I'm sorry, but this is about Twitter

I'm sorry, but this is about Twitter

November 10, 2022

I'm sorry, but this is about Twitter

Welcome to My World’s on Fire, a newsletter about disasters from journalist Colleen Hagerty. If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, let’s make this a regular thing—subscribe for free to receive disaster deep-dives, Q&As, and context in your inbox on Thursday evenings.

A quick housekeeping note: you might have noticed that this newsletter is looking a little different these days, and that's because I've switched providers. So, to make sure you continue getting MWOF in your inbox, go ahead and add [email protected] to your contacts. You can also always reach me directly at that address!

The intersection of disasters and technology has been a key area of coverage in my reporting, so yes, I regret to inform you that this newsletter is about Twitter. While I try to stay away from the breaking and trending news here, Twitter has played a critical role in disaster communication over the past decade, and I think that context is helpful for understanding why some emergency management officials have expressed concerns about the recent changes to the platform. So, that’s what I going to share with you today—no hot takes or predictions, just what we know about Twitter’s significance in the disaster world and insight into why the public-facing changes have left some alarmed. 

Twitter's bio hits a bit different these days...

‘When natural disasters happen, Twitter can be used to help’ (says Twitter)

Twitter has changed the way officials and the public communicate about disasters over the past decade, providing a universal platform for of-the-minute updates when emergencies occur. It’s a function Twitter itself acknowledges—in a

dated October 13, 2022, the company says:

“Over the years, Twitter has become a critical communication tool for responding to natural disasters. Our teams have a longstanding commitment to working alongside global partners and developers to share important information, provide real-time updates, facilitate relief efforts, and much more. We also take steps to address misleading information that can surface during these crises.”

The post goes on to list a number of examples of Twitter being utilized as a source of information during disasters, as well as ways the platform amplifies official voices. But you don’t have to take Twitter’s word for it—the social media site’s utility in times of crisis has been well-documented and studied over the years. 

A

on the use of social media during Hurricane Harvey offers a list of some examples from the platform’s early days:

“In 2008 residents of the Tennessee Valley learned primarily via Twitter when 5.4 million cubic tons of coal fly ash spilled into the Tennessee River, and its tributaries as local news networks failed to pick up the story (Sutton 2010; Sutton et al. 2013). 

Similarly, in 2014, when 7500 gallons of chemicals leaked into the primary water supply in Charleston, West Virginia, 41 Twitter accounts were responsible for the rapid dissemination of information to its residents (Getchell and Sellnow 2016).

In the case of the Pakistani Floods in 2010 (Murthy and Longwell 2013), Cyclone Yasi (Taylor et al. 2012) and a 2012 Indonesian Earthquake (Chatfield, Scholl, and Brajawidagda 2013), users relayed information to their network by linking to both formal and informal sources of information, the latter study finding that within 15 min of an early warning tweet from the Indonesian government, the news had reached over four million Twitter users.”

Today, it’s common to see disasters discussed in the trending section, and there are significant Twitter communities around disaster information and preparedness, often informally described by the hazards they track (like “

Twitter” or “

Twitter”). There’s also an active community of emergency managers, or #EMGTwitter, who utilize the site to network, share their expertise, and often, inform journalists. 

As disasterologist Dr. Samantha Montano wrote in her

: “I’ve often thought that people who aren’t on Twitter don’t appreciate how much it influences their daily lives, from the political to the cultural, because of how it so directly influences media. Twitter isn’t particularly effective for doing general public education campaigns, but it has, in my experience, been incredibly effective in helping to educate journalists about emergency management. That has a potentially huge influence when it changes how disasters are covered… and even if a disaster is covered.”

One of my earliest My World's on Fire 

was actually about Southwest Louisiana residents hosting a tweetstorm to promote the hashtag #HelpLakeCharles after Hurricane Laura in 2020. It worked—media outlets including

Good Morning America

reached out, and residents told me the increased attention brought an influx of aid. 

So, what changed?

Again, prefacing this by saying that I’m only covering the changes Twitter users are currently experiencing, without delving into some of the

or

that have been flagged about the company. However, I do think it’s worth noting that a number of the teams likely involved in the practices Twitter highlighted in their blog about the site’s role during disasters—including communications and content curation—have since been

.

In a

last month, I referenced the infrastructure Twitter had when it came to dealing with disaster content in comparison to TikTok, including the ability to have verified official accounts to turn to during times of disasters. It’s not to say that misinformation has not been a major issue on the site—look no further than the perpetually-swimming

—but it's to recognize that the platform did have a free, clear system in place for uplifting trusted voices.

Now, Twitter CEO Elon Musk has

that this “legacy” verification system will be replaced with the new Twitter Blue checkmark, which requires no background check and costs $8/month. Some verified agencies and outlets have since received a different “official” designation on their profiles, but that has since been periodically removed, and it’s unclear if it will be used moving forward.

In a thread, the Washington Department of Emergency Management

some of the concerns around this new system, including the threat of disinformation that appears to come from a verified source. 

“There is a reality now that someone could buy a blue checkmark and then they could suddenly say they are a government agency telling you evacuate, for instance,” the account

. “So, even a blue checkmark might not mean what it used to mean. You might want to take other steps to confirm the author.”

I

highly recommend reading the agency's entire thread, as it offers a few ways to do your own verification check on Twitter accounts under the current system. 

I’ll end by sharing a quick

featuring a few voices from “disaster Twitter” on their fears about the platform’s future. Users say they feel there is a lack of trust around Twitter now; at the same time, they don’t want to abandon the audiences they inform who are still utilizing the site.

This is certainly a situation I’ll be reporting on for the weeks to come, and I am always eager to hear your thoughts. The easiest way to get in touch is to reply to this email, and I’ve shared a number of other ways to connect with me in the section below.If you are an official who would like to speak off the record or on background, you can also send me a secure email here. 

The elephant—er, bird—in the room

The changes at Twitter are also having a direct impact on this newsletter. 

The biggest shift is that the company is scrapping Revue, which is the platform I used for more than a year to send you newsletters and which houses more than 100 archival MWOF editions. I’m incredibly grateful that the fundraiser I held earlier this fall has given me the ability to hire some experts to help me make technical changes and migrate to trusted platforms. Thank you again to supporters for making that possible! 

I've also decided to pause my monthly Twitter Spaces for the time being. It’s been a true pleasure to host these informal chats with experts and get to know some of you more, and I absolutely want to keep that community going! I'm currently considering Instagram or YouTube live, but if you have other suggestions, I’m all ears. 

While I am still on Twitter for the time being, I did want to share some other ways to stay in touch with me moving forward:

As always

thank you for subscribing to My World’s on Fire.This newsletter is powered by the MWOF member program. So, if you’re a regular reader, please consider joining for just $5/month or $50/year. You'll get extra editions in your inbox each month and an opportunity to help shape this newsletter as it heads into its third year.Or, if you’re not into commitment, you can make a one-time donation of any amount.It also means the world when you spread the word about MWOF with your family, friends, and total strangers on social media. This week’s subscriber shout-out goes to Sylvie Krekow for this kind tweet:

Now, here’s a 

 for reading to the bottom (ending on a tweet, how fitting)!

Colleen

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