By Aaron Miller-
Twitter has launched a roll out of its Hide Replies feature to all users worldwide. The feature, largely designed to weaken the power of online trolls to disrupt conversations, allows users decide which replies to their tweets are placed behind an extra click.
Twitter said it is making Hide Replies available to its developer community, enabling tools that help people hide the replies to their tweets faster and more efficiently, says Twitter.
The tools will benefits businesses and brands that maintain a Twitter presence, but whose accounts often get too many replies to tweets to properly manage on an individual basis. Developers are now empowered to create tools that automatically hide offensive tweets based on factors important to their customers like tweets that include prohibited keywords or those that score high for being toxic, for example.
Ahead of today’s launch, Twitter has been liaising with a small number of developers who are now releasing tools that take advantage of the added functionality.
INTEGRATION
Jigsaw, an Alphabet-owned company tackling the worst of the web, has integrated Twitter’s new endpoint with its Perspective API, which uses A.I. to score tweets based on their toxicity. The integration will automatically hide replies that exceed a certain toxic threshold (.94), freeing up the time it would otherwise take to comb through replies manually.
The endpoint can also be used to develop scripts that detect and hide replies based on keywords or even by user. Hide Replies remains controversial because of its potential to allow users silence legitimate critics or eliminate opposing views even when justified.
Its positive inclusion will see reputable organisations permit opposing views on its topics, encouraging debate and engagement rather than being a one way traffic voice of dictatorship.