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Users Concerned about Twitter Seek Alternative Services

时间:2022-11-14 01:18:33

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Twitter has already seen a drop in users since American billionaire Elon Musk1 bought the social media service last month.

Some users and experts have expressed concerns about Musk's stated plans to limit existing restrictions2 on user content. Musk has said his goal is to protect the free speech of Twitter users. But critics say his plan could increase the amount of harmful content and hate speech appearing on the service.

Musk also announced plans to start charging Twitter users $8 a month to keep a verified account.

How many people have left Twitter?

Bot Sentinel is a company that looks for inauthentic behavior on Twitter. It recently estimated the service saw 877,000 accounts deactivated4 between October 27 and November 1. In addition, Bot Sentinel said it identified about 497,000 accounts that had been suspended during the same period. The company's findings were reported by MIT Technology Review.

"We believe the (rise) in deactivations is the result of people upset with Elon Musk purchasing Twitter and deciding to deactivate3 their accounts in protest," Bot Sentinel chief Christopher Bouzy told the publication.

Musk himself tweeted that "Twitter user numbers have increased significantly around the world since the deal was announced." Musk did not provide exact numbers to support his claim.

Even if Twitter did lose nearly a million users after Musk's takeover, the social media service still remains5 huge. The company said earlier this year it had more than 238 million active daily users.

What alternatives to Twitter exist?

One of the main alternatives to Twitter is a service called Mastodon. It was created by German developer Eugen Rochko in 2016. Mastodon looks like and operates very similarly to Twitter. It lets users post short messages and other content. The service does not have advertisements.

But Mastodon is very different from Twitter because it uses a decentralized system. Each user must sign up to an independently operated server. The servers are largely run by volunteer administrators6 who link their systems together.

Rochko has said one goal of Mastodon is to provide the public with a social media network that does not depend on a centralized organization, like Twitter and Facebook do. The service is also designed to provide more privacy protections.

In a message posted on the service earlier this week, Rochko said Mastodon had reached more than 1 million active users in the days after Musk bought Twitter.

Ethan Zuckerman is a social media expert at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He wrote in a message last week, "I've gotten more new followers7 on Mastodon in the last week than I have in the previous five years."

Supporters of Mastodon note that no single company or person can force their will on the whole system or shut it all down. For example, they say if an extremist voice appeared on a particular server, it would be easy enough for other servers to cut ties. This would leave the account alone on the server with a shrinking group of followers.

But this shared nature of Mastodon can lead to some issues. It is generally harder to find people to follow in Mastodon's unusual system than the centrally administered offerings of Twitter.

Technical issues can also be more common on Mastodon, especially now that the service is experiencing fast growth. The design is also less developed than other services and some users have noted8 a more difficult sign-up process.

Content moderation is also a concern to some. This is because the process is completely run by server administrators, who get to decide what users are permitted to post.

Another alternative to Twitter is a service called Cohost, which promises its users their personal data will never be sold.

Established social networks like Tumblr and the voice-based service Clubhouse have also seen recent rises in popularity.

A few other start-ups are also gaining attention, including Counter Social and Tribel Social. In addition, there are the right-wing offerings such as Gab9, Parler and Truth Social, the service launched by former U.S. President Donald Trump10.

Words in This Story

content – n. the information or ideas included in a book, film, on a website, etc.

verify – v. to prove that something is true

inauthentic – adj. not real

upset - adj. angry or unhappy

significantly - adv. in a way that is large or important enough to be noticed or have an effect

alternative – n. one of two or more things that you can choose between

moderate – v. to make sure the rules of an internet discussion are not broken

right-wing – adj. supporting the ideas of parties on the political right


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 musk v6pzO     
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 restrictions 81e12dac658cfd4c590486dd6f7523cf     
约束( restriction的名词复数 ); 管制; 制约因素; 带限制性的条件(或规则)
参考例句:
  • I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
  • a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制
3 deactivate oy8xP     
v.使无效;复员
参考例句:
  • Russia is deactivating some of its deadliest missiles.俄罗斯正在拆除其一些最危险的导弹。
  • I go through several complex steps to try to "deactivate" my profile.我尝试了那些复杂的步骤,试图“撤销”我的个人资料。
4 deactivated 7c04d50ec1496027d0ed6fd0d6f00a85     
v.解除动员( deactivate的过去式和过去分词 );使无效;复员;使不活动
参考例句:
  • \"The brain can be deactivated. It can be yours to command.\" “大脑计算机可以被停止。如果你下达命令的话。” 来自互联网
  • He successfully deactivated a nuclear reactor in a laboratory before meltdown. 他成功停用一个核反应堆在实验室之前崩溃。 来自互联网
5 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
6 administrators d04952b3df94d47c04fc2dc28396a62d     
n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 );有管理(或行政)才能的人;(由遗嘱检验法庭指定的)遗产管理人;奉派暂管主教教区的牧师
参考例句:
  • He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员,但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
  • Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城
7 followers 5c342ee9ce1bf07932a1f66af2be7652     
追随者( follower的名词复数 ); 用户; 契据的附面; 从动件
参考例句:
  • the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
  • The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。
8 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
9 gab l6Xyd     
v.空谈,唠叨,瞎扯;n.饶舌,多嘴,爱说话
参考例句:
  • The young man had got the gift of gab.那个年轻小贩能说会道。
  • She has the gift of the gab.她口才很好。
10 trump LU1zK     
n.王牌,法宝;v.打出王牌,吹喇叭
参考例句:
  • He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
  • The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手,作为他的王牌。

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