To stay or go? Navigating Twitter in the time of Musk
by: Heather Gehlert
posted on Monday, December 05, 2022
In the weeks since Elon Musk became the owner and CEO of Twitter, news about the acquisition and what it means for journalism, advocacy, and democracy has shown no signs of slowing down. Headlines have told us about sweeping layoffs, including to the company’s child safety team; new norms that embrace chaos, with policy changes that welcome hate speech, COVID misinformation, and their biggest purveyors like former President Trump; and Musk’s alienation of Black influencers, which has some members of the community defecting to other platforms.
Advocates across diverse locations and issue areas are meeting the destabilizing changes with outrage and hints of a coming exodus. Individuals and organizations alike are increasingly rejecting the new iteration of the platform. Still, Twitter remains an important channel through which many government agencies, nonprofits, and other groups communicate. What does the coming culture shift mean for the people and campaigns that rely heavily on it to build their base and reach decision-makers or community residents? Should organizers leave Twitter? If so, does that hurt or potentially help the power of Musk’s digital wrecking ball? What would happen if those who are interested in truth and integrity leave en masse? Would it become an even faster race to the bottom? How could organizations address the shift if they decide to remain on Twitter? Are other platforms like Mastodon, Post, or Hive Social viable alternatives?
To help Twitter users navigate the uncertainty, alternative and mainstream media outlets alike have been publishing tips and how-to guides, such as The New York Times’ piece with instructions for downloading Twitter archives so that users can preserve their tweets and engagement data in case the service implodes.
Like many of you, BMSG is monitoring this news closely and contemplating our own future with Twitter. While we can’t predict exactly what the social media environment will look like 6 months or a year from now, we can look to trusted voices in the media and organizing landscape for guidance. We’ve been scouring our go-to sources, digging into our own media advocacy vault, and weighing our options. As we move forward in this new digital frontier, here are a few insights that we are considering:
History can guide us
Cognitive linguist Dr. George Lakoff and colleague Gil Duran have said we must take the threat of Musk’s Twitter seriously. “At the very least, Musk’s Twitter fiasco provides clear examples of both the ideology and tactics shaping our political reality,” they wrote in a recent FrameLab article published through Substack. “Unless we find a way to systematically dismantle Twitter’s influence over society, the past few weeks are only a taste of the chaos and destruction to come.”
Lakoff and Duran remind us that Twitter was one of the primary tools that Trump used to get elected. He did so by using it to control the news cycle. For example, through Twitter, he framed issues to his advantage, even when that meant lying; distracted people from other issues of public importance; and undermined the credibility of the press. During Trump’s presidency, Lakoff recommended that the news media be aware of those tactics and counter them by deemphasizing Twitter as a primary source of information. Walking away from Twitter won’t eliminate the platform, but doing so in large enough numbers may further erode its reputation, sending it closer to the QAnon and 4Chan corners of the internet.
There is more than a platform at stake
Walking away isn’t a viable option for everyone, as staff at Spitfire Strategies pointed out this week. Many communities “don’t have the luxury of picking a new communications channel every time a platform fails to live up to their values or puts their security at risk,” wrote Spitfire Vice President Gabriel Rodriguez. “Many organizations and individuals have built dedicated followings on Twitter, and simply abandoning those relationships will not be sustainable or fair.”
Recognizing this challenge, Rodriguez gives several practical tips to help Twitter users “balance the need to maintain community with concerns around safety, stability, and reputation risk.” Suggestions include making sure your audience knows how to find you on multiple platforms and paying close attention to your follower count and other aspects of the user experience to ensure that the platform is reliable enough to remain part of your social media strategy.
Consider how race and privilege inform your views
Antiracism educator Tim Wise observed in a Twitter thread just days after Musk’s acquisition was complete that, so far, the people he saw threatening to leave the platform were overwhelmingly white. In some ways, the ability to flee, to have that option, is a privilege.
“Even as Black Twitter catches the most hell, deals with racism, misogynoir, all the things, all the time…they are here, fighting and refusing to concede this ground…” he wrote. “To those white folks worried about Twitter toxicity. Please, AMERICA has been toxic for Black people for hundreds of years. If they can manage to fight on, survive and thrive despite it, you can deal with ugliness in your timeline,” he continued, taking care to emphasize that he is looking to acknowledge but not romanticize suffering. For our part at BMSG, we will reflect on Wise’s observations as we consider whether to leave.
Revisit your overall strategy
There is no easy answer here, no one-size-fits-all solution, as is often the case with nuanced issues. When in doubt, we at BMSG remind ourselves to remember our why. Why are we on Twitter in the first place? How does it serve our overall strategy? What are we trying to accomplish or maintain? Who are we trying to reach? (It’s noteworthy that Twitter remains a more common outlet for liberal and liberal-leaning folks than for conservative and conservative-leaning.) Are there other paths that could lead us to the same place? Our Layers of Strategy document is a resource we revisit often to clarify how our media, message, and access strategies connect with our overall strategy and to identify any opportunities for change.
With the above considerations in mind, BMSG is staying on Twitter for now, but we are keeping our plans tentative as things evolve. We will continue to monitor the news and will reach out with any updates, both on our own decision and on the implications of the platform’s changes for public health and social justice. We also welcome input from you. Collectively, advocates still have a voice and still have power — we’d love to hear how you’re using yours and whether Twitter still has a place in your media advocacy toolbox or if you’re planning to put the platform where other rusted out and dangerous tools typically end up: in the junk pile.
Share your thoughts with us @BMSG or engage@bmsg.org.