Are Twitter preventing WikiLeaks from trending?
Are Twitter preventing WikiLeaks from trending? That’s the rumour doing the rounds on the “internetz” right now, as conspiracy theorists are claiming that Twitter are the latest company to pull support for the whistle blowing webiste. Despite a huge buzz around the ongoing WikiLeaks revelations, the site remains suspiciously absent from the top topics list.
Twitter’s response? WikiLeaks just ins’t proving all that popular.
“Given the widespread confusion about #wikileaks, we’d like to offer a longer explanation of how we measure trends on Twitter, and why some popular topics may not make the list,” reads the Twitter blog.
“This week, people are wondering about WikiLeaks, with some asking if Twitter has blocked #wikileaks, #cablegate or other related topics from appearing in the list of top trends. The answer: Absolutely not. In fact, some of these terms, including #wikileaks and #cablegate, have previously trended either worldwide or in specific locations.”
Twitter seem keen to distance themselves from the censorship claims, particularly when the likes of Mastercard and Visa have come under attack from hackers since stone-walling Julian Assange and the WikiLeaks team.
Despite Assange’s recent arrest, the WikiLeaks debacle continues, with cables still being released even though the editor-in-cheif has been reprimanded for alleged sex crimes.
One thought on “Are Twitter preventing WikiLeaks from trending?”
While making predictions about young technologies is always dangerous, it appears to be a safe bet that Twitter will capture a larger and larger user base, as it continues to make waves, and attracts audiences of all types to its information stream. The San Jose Mercury News recently called it a “digital melting pot.” Moreover, Twitter has again played host to developing news; this time the Wikileaks diplomatic cables saga. This time, users are accusing Twitter of preventing Wikileaks and other related topics from trending.
“This week, people are wondering about WikiLeaks, with some asking if Twitter has blocked #wikileaks, #cablegate or other related topics from appearing in the list of top Trends,” Twitter said. “The answer: Absolutely not.”
In spite of the current accusations, one thing is clear: Twitter is here to stay. Looking forward to 2011, one can only imagine the role that it will play in future current events’ sagas. One thing is for sure though, if you don’t have a Twitter account yet, you should get one now. Who knows what you’re missing out on.
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