Twitter just cracked down on sites worldwide that preserved politicians' deleted tweets

(Image credit: LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images)

published 24 August 2015

Politwoops, a website that archived politicians' deleted tweets, was taken down in the United States by Twitter in June — and this weekend, Twitter pulled the rug out from about 30 other countries' versions of Politwoops as well. In a statement to the Open State Foundation, which ran the digital transparency websites, Twitter explained its thinking:

Imagine how nerve-wracking — terrifying, even — tweeting would be if it was immutable and irrevocable? No one user is more deserving of that ability than another. Indeed, deleting a tweet is an expression of the user's voice. [Twitter, via the Open State Foundation]

Arjan El Fassed, the director of Open State, argued in his own statement that, "What elected politicians publicly say is a matter of public record. Even when the tweets are deleted, it's a part of parliamentary history. Those tweets were once posted and later deleted. What politicians say in public should be available to anyone. This is not about typos but it is a unique insight on how messages from elected officials change without notice."

Twitter blocked Politwoops in countries including France, India, Britain, Germany, Egypt, Argentina, and Turkey.

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The United States has been without Politwoops for the duration of the summer — likely robbing nosy parties of some great presidential candidate #gaffes.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.