RIP, Environmental Twitter.
Nearly half of environmental users went inactive after Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, research finds.a science reporter covering the environment, climate, and energy with a decade of experience. She is also the host of the Hell or High Water podcast.
“We saw that there was a vibrant community engaging in discourse around environmental topics. This then raised the question of how this community may be impacted by changes to Twitter’s governance,” Charlotte Chang, lead author of the research and an assistant professor of biology and environmental analysis at Pomona College, said in aThat once “vibrant community” on X has withered, Chang and her team found.
Chang and her colleagues analyzed Twitter activity between July 2019 and April 2023. They identified 380,000 users that “frequently discussed” climate change and biodiversity conservation, a group the paper refers to as “Environmental Twitter.” By this April, only 52.5 percent of those users were still active, which the researchers defined as having posted at least once every 15 days.
Members of Environmental Twitter were much more likely to drop off the platform than other users. The researchers compared them to a broader control group of individuals that was really involved in Twitter discussions of the 2020 presidential election, dubbed “Politics Twitter.” There were 458,000 members of Politics Twitter after removing accounts that were also part of Environmental Twitter in order to avoid double counting. Only 20.
For both groups, but more dramatic within Environmental Twitter, the proportion of active users dropped sharply after Musk’s acquisition of the platform was finalized in October 2022. The trend coincides with other problems on Twitter that have cropped up for scientists and environmental advocates since Musk stepped in and made big changes on the platform.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Elon Musk Is Throttling Twitter Links to Sites That Have Vexed HimTwitter owner Elon Musk is affecting traffic to news outlets and competitors by slowing down access to their links.
Read more »
Elon Musk's Twitter/X Throttling Web Traffic Reignites Debate over Net NeutralityThe Washington Post alleged that X, formerly known as Twitter, has throttled traffic to websites he reportedly dislikes, which has reignited the debate over net neutrality.
Read more »
Twitter Now Throttling Traffic to Sites Elon Musk Doesn’t LikeX-formerly-Twitter owner Elon Musk is making it more difficult to access content via external links by literally slowing them down.
Read more »
NYU Professor Locked Out of Twitter After Reportedly Declining to Meet With Elon MuskScott Galloway says he was locked out of his account after Elon Musk felt the podcast had 'unfairly attacked' him.
Read more »
Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover Sparked an Exodus of Climate Voices, Researchers FindX, formerly Twitter, has seen a rise in harassment and misinformation, pushing out progressive, climate-minded account users.
Read more »
Twitter Has Undeniably Gotten Better Under Elon MuskAs with any change in leadership, there will always be differing opinions, but the data and tangible improvements speak for themselves.
Read more »