After the CBC claimed to be “less than 70 %” government funded, Twitter made the following correction to the label attached to the (at)cbc account.
Heh.
Twitter Makes a Correction
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Tag Archives: Twitter
True But Non-Sequitur
In response to Twitter labeling NPR as “state-affiliated media,” NPR CEO John Lansing has said, “NPR stands for freedom of speech and holding the powerful accountable. It is unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way. A vigorous, vibrant free press is essential to the health of our democracy.”
While the last sentence in Lnasing’s statement is true, I don’t see how it follows from the first two sentences. Further, his words don’t seem to relate to how NPR has operated since roughly the turn of the century.
It Took Almost a Month …
… but I am pleased to report that Twitter has finally removed the last of the false and defamatory sensitive content warnings to my tweets linking to my astronomy posts. They have also ceased applying new warnings.
While the operations side of Twitter is still almost completely opaque, a black hole into which request for help disappear without result, Twitter’s new legal team was responsive.
Thank you, Twitter, for doing the right thing.
In Re False Sensitive Content Warnings on Twitter
For several weeks, Twitter has been marking some (but not all) of my tweets linking to Hogewash! astronomy posts with sensitive content warnings. Twitter’s published definition of “sensitive content” includes media which displays nudity, sexual content, violence, gore, or hateful symbols. The warnings they have attached to my tweets are facially false.
Last week, I sent a letter to Twitter demanding they cease and desist marking my tweets with false warnings and remove any warnings still attached to my tweets. I’ve not had a timely response to my letter, Twitter has continued marking some (but not all) of my astronomy tweets, and they have not removed any of the false warnings.
I am reviewing this matter with counsel.
A Cease and Desist Letter
I’m just back from the Post Office where I sent a letter by certified mail to Twitter with a copy to Twitter’s Maryland resident agent. The letter demands Twitter cease and desist from marking my tweets linking to Hogewash! astronomy posts with facially false sensitive material warnings. It also demands that Twitter shall preserve all documents, records, messages and/or data (whether hard copy or electronic) relating to the warnings attached to my @wjjhoge account.
I consider the warnings defamatory.
I’d like to be able to work with Twitter to resolve this issue, but given the company’s stonewalling and lack of transparency so far, I’m not optimistic about avoiding further escalation of the matter.
I don’t intend to have any further public comment on the warnings or this letter until I see Twitter’s response (or lack thereof) to my letter and review it with counsel.
Twitter Lunacy?
The saga of Twitter’s flagging of astronomy posts as “sensitive” continues. Twitter’s Sensitive media policy (https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/media-policy, downloaded on 30 December, 2022) (lowercase letters in the orignal) states
If you don’t mark your media as sensitive, we will do so manually if your content is reported for review.
Assuming that statement is truthful, that means someone or something (eg., an algorithm) is reporting the posts. I don’t believe that any reasonable observer can honestly believe these astronomy posts contain media “that is excessively gory” or “violent or adult content” or that that the posts to which my tweets link are in way “hateful.” Once was a mistake. Twice was a coincidence. Two weeks of it is enemy action.
I believe that I am being subjected to targeted abuse.
Moar Twitter Follies
They did it again.
Twitter started this nonsense last week. I’ve appealed each warnings, and so far, they’ve removed all of them through 23 December. All since Christmas Eve remain. Here’s my comment from today’s appeal—
This tweet links to an astronomy post about the planet Jupiter’s rings. I’ve been tweeting these links in this format for a decade. If Twitter were an honest and reliable business partner, you would explain why you are now tagging these tweets with warnings. I shouldn’t have to guess.
It’s been suggested the problem is caused by the #StarPorn hashtag I began using over a decade ago. If some bit of poorly trained AI is tripping over that hashtag, it shouldn’t be too difficult for a competent programmer to whitelist certain uses of the term. Of course, Twitter may lack the desire or ability to fix their code. If that’s the case, I can find another hashtag, but Twitter has refused to give any explanation.
True But Inconvenient
I’m so old, I remember news that was fake but accurate.
I’m Not Making This Up, You Know
Twitter has tagged this morning’s astronomy post as “sensitive” …
… even though they have removed the tags from several earlier astronomy posts.
When I responded to their survey, I pointed out the lack of transparency in their appeal process. The only response I’ve received was the notification shown above. Because they have continued tagging (eg., this morning’s post), the process is either still random or out of control. In no case can it be considered “fair” yet.
I’m Not Making This Up, You Know
Apparently, Twitter now views Astronomy as a “sensitive” subject.
I’m Not Making This Up, You Know
Twitter has begun flagging my daily astronomy posts as “sensitive.”
Follow the Money
Deep Throat: Follow the money.
Bob Woodward: What do you mean? Where?
Deep Throat: Oh, I can’t tell you that.
Yelling, “Theatre!” at a Crowded Fire
At a crowded dumpster fire to be more specific, and by “dumpster fire” I mean the leftwing precincts of Twitter.
One of my pet First Amendment peeves is the misuse of a misquotation from line by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., found in the now overturned Schenck v. U.S. Supreme Court decision—
The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic …
Emphassis added. Schenck upheld the Democrats use of the Sedition Act of 1918 to suppress speech opposing the Wilson Administration’s use of the draft in WW1. The First Amendment holding in Schenck was overturned in 1969 in Brandenburg v. Ohio. The Supreme Court held in that case
[T]the constitutional guarantees of free speech and free press do not permit a State to forbid or proscribe advocacy of the use of force or of law violation except where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action.
The Brandenburg test is the current Supreme Court jurisprudence on the ability of government to punish speech after it occurs.
Yelling, “Fire!” (whether or not there really is a fire) isn’t illegal per se. Of course, it may be immoral if yelling it causes a panic, and if someone were injured or killed as a result of such a false warning, the yeller could be held civilly and criminally liable for his action.
But back to Twitter.
I find the dramatic whinging over the dumpster fire resulting from the self-inflicted ToS suspensions of leftwing journalists to be really boring theatre.
The Wheel of Karma …
… has turned. Tonight it rolled over several big name leftwing accounts on Twitter.
Aaron Rupar, Ryan Mac, Matt Binder, Donnie O’Sullivan, and Drew Harwell are among the permanently suspended.
I will simply note that none of the people whining about these suspensions protested when I was permanently banned or when Stacy McCain was permanently banned or when Dr. Robert Malone was permanently banned or when …
About Twitter
Put. The Candle. Back.
Team Kimberlin Post of the Day
Twitter is slowly going through the suspended account and restoring those that were not involved in threats, harassment, and the like. Since they seem to be prioritizing accounts based on the number of followers, it will be while before they get to my suspended accounts: @hogewash and @wjj_hoge.
It will also be a while before they get to any of these accounts:
audiooddities
bill365radio
deepbrainradio
grouchcast
grouchyoldlib
liberalgrouch
mr_plaintiff
patombudsman
radiowiseguy
schmalfeldtbill
teamschmalfeldt
thegrouchcast
waroftheweasels
weltschmerz
wjjjhoge
wmsdb
If any of them are restored, I’ll post a calendar in the break area for bets on the new take down date(s).
“In Harm’s Way”
Former Twitter Head of Trust and Safety Chief Censor Yoel Roth has taken to Mastadon to whine, “Publicly posting the names and identities of front-line employees involved in content moderation puts them in harm’s way and is a fundamentally unacceptable thing to do.” Twitter files published this evening by Matt Taibbi show that Roth and former General Counsel Vijaya Gadde were involved in suppressing the Hunter Biden laptop story ahead of the 2020 election.
What exactly does Roth fear?
Accountability?
I’m Watching The Twitter Files Unfold
I’m sitting at my desk with a cup of Irish coffee and watching Matt Taibbi tweet out his report on the Twitter files related to suppression of news related to Hunter Biden’s laptop. It’s interesting to see what the people involved were stupid enough to put in writing.
Indeed, I’m surprised that the files were left intact when it became obvious that the Musk deal was about to close.
But maybe I shouldn’t be. The bunch running Twitter for the last six or seven years never impressed me as being particularly smart.
20 % of the Customers Drink 80 % of the Beer
That version of the the 80/20 Rule is attributed to an English pub keeper. It’s an informal summary of the Pareto distribution, a power-law probability phenomenon that describes a great deal of human behavior. The Pareto distribution suggests it is usually the case in an organization with a statistically large population that a group about the size of the square root of the total population produces half of the organization’s beneficial work.
This tells us why Elon Musk is probably right and Robert Reich is probably wrong.
If Twitter had 7500 employees when Musk took over, something on the order of 87 were probably carrying half the real productive load. Firing only half the staff wouldn’t get rid of enough deadwood.
I’m looking forward to seeing how Twitter will be reshaped.
Team Kimberlin Post of the Day
Elon Musk has announced there will be an amnesty for suspended accounts at Twitter next week. When Brett Kimberlin made a series of false accusations of targeted harassment back in 2015, three of my Twitter accounts (my business account, my personal account, and a parody account) were suspended. When Kimberlin’s claims fell apart, Twitter said I could have only one account back. I chose my business account. I hope other accounts are restored soon.
Of course, I’m not the only person with suspended accounts.
Stay tuned.
In Re Donald Trump and Twitter
Apparently, we are all supposed to have died because of Donald Trump’s Twitter account being reinstated. However, I was unable to participate in the mass extinction, having died as a result of the end of net neutrality in 2017.
Cleaning House at Twitter
Elon Musk has announced Twitter 2.0 and is taking the company back into startup mode. At midnight PT, employees received an email telling them to expect long hours and high performance standards. They were given until close of business Thursday to either sign on to the new program or take three months’ severance pay.
A few dedicated hardcore engineers will generally deliver a better product than a large team of 9-to-5ers. Think of the Macintosh computer ecosystem versus Windows 95 or the reusable SpaceX Falcon 9 versus the finally flying SLS.
I’ve been on several the kind of engineering teams that Musk is trying to form at Twitter. I’ve even had the privilege of leading one. It can be exhilarating. It can be draining. And it’s for the young. I’ll be 75 on New Year’s Eve, and I’ve had to slow down a bit, but I still find myself working overtime to get things not just right but the best they can be.
Twitter is noticeably better since Musk bought it. I look forward to seeing what he can do with the deadwood out of the way.
UPDATE—Corrected the drop dead date for getting with new program.
Team Kimberlin Post of the Day
It’s said that you know you’re over the target when you’re taking flak. During the more active phase of my interactions with Team Kimberlin, I knew I’d hit a nerve when one of them, usually Bill Schmalfeldt, made me the subject of a Twitter account. This TKPOTD ran nine years ago today.
* * * * *
ROFL!
* * * * *
It’s a bit of a surprise that this would up being one of the account Schmalfeldt abandoned rather than one that was suspended for a rule violation. In this case it would have been for impersonation. Note the “Westminster, MD • hogewash.com” tag.
Meanwhile, on Twitter …
I’m a bit surprised by how little wailing and gnashing of teeth I’ve seen as a result of the change of ownership at Twitter. Several accounts that made noise about leaving the platform if Musk closed the deal are still there. (No, I won’t link to them.)
Musk has fired key executives from the old regime and has locked Twitter developers out of the company’s code base—which is now being reviewed by engineers from Tesla.
The Babylon Bee has been released from the gulag.
It’s now possible to tweet the following without an adverse response from Twitter “Safety”—
Learn to code.
Men can’t get pregnant.
The 2020 election results were suspicious.
I can’t yet say that everything is proceeding as I have foreseen, these changes are exactly in line with what I expected.
Who know? I might even see my personal account (@hogewash) restored. It was suspended because of a false complaint of targeted harassment from Brett Kimberlin.
Stay tuned.
You Say That As If It Were A Bad Thing
A group of snowflakes at Twitter are whining about how Elon Musk plans to operate the company.
Given Twitter’s history over the past seven years, 75 % may be a lowball estimate of the number of employees who need to be fired to enable the company to resume acting as the free speech wing of the free speech party it once aspired to be.