Twitter will finally give way to the correction of tweets, due to the proliferation of errors and hasty messages

Twitter is willing to experiment with correcting messages in the face of the proliferation of errors or too hasty tweets, a way of giving users of the popular social network a second chance.

A little over a year ago, in January 2021, the former CEO and founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, assured Wired magazine that something like this was “probably never” going to happen.

In 2018, the company allowed the length of the messages to be doubled, from 140 to 280 characters, based on popular demand. Now it is willing to give users a second chance.

“We’re trying to build an editing tool,” explained consumer products manager Jay Sullivan.

This is the “most requested option for years” by users who want to “correct (sometimes embarrassing) errors, typos and hot reactions” that are later regretted.

Its rival Facebook already offers this option since its creation.

The option will initially only be accessible to subscribers of the Twitter Blue payment service.

Until now the only way to rewrite a tweet was to delete it and then post another one.

“These platforms encourage you to publish quickly,” explains Sophie Jehel, a professor at Paris 8 University and a specialist in digital trends.

Granting a right of correction even before external reactions arrive” is therefore “very interesting” for users.

In the opinion of this specialist, “the principle of rectification” is essential, but Twitter should include “a notification that shows that the message has been modified”.

Behind the decision there is a high risk: that the user changes his speech depending on the reaction.

The technical team of the social network has warned that the tests “will take time” so that this new tool is not “misused”, in particular to “alter the files of a public conversation”.

Users will still be able to take a screenshot before posts are edited.

Notices against cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is especially virulent on Twitter because of how quickly it can be triggered by a message.

Another very harmful practice is “doxing”, that is, saving a person’s tweets to bring them up again later.

The security service of the social network has just announced that it is testing the possibility that a user can prevent being mentioned in another tweet, something similar to the “remove the label” option that already exists on Facebook.

“If someone who does not follow you mentions you, you will receive a special notice. If you ‘remove’ it from the conversation, the author of the tweet will not be able to mention you again” indicated already in 2021 Dominic Camozzi, responsible for “health and private life” on the network.

For Angelo Zino, from the consultancy CFRA Research, this new functionality runs the risk of eliminating the spontaneity of the platform, creating a division between those who allow their ideas to be answered, and those who only admit those who think like them.

Twitter seeks to “give consumers what they want”, in particular “to the youngest”, summarizes this analyst. (I)