Trump is really mad at Twitter now
Now that President Trump has succeeded in achieving free and fair trade, supporting religious freedom, and generally just making America great again, he's ready to move on to other issues — namely, fixing Twitter.
Trump on Thursday tweeted that he would get the government involved in ending the platform's "shadow banning," an algorithm change that some Republicans say has led to suppressed engagement and fewer followers.
The president's favorite form of communication has been accused of bias against conservative figures, which the company has acknowledged and said it is trying to rectify. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Wednesday told The Hill that he felt "victimized and violated" by Twitter, accusing the company of trying to tamp down his free speech. "It's really frustrating to think that the marketplace of ideas couldn't accommodate the thoughts and musings that I contribute," he said.
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Other Republicans, like Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), have allegedly been affected by the "shadow banning," with their profiles becoming more difficult to find and each tweet gaining fewer and fewer "impressions." The change came when Twitter began trying to bring less attention to "troll-like behaviors."
Twitter's product lead, Kayvon Beykpour, tweeted an explanation that the system wasn't actively suppressing users based on their political views, and promised that "we’re making a change today that will improve this."
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