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Twitter Co-founder: I’m Sorry if We Made Trump’s Presidency Possible

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

Phoenix666 writes:

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?

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday May 23 2017, @03:29PM (1 child)

    by Gaaark (41) on Tuesday May 23 2017, @03:29PM (#514303) Journal

    Okay, let's turn this upside down, or on it's side or something...

    Did twitter help elect Trump because he was using it effectively, or did Hillary NOT get elected because she DIDN'T use it effectively?

    She had a huge budget (she even had most of Sanders budget!!!), but couldn't get the job done of passing on her message.

    Did he use it effectively, or did she NOT?

    Maybe the wooden lady (cardboard lady?) just COULD NOT get any message out that said "I am NOT a crook", and the Tangster effectively painted her as such.

    Don't blame Trump, don't blame Twitter.
    Sanders should have been the DNC leader... (Hillary loses, and immediately disappears LEAVING SANDERS TO LEAD THE PARTY AND MAKE APOLOGIES, ETC).

    Hillary was just a poor communicator and came off as fake, a crook and a bad leader. NOTHING. TO. DO. WITH. TWITTER.

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  • (Score: 2) by Sulla on Wednesday May 24 2017, @02:05AM

    by Sulla (5173) on Wednesday May 24 2017, @02:05AM (#514623) Journal

    While she herself might not have used it correctly, the Correct the Record PAC used it to great effectiveness. Both sides did more work trying to disenfranchise the other side than they did trying to win people to their own. I think in the end Trump did a little better because he didn't act entitled, but not by far.

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    Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam