美国国家公共电台 NPR--Former members of Twitter's safety council voice concerns over Musk's acquisition

Former members of Twitter's safety council voice concerns over Musk¹'s acquisition

Transcript²

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Eirliani Abdul Rahman and Anne Collier, ex-members of Twitter's Trust and Safety Council. They say under Elon Musk, Twitter lost sight of its commitment to protect users.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The turmoil³ continues at Twitter after billionaire Elon Musk acquired the social media company. Three members of Twitter's Trust and Safety Council resigned last week, saying that Musk has undermined the platform's ability to protect its users. In a resignation letter, the former council members say Musk is embracing automated⁴ content moderation that is relying more on algorithms rather than humans to shield users from hate speech and other threats. Two of those former council members are with me now. Eirliani Abdul Rahman and Anne Collier, thanks to you both for being here.

EIRLIANI ABDUL RAHMAN: Pleasure.

ANNE COLLIER: Good to be here.

MARTIN: May I start with you, Eirliani? Can you explain what the Trust and Safety Council does?

RAHMAN: Yeah. We are a body that was invited by Twitter to join and make sure that the conversations that's fostered on the platform is healthy.

MARTIN: Why did you not see this council as being an effective way to moderate content on Twitter?

RAHMAN: I think, for me, the - I mean, I've also talked about this elsewhere. It was really watching the whole negotiation⁵ process take place when Elon Musk was negotiating the purchase. And at that time, I wrote down some commitments to myself that I would resign should he cross the threshold. And cross the red lines he did. You know, we've seen data from Anti-Defamation League and the Center for Countering Digital Hate. The numbers are actually terrifying. So in terms of average number of tweets per day, in the first two weeks, antisemitic posts went up by 61% - against gay men, the corresponding number is 58%. I find that highly unacceptable.

MARTIN: And all this data you're quoting is in the time period since Musk took over?

RAHMAN: Completely correct. And these are the data that my fellow former peers put forward. And they were part - they are part of the council and still are in there. And the other red line that he crossed was when previously⁶ banned accounts were reinstated - so for example, the ones that led up to what happened January 6 here in the U.S. So for me, all these were highly, highly problematic. We were hoping that our - with our resignations, it would prompt a rethinking within Twitter, within the council, but also just generally within Twitter headquarters to reconsider what's happening to the content moderation and to make it a safer space for the public.

MARTIN: Anne, in your resignation letter, you said Twitter is moving toward automated content moderation. Why is that risky⁷ in your view?

COLLIER: Content moderation is very complex and highly nuanced. It's also very contextual. It's very, very hard for algorithms to determine what truly is harmful without any context whatsoever⁸. Human beings are needed to do that. And we know that Twitter staff is massively reduced. And Twitter has to be reliant on automated content moderation more. So - and that's an announcement directly from Twitter itself.

MARTIN: I mean, do you believe he intends to disband the Trust and Safety Council and replace it with something else, his own appointees?

COLLIER: We don't know. But it's quite possible because if he didn't form us, then perhaps he wants to be the one to form a new group. It's just really hard to know. You know, we're really seeing progress in the industry. There's more regulatory scrutiny⁹. There are more laws. The companies are responding. But Twitter's doing the exact opposite. And that's what has to - something has to be done about that.

MARTIN: Anne Collier and Eirliani Abdul Rahman, former members of Twitter's Trust and Safety Council. Thanks so much for your time.

RAHMAN: Thank you.

COLLIER: Thanks for having us.

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1 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

4 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

5 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

6 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

7 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

8 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

9 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。