Pixabay
Pixabay
Imagine the havoc Donald Trump could wreak with the ability to doctor previously published tweets via an edit button.
The feature is something that users have been clamouring for over the past few years, to counteract typos and fill in messages that have something missing. In a since-corrected article, Mashable reported last week that the edit function was being trialled by Twitter. Other outlets have let the rumour run, however.
Is Twitter introducing an edit button?
The publication shared a photo of what it would look like, prompting fierce debate on the site as to whether the function could be used in a non-sinister manner:
:::rubs eyes:::
is that an … *edit* … button … ? @twitter? what have we done to please you? pic.twitter.com/NPFDhA8tvX
— Logan Jaffe (@loganjaffe) July 26, 2018
Anyone who wants an edit button on Twitter is saying “I rank my need to correct typos above unleashing an abuse tornado on this platform”. Your typos aren’t that big a deal ffs.
— Carl Anka (@Ankaman616) July 29, 2018
An edit button on Twitter is stupid and you all know it will be abused like crazy to troll and spread disinformation.
— Matthew D’Ambrosio™ (@drmattdambrosio) July 27, 2018
However, the image in question is not what it looks like. It’s a screenshot taken from someone using the TweetDeck platform – a site which provides alternative and streamlined ways of sharing content to social media.
The edit button in the picture refers to a user’s ability to change their post before publishing, rather than after it’s gone out. Via the use of a gif, the Twitter Communications team put the final nail in the coffin, denying that the feature is being trialled.
Why is an edit button dangerous?
We’ve recently seen Facebook humbled by data breach scandals, which allowed the spread of fake news and divisive political campaigns to influence users on the site. Twitter is similarly struggling with the spread of misinformation.
With an American election in two years’ time and the South African vote in 2019, bringing in another tool that could bend the truth seems like an idea that needs shelving.
