OneTwitteruser has recently taken online to express bewilderment over his ban from the platform, claiming that the suspension was dished out over some harmless photos of hisPokemongame collection. This turn of events is just the latest example of user criticism aimed at the service sinceElon Musk started his comprehensive Twitter revampearlier this year.While the Twitter Blue subscription service bore the brunt of the recent public backlash against the platform, it was far from the company’s only controversial move since its late 2022 ownership change. Back in February,Twitter was criticized for removing an important security feature, which happened not long after several public figures accused it of censorship.RELATED:Amouranth Accuses Twitter of CensorshipThe latest unflattering story starring the social media platform comes from Twitter user cantdie_, who claims the service banned him for sharing pictures of his collection ofPokemongames. The two images showing the Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and a handful of classicPokemonRPGs triggered a 12-hour ban for “promoting self-harm,” as per this first-hand account of the suspension. The photos themselves were posted in response to a user who wrote her son “would lose his mind” if he saw such bits of gaming history. Given that context, it’s plausible that the ban resulted from a mistake in Twitter’s automated systems meant to combat legitimately disturbing images shared with a malicious intent to unsettle.
While this development seems to underline recent criticism ofhow Elon Musk is running Twitter, it is possible that the mistake that caused the gaffe originated from a bug that predates the controversial billionaire’s $44 billion acquisition of the platform. On the other hand, a December 2022 report from Reuters claimed that Twitter doubled down on automation in an effort to effectively police a surge in harmful speech on the service.
It’s hence equally possible that this erroneous ban resulted from the company’s increasingly excessive dependence on imperfect content scanners; even with all the recent advancements in AI-powered natural language processing technologies, such solutions often can’t match the nuance of much more labor-intensive human reviews. Musk laid off the majority of theTwitterPR team back in November, later setting the platform’s press contact email to auto-respond with a scat emoji, so the company cannot easily be reached for clarifying comments.
Whether the platform’s troubled streak continues moving forward remains to be seen. AfterMusk recently stepped down as Twitter CEO and named his replacement, some users were left hoping that positive changes are on the horizon for the social media service.
