A developer and open internet communities have criticized a Twitter modification that removes embedded deleted tweets from the public domain that are viewable on third-party websites.
Previously, a deleted tweet embedded on a web page would still show the tweet’s text content.
According to TechCrunch, the text is now just a blank box, which has alarmed the open web community because it’s like “tampering with the public record.”
“With all the fuss about Twitter’s promised edit button, and how they might design it,” Kevin Marks, an IndieWeb developer, and former Google Developer Advocate, stated, “we’re missing a disturbing development as “Twitter is using its embedded javascript to edit other people’s sites.”
Twitter, he claims, is modifying websites with removed embedded tweets by using JavaScript to hide the text.
Former US President Donald Trump’s since-deleted tweets were referenced by Marks as an example of public-interest content that should be preserved.
Former US President Donald Trump’s since-deleted tweets were referenced by Marks as an example of public-interest content that should be preserved.
Until recently, if a tweet or account was deleted, Twitter would leave the “blockquote alone,” allowing the embedded text to appear without Twitter’s approval.
With the adjustment, Twitter senior product manager Eleanor Harding responded to Marks, saying the company wants to better respect when users have chosen to delete their Tweets.
Harding stated that Twitter will be releasing a better message that explains why the information is no longer available” soon. A request for comment from Twitter was not immediately returned. The change poses a dilemma for websites that rely on embedded tweets to offer context for stories, such as news organizations. It also allows public leaders to delete newsworthy utterances as if they never took place.
The Twitter shift, according to Andy Baio, creator of the virtual event platform Skittish, is “a significant challenge for maintaining the historical record.”
Twitter has revealed that it is working on a feature that would allow users to edit their tweets after they have been posted to correct typos and errors.
Twitter Blue subscribers will be the first to try the functionality in the “coming months,” according to the microblogging platform.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, bought a 9.2 percent investment in the company. Following his purchase, Twitter also welcomed Elon Musk to its board of directors this week, a move that could indicate major changes to the platform’s operations in the future. Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” wants Twitter’s algorithm to be open-sourced.
