Dorsey “admitted at a Twitter event” that he doesn’t really like the platform’s heart-shaped “like” button (which replaced the “favorite” button in 2015), and he plans to do away with it “soon.” The rationale for doing so, supposedly, is to “improve the quality of debate” on Twitter, which is a confusing statement. Perhaps Dorsey thinks that more people will positively reply to tweets they appreciate, which might sort-of counterbalance all the hate?
Naturally, Twitter users are airing their disapproval of the news (and taking digs at how Dorsey has resisted banning Nazis) all over the social media platform.
https://twitter.com/charles_kinbote/status/1056884366696177664
twitter: you can fave tweets!
us: cool that's helpful
twitter: faves are likes now!
us: sounds weird but ok
twitter: some likes show up on everyone's timeline!
us: wait no that's bad
twitter: understood! likes are gone!
us: what
twitter: we love quality debate!— i n n e s (@innesmck) October 29, 2018
Us: Could you ban the Nazis?
Twitter: Favourites are likes now!
Us: How about just ban all the automated/troll accounts, that might help…
Twitter: Likes appear on your feed like retweets!
Us: Just enforce your existing rules! At all!
Twitter: We are listening. No more likes. https://t.co/OXKrnoi2b4— Rith, Wyrmsign (@RithWyrm) October 29, 2018
"when we report someone for death or rape threats or hate speech, please remove them."
twitter: "remove the like button? it's done."
"no, just the shitty people–"
twitter: "your account has been suspended for violating the terms of service."
— anne t donahue (@annetdonahue) October 29, 2018
One user points out that removing the “friendly and affirming” like button will only increase hostility on Twitter, which is probably true.
https://twitter.com/MaxKennerly/status/1056884241764700166
Others worry about what message this will send to those addicted to the dopamine rush of a “like.” Valid point.
I literally cannot express how bad this idea is.
The like button lets me acknowledge and send love to the amazing stuff people share. It lets me affirm people I care about quickly and easily. IT'S A LITTLE HEART!
It's the main thing I like – pun fully intended – about Twitter. https://t.co/RIJusaFu9Y
— OrcishLibrarian (@BibliovoreOrc) October 29, 2018
Meanwhile, some users still actually use the “like” button for a practical purpose (to save stories for later), rather than to endorse viewpoints. Man, do you think your bookmarks are out of control now? Well, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
NOOOOO!! I use my “like” button to save links to articles to read later. We need some kind of filing tool to keep useful tweets.
Twitter to remove 'like' tool in a bid to improve the quality of debate' | via @telegraph https://t.co/et9nV8V8nQ— Julia Hartley-Brewer (@JuliaHB1) October 29, 2018
(Via The Telegraph)