Twitter rolls out “original tweeter” function to clearly show who initiated a thread
Twitter is testing out a new feature to make it easier to determine who was the “original tweeter” of a thread.
The new feature attempts to curb abuse and help users differentiate between fake and real accounts. It was initiated for some users on Wednesday. There’s a gray icon that says “original tweeter.”
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Twitter is constantly under fire for the amount of harassment and misinformation that appears on the social media site. Other efforts the company uses to curb this is the hidden replies section that doesn’t show replies that might be from bots or abusive unless the user clicks on it.
“Twitter’s purpose is to serve the public conversation. As part of this work, we’re exploring adding more context to discussions by highlighting relevant replies — like those from the original Tweeter,” Sara Haider, Twitter’s director of product management, said in an emailed statement to NBC news.
The social media platform didn’t announce the new feature, which led to many users being confused about the function. Some users also didn’t see a point to the function at all. See some of their tweets below.
pretty sure “Original Tweeter” means you’re the OP in a thread and not that you won some type of merit badge for pouring your bad posts into this hellhole, but eat your heart out Twitter
— ˡᵛˡ ⁴⁵ STASIS POTUS (@thetomzone) January 24, 2019
Even more coveted than the blue checkmark! pic.twitter.com/PMJrt0cTSB
— Anil Dash ? (@anildash) January 24, 2019
excuse me mr @Twitter what does the “original tweeter” mean pic.twitter.com/0efTC8HDI5
— grey ↯ (@aIotofnerve) January 24, 2019
FYI, @Twitter, no one in the history of Twitter has EVER been confused about who the “Original Tweeter” is in a thread. This is not the issue. (And it’s ugly and distracting.) … Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. pic.twitter.com/GOoksatSAu
— Chris Geidner (@chrisgeidner) January 24, 2019
Tf does that mean “original tweeter” pic.twitter.com/zajDwyxW3s
— ??? ???? ???? (@briansOtherLeg) January 24, 2019
It was recently reported that Twitter is looking for 1,000 users to act as “guinea pigs” for new functions on the platform. Those people will test out features and updates and engage in conversation about the platform.
What do you think of the new function? Sound off in the comments.
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