Is Twitter censoring #flotilla?

http://twitter.com/search?q=%23flotilla

by ertug • 16 years ago

58 47 16 years ago

twitter.com

TimH4• 16 years ago

I don't think they would do this. Care to explain?

ertug3• 16 years ago

I don't want to think they would this too but this is too weird.

The hashtag is about the humanitarian aid to Gaza: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/10195838.stm

yigit• 16 years ago

Also true for the word "İsrail" which is Israel in Turkish.

stfp2• 16 years ago

Indeed - both fail for me when searching, typing directly in the URL or when clicking in tweets.

liedra2• 16 years ago

"Aid Flotilla" is trending in the UK.

Screenshot: http://grab.by/4Fiy

stfp2• 16 years ago

but try clicking on it

liedra2• 16 years ago

Oh, I see. I thought it was just about how #flotilla wasn't being reported in the trending topics. How odd, indeed!

stdan272• 16 years ago

Doesn't work for me.. I really hope this is a technical issue and not something else.

Emore• 16 years ago

This could be either because:

1) Israel is pushing Twitter to censor these terms

2) Someone at Twitter HQ blindly supports Israel

Either way it completely destroys perhaps the most important usage for Twitter: a voice for those in the epicenter of something happening.

dagw• 16 years ago

3) Some sort of technical issue or bug.

lsc2• 16 years ago

Considering the interests of all involved, this seems to me like the most likely answer. There is no way that people at twitter rationally weighed their self interest and decided to start censoring things. There is zero upside, and a rather large downside for twitter. It's just not in their financial best interest. Israel isn't going to block them or take other action that would financially harm twitter for simply publishing text messages from people. And the publicity fallout from censorship is so obviously bad that there is no way that any rational owner of twitter would approve a move like this.

My money is on a haywire spamfiltering system... but we will see. If the people running twitter are not morons, we'll see an explanation shortly.

rriepe4• 16 years ago

Please be a technical error.

They could undo a lot of good will (Iran elections, etc) just by censoring this one thing.

lsc2• 16 years ago

Regardless of the root cause, I think twitter just took one to the face. This looks pretty bad, even if they come out and say "oh, our spamfilter system malfunctioned."

I sympathise, though. I've run email spamfilters before, and boy, people get /pissed/ when false positives happen.

mattwdelong2• 16 years ago

It`s trending in Canada: http://imgur.com/XaeuJ.png

But wtf? I click it, and I can't access the search?

edit: I can report that clicking on #flotilla in trending topics is now functional.

TimH4• 16 years ago

I see people here agreeing, but when I visit http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23flotilla it appears fine?

Here's what I see: http://twitpic.com/1spne4

pieter• 16 years ago

I agree, I'd like to see a screenshot on how it is censored.

ComputerGuru• 16 years ago

http://neosmart.net/blog/2010/twitter-actively-censoring-flo...

stdan272• 16 years ago

When I click that link I get "Something is technically wrong."

TimH4• 16 years ago

Ahh - wait - I see if you search from the main site, it fails for me now too. http://search.twitter.com works though. Weird. I expect it's due to a some bug/performance failure rather than an intentional censorship. Otherwise search.twitter.com would be censored too.

dasil003• 16 years ago

Both work for me. I have to assume there was just some technical issue (due to unusual volume?) and they have it resolved now.

RuadhanMc• 16 years ago

I hope so.

silversmith• 16 years ago

The posted link shows fresh results. Clicking on the hashtag works too. Where's the problem?

Edit: Safari on iPhone, located in Latvia.

mattwdelong2• 16 years ago

There WAS a problem. I think it`s purely technical.

gojomo• 16 years ago

Headline draws controversial conclusion from incomplete data and should be changed.

For example, this could be the result of automated measures to prevent spamming the trending topics gone haywire. Or not. But accusing censorship without knowing the whole story is just hair-trigger indignation.

ertug3• 16 years ago

Changed the headline to a question.

three144• 16 years ago

When did you stop beating your wife?

I understand that you actually mean well, and mean the question seriously, but in "Internet discussion" the question mark only protects the reputation of the asker, but does nothing to protect the reputation of Twitter.

TimH4• 16 years ago

I just flagged this story. Does that mean an op will review it?

I think it's wrong to state that Twitter is censoring, and is harmful. It should have been posted as a question instead.

[edit: The poster's reviewed it.]

helium• 16 years ago

The search works for me, but only when I'm signed out. This leads me to believe that this is some sort of technical issue. Besides, I don't think they are stupid enough to do something like censoring this.

rriepe4• 16 years ago

People are now using #freedomflotilla instead of #flotilla, for those of you who wanted to participate.

rriepe4• 16 years ago

And for that matter, #flotilla now works for me, when it wasn't working before. Anyone else?

EDIT: And now it's not. This is too weird.

ertug3• 16 years ago

The hashtags #flotilla and #israil still gives "Something is technically wrong." error in Turkey. I confirmed it with many people here.

nhebb• 16 years ago

I don't get the technical error message for #flotilla, but a search on the tag acts like it's being ignored. However, http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23freedomflotilla is a trending topic and yields results.

j_baker• 16 years ago

Never attribute to malice that which can adequately be explained by stupidity.

rbanffy• 16 years ago

Or automated procedures.

You can't call your immune system stupid when you have a severe allergy. It's just doing what it evolved to do.

ErrantX• 16 years ago

Works for me intermittently; technical error.

msy• 16 years ago

I note the generally less controversial Stephen Fry is complaining about unrelated Trending Topic oddness this morning, looks like they've screwed up their system somehow and the #flotilla thing is a coincidence. http://twitter.com/stephenfry/status/15064838816

spif• 16 years ago

No, it's not: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=flotilla

fwez• 16 years ago

It probably tripped an anti-spam filter. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/may/31/twitte...

Is Twitter censoring #flotilla?

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