Twitter is a great and powerful platform. However, sometimes, it becomes the theatre of devastating bullying and online harassment. Lately, Twitter has even been criticised for not doing enough to protect users who have been stalked or threatened on its platform. In mot cases, the victims are women.
Also Read: The Complete Guide To Social Media Etiquette
In an attempt to face those critics, Twitter is now sealing a new partnership with the non-profit organization Women, Action & the Media (WAM). This move clearly shows that Twitter is getting more serious about its efforts to deal with online harassment.
According to ReadWrite, the new partnership sets up a pilot project in which WAM will verify and forward reported gender harassment to Twitter. WAM will track Twitter‘s responses, and at the end of the project will analyze that data to help Twitter better respond to the hate and vitriol so often flung at women online.
[quote]WAM created a special form with comprehensive questions to report abuse, which includes the ability to report harassment based on race or sexual orientation, as well as letting people report bad behavior on behalf of someone else. The organization escalates validated reports to Twitter and monitors the company’s responses to each.[/quote]
This is a pilot program and WAM will analyse the data collected at the end of this trial period and work with Twitter to understand how and why gendered harassement takes place on its platform. Of course, there is no intention to point the blame on Twitter here, but rather to help the social network to be better at responding and acting against the perpetrators.
What do you think of this bold move by Twitter? Have you witness harassing behaviour on Twitter before? How did you deal with it? You can share your experience and views in the comments below.
Related Stories:
- Small UX Update Makes it Easier to Tweet from Twitter.com
- Facebook Helps The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge Go Viral
- Who, What, Why: Social Media Cheat Sheet For Users
You might also like
More from Twitter
Twitter Spaces Will Bring Live Audio Conversations To The Platform
Twitter announced it will start testing Twitter Spaces – Clubhouse-like audio conversation rooms – to its platform later this year.
Twitter Hires Famous Hacker As Its New Head Of Security
Twitter has named famed hacker Peiter Zatko, aka 'Mudge,' as its new head of security.
Twitter Expands Fleets To Users In Japan
As part of the next stage of a worldwide rollout, Twitter has announced the expansion of its Stories-like Fleets feature …
It’s Official, Donald Trump Is The Biggest Loser On Twitter
Joe Biden won the US Presidential election, and Donald Trump has become the biggest loser on Twitter. For real.
Can You Guess Trump’s Twitter Password? This Hacker Did.
A Dutch hacker claims he successfully accessed Donald Trump's Twitter account, simply by guessing his password (and you would have …
You Can Now Turn Your WordPress.com Blog Posts Into Tweetstorms
WordPress.com announced a new feature that lets you share entire blog posts as Twitter threads, helping you amplify your content …
Twitter Announces New Measures To Protect The 2020 US Election
In its effort to protect critical dialogue on its platform, Twitter is announcing several new product and enforcement updates.
How To Prepare For Cyber Monday During COVID-19
Twitter gives brands five tips to prepare for Cyber Monday's shopping madness during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Twitter Turns Tweets About Wearing Masks Into Billboards
New Twitter billboards are taking over the streets of seven US cities to promote wearing masks to combat the …
