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The BBC's 'Twitter: Breaking the Bird' examines how systemic issues in content moderation and leadership shaped the platform's troubled legacy.

Overview

  • The documentary highlights Twitter's early struggles with abuse and hate speech, tracing these issues back to its inception in 2006.
  • Jack Dorsey, Twitter's co-founder, faced criticism for prioritizing free speech over content moderation and for his disengagement from addressing abuse on the platform.
  • Twitter's technical infrastructure, plagued by frequent crashes, was unprepared for the platform's rapid growth and societal influence.
  • The film underscores how Twitter's idealistic commitment to free speech enabled both movements like Black Lives Matter and harmful content like hate speech and misinformation.
  • Elon Musk's acquisition and rebranding of Twitter as X is framed as a continuation of the platform's long-standing challenges, rather than a transformative shift.