Twitter is among other social media platforms that have not really address the issue of online hate speech. It is a toxic environment to be in online especially during the past US Presidential election. People openly express their opinions about things. Some use it to inflict pain on others. As for President-elect Donald Trump, it has become his way to communicate with the American people. Given that Trump has a not-so-good relationship with the media, he will not stop tweeting anytime soon.
The attention on Twitter is undeniable whenever President-elect Trump tweets. He has over 16 million followers. Trump has tweeted more than 34,000, which means that he is definitely capitalizing on the social media platform's reach. In fact, he is using it to release statements that get scrutinized by the media. This has become even more evident now as he still has not held news conference since July, according to the Los Angeles Times. Each time he tweets something controversial, Twitter blows up.
But the current issue is Trump's blocking spree on the social media platform. Mashable reported that Trump is apparently blocking people without explanation. Though this feature is not enough to stop online hate speech, it now seemed convenient to use for Trump. Some users have chosen to take this lightly while others were disappointed that he would do such thing.
Blogger and freelance writer Heather Spohr said to the Los Angeles Times, "He's going to be my president. It's absurd." It is unclear why he would actually block them since people can exercise their freedom of speech in Twitter. They could only be following Trump to keep tabs on him. Trump, like any other Twitter users, certainly has a right to mute or block anyone.
The block feature is a friend for those who are being abused online. It doesn't take away the pain it has already caused but at least it prevents trolls from doing more damage. Though it is still not enough to entirely rid of the toxicity in Twitter. The social media platform improved its mute function to further resolve this issue. It remains to be seen how effective it is going to be.
Twitter is actually struggling in increasing their revenue and users. It has become less and less profitable. Furthermore, it received a huge blow as Disney, Salesforce and Google's Alphabet Inc. backed out from acquiring it. Just recently, the tech company has also lost another top executive, former VP of Global Sales Richard Alfonsi, according to the Business Insider. It was also revealed that Twitter has hired its new Product Chief Keith Coleman amidst the need to get re-organized.
