The slow death of Twitter is measured in disasters like the Baltimore bridge collapse
vox.com
Twitter, now X, was once a useful site for breaking news. The Baltimore bridge collapse shows those days are long gone.
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Twitter, now X, was once a useful site for breaking news. The Baltimore bridge collapse shows those days are long gone.
I'd argue it was a good place for FAST news. For a lot of major events you can find posts and videos from users before the media releases anything, which is kind of a first for humanity at least in terms of accessibility.
Now, if you're looking for ACCURATE news...
Yeah, I'd say that it was useful to gather sources that had to be vetted for accuracy. Honestly, I'd also say it made a good source for the media, where they'd have the job of vetting it and putting out material with more delay but also more accuracy.
Yep I heard that it was great for journalists looking for info on a developing story. You could usually follow a hashtag around to find videos from different angles and witnesses to follow up with / interview.
Hopefully that builds up on the new platforms too
Its specific speed/accuracy tradeoff made it a very good fit for news which you need to know quickly, but had low stakes if it was incorrect. A great example of this transit delays/cancellations, where you probably don't care about the specific reason why a train is delayed and just want alternative options asap.
It was often much more effective to directly follow transit agencies and/or workers for info, rather than use their official website.
It was good for fast news in the same way that I can multiply long numbers fast by always saying 62 immediately.