Since Elon Muskowner of Twittereased the restrictions on content on said platform, the number of insults and threats to meteorologistssupposedly from climate change denierswhich caused those to directly flee from that social network.
Peter Gleicka climate and water specialist, with almost 100,000 followers on Twitterannounced on May 21 that it would not post any more messages on the network, accusing it of racism and sexism.
The researcher says he is used to the “aggressive, personal and ‘ad hominem’ attacks, ranging up to direct physical threats”. But “since the arrival of the new owner and the changes in Twitterthe number and intensity of the attacks have skyrocketed,” he said.
Since you acquired Twitter, Musk has eased the moderation of problematic content and allowed previously banned people to return, such as donald trump.
Robert Rohdeof the association Berkeley Earthalso analyzed the activity of hundreds of accounts of climate specialists, before and after the change of owners of Twitter.
In his opinion, these tweets did not have the same reach: the average number of “likes” (to mark approval) fell 38% and they were retweeted 40% less.
Twitter It has not directly commented on the changes it made to its algorithms, which drive traffic and network visibility. Contacted by email, the company’s press service responded with an automated message that includes an emoji in the form of “poop”.
Elon Musk’s explanation of the changes on Twitter
Musk He explained in a tweet in January one reason that might explain the changes: “People on the right should see more ‘left’ stuff and people on the left should see more ‘right’ stuff. But you can block it if you want to stay in one echo room”.
In another analysis, renowned climatologist Katharine Hayhoe observed the reactions to the same tweet that she deliberately posted twice, before and after the acquisition of Twitter.
The answers coming from trolls or bots –automated accounts that often spread misinformation– increased 15 to 30 times compared to previous years, according to the scientist.
Since the purchase of Twitter in October, “my account registered a regular growth, with at least several thousand new followers every month. Since then, it has not changed,” he explains to the AFP.
andrew desslerprofessor of atmospheric science at the Texas A&M Universitydecided to move most of its weather communication to another platform, called stack.
“The communications dedicated to climate in Twitter are less useful (now) because I see my tweets generate less engagement,” he says.
“In response to almost any tweet about climate change, I am inundated with responses from verified accounts with misleading or misinformed claims,” he says.
Other experts decided simply to abandon Twitter. Katharine Hayhoe estimates that of the 3,000 climate scientists he had on file, 100 disappeared upon purchase of the signature of the blue bird.
the glaciologist Ruth Mottram had more than 10,000 followers but in February he decided to be part of a scientific forum in Mastodona decentralized social network created in 2016.
According to her, there is a “much calmer” environment. “I have not had insults or people who question climate change.”
michael mannrenowned climatologist of the University of Pennsylvaniaalso a victim of online attacks, believes that the increase in misinformation is “organized and orchestrated” by opponents of climate policies.
“Professional trolls manipulate the online environment through strategic posts that create conflict and division,” he says.
Source: Ambito
