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posted by martyb on Tuesday May 23 2017, @12:22PM   Printer-friendly
from the closing-the-barn-door dept.

If anyone knows how important Twitter is to Donald Trump, it's the president.

“Without the tweets, I wouldn't be here,” he told the Financial Times last month.

To which Twitter's co-founder says: Sorry about that, world.

Evan Williams, who still sits on the company's board of directors, recently told The New York Times that he wants to repair the damage he thinks Twitter and the broader Internet have wrought on society in the form of trolls, cyberbullies, live-streamed violence, fake news and — yes — Trump.

“I thought once everybody could speak freely and exchange information and ideas, the world is automatically going to be a better place,” Williams told the Times. “I was wrong about that.”

“If it’s true that he wouldn’t be president if it weren’t for Twitter, then yeah, I’m sorry,” he said.

Is Twitter responsible?


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  • (Score: 2) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Tuesday May 23 2017, @03:23PM (7 children)

    by GreatAuntAnesthesia (3275) on Tuesday May 23 2017, @03:23PM (#514299) Journal

    Imagine that you have hacked Trump's twitter account. You are sure that you cannot be traced. You have maybe an hour before they figure it out and regain control - perhaps longer if you can make your Tweets look convincingly Trump-like. You might even be able to make a few posts and then restore the account so that no-one would ever be able to prove that the account was hacked at the time. What would you post?

    *Disclaimer. Obviously the right and proper answer to the above question is "I would immediately inform the account's rightful owner that he had been hacked, hand over the login credentials, and then inform Twitter of the security hole that I exploited so that they might properly secure their systems. Sadly, this answer is also very boring. Treat this as what it is: A chance to have a laugh at a hypothetical situation.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 23 2017, @05:53PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 23 2017, @05:53PM (#514423)

    cock pics

  • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 23 2017, @06:58PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 23 2017, @06:58PM (#514461)

    Seth Rich had 95% survivable injuries, but corrupt DC police kept doctors from attending to him.

    Where is the police body cam video of Seth Rich? What are the cops trying to hide?

    Bernie looked coerced when he endorsed crooked Hillary. Did he fear ending up like Seth Rich?

    The culture that allows killing Seth Rich originates from the leadership, even if they are unaware of details.

    • (Score: 1, Troll) by aristarchus on Tuesday May 23 2017, @10:19PM (2 children)

      by aristarchus (2645) on Tuesday May 23 2017, @10:19PM (#514547) Journal

      Well, it has come to this! https://xkcd.com/1022/ [xkcd.com] Sean Hannity posting on SoylentNews as an AC! Well, I never!

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 24 2017, @02:18AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 24 2017, @02:18AM (#514626)

        These things always come in threes. First Bill, then Roger, and now Sean. Looks like Fox News has succeeded beyond their wildest dreams!

        • (Score: 2) by aristarchus on Wednesday May 24 2017, @05:30PM

          by aristarchus (2645) on Wednesday May 24 2017, @05:30PM (#514963) Journal

          And it seems that Twitter may be giving Sean Hannity an outlet for his self-destructive tendencies. From last nite:

          Liberal Fascism. Mmfa is targeting my advertisers to silence my voice. They hope to get me fired. Rush, O'Reilly, Beck, Imus, & now me.

                  — Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 24, 2017

                  Why do they not go after @nbc hosts or @CNN hosts? Serious questions will now be raised on funding, tax status, and political agenda. https://t.co/CLODSzUotY [t.co]

                  — Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 24, 2017

                  Why didn't they go after HBO Real Time? Colbert? Simple, MMFA only wants to silence conservatives. Who funds them? Who are political friends https://t.co/iEkj9i7xWl [t.co]

                  — Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 24, 2017

                  Not giving up at all. I'm working harder than ever to get to the truth the family wants and deserves. Stay tuned. https://t.co/dVjWT6PZyh [t.co]

                  — Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 24, 2017

                  How much $ total has Soros given to MMFA? https://t.co/ZZfbNW3z2d [t.co]

                  — Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) May 24, 2017

          http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/hannity-rails-against-george-soros-and-liberal-fascism-in-epic-early-morning-twitter-meltdown/ [rawstory.com]

          Poor Sean! Just because you are paranoid, that does not mean, etc., etc. Of course, it also does not mean they are!

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 23 2017, @07:07PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 23 2017, @07:07PM (#514468)

    The wall costs less than the yearly cost of illegal aliens. We could buy a new one every year and still save money.

    Mixed families, with both legal residents and illegal aliens, are welcome to leave together as families. We should help them do so.

  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday May 23 2017, @07:46PM

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Tuesday May 23 2017, @07:46PM (#514491) Journal

    If I wanted to damage Trump, I'd tweet material making it seem like he was lampooning his supporters.

    --
    Washington DC delenda est.