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The controversy over Twitter’s refusal to ban far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones continues to expand — with many users speaking out against the site’s confusing and often contradictory policies. Increasingly, this even includes members of Twitter staff who’ve voiced their frustrations on the platform they’re working hard to save.
The latest staffer to speak out is an engineer named Jared Gaut, who announced in a viral Monday-evening thread — one that he addressed directly to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey — that he would be logging out of Twitter and deleting the app to send a message about his company’s flailing direction.
I’ve been a daily user of @twitter for the last 11 years - long before I started working at Twitter. I won’t be a “monthly active user” during the rest of Q3. I’m deleting the @twitter app from all my devices and signing out of all browsers. @jack, thread
— jared. (@jaredgaut) August 14, 2018
According to his LinkedIn profile, Gaut joined Twitter in 2014, and currently works as a systems engineer. In his thread, he offered a personal perspective on the good-faith efforts Twitter employees have made to combat rampant toxicity across the platform.
I love @twitter, the company and service, but right now we are making the wrong decisions. Everyone at Twitter passionately wants to make the world better.
— jared. (@jaredgaut) August 14, 2018
We want to do it by bringing people together and encouraging constructive, fun, intelligent conversation. We want Twitter to be a megaphone for the voices that need it most.
— jared. (@jaredgaut) August 14, 2018
Many, many people across several orgs have done a great amount of fantastic work towards this. I believe leadership truly have their hearts in the right place and genuinely want Twitter to be a safe place, but right now leadership is failing us.
— jared. (@jaredgaut) August 14, 2018
But as he began to describe the cyclical inaction that Twitter seems to be mired in, Gaut sounded more like one of the site’s many frustrated longtime users than a proud employee.
Gaut specifically called out a crucial element of the problem with Twitter’s recent decision-making: As a private business, rather than a government, Twitter is not actually under any obligation to “remain neutral” in the intersection of concerns about harmful, dehumanizing language and free speech on the platform. To Gaut, Twitter’s failure to recognize this fact has silenced marginalized voices.
We are not a government. We do not need to be neutral. The feeling that we are making the tough, right call by remaining neutral is wrong. Our inaction is suppressing voices - disabling conversation.
— jared. (@jaredgaut) August 14, 2018
We may come around and make the right decision this time, but how long until we are right here again? We are stuck in an infinite loop.
— jared. (@jaredgaut) August 14, 2018
Gaut isn’t the first Twitter staffer to publicly express disagreement with the company’s recent decision-making.
Last week, another engineer, Mike Cvet, reacted to Dorsey’s highly controversial thread about allowing Jones to remain on Twitter to say that the platform needed to consistently enforce its existing policies, as well as make sure they’re working well.
I don't agree with everything Twitter does or doesn't do. If we can consistently enforce the policies and terms of service for the platform, that's a good thing. But it doesn't mean we should be satisfied with the policies we have.https://t.co/EUhRmAYkpS
— Mike Cvet (@mikecvet) August 8, 2018
And on the consumer side, many Twitter users have been trying to force the company’s hand — most notably by sharing a viral thread that explains how users can mass-block the Twitter accounts of Fortune 500 companies, thereby directly targeting Twitter’s most lucrative potential advertisers.
Good morning! To encourage Twitter to drop Alex Jones, I just blocked the Twitter accounts of every Fortune 500 company w/ a Twitter presence. Ready to mass block Twitter's most lucrative advertisers with me? There are three quick & easy ways. Instructions are in this thread.
— Shannon Coulter (@shannoncoulter) August 12, 2018
The idea is that as soon as Twitter boots Jones from its platform, these Twitter users will unblock from their feeds the accounts of the Fortune 500 companies — essentially holding their engagement with both the platform and the advertisers hostage in exchange for Jones’s banning.
Twitter has yet to respond publicly to Gaut, or to comment on the user-driven Fortune 500 campaign. But Dorsey did reply to Cvet on Twitter, thanking Cvet for his comments and claiming that the site needs to “constantly evolve” its policies.
Definitely not happy with where our policies are. They need to constantly evolve. Doing that work. Thanks for the thoughtful tweets and push, Mike https://t.co/UyY1wlvv4D
— jack (@jack) August 8, 2018
On Friday, a new report from the New York Times described the company’s ongoing attempts to crash-course its way toward an effective solution in the wake of the backlash over Jones. But the feeling among many users and critics is that Twitter doesn’t need more evolution. Rather, it needs to consistently and clearly enforce its existing rules using a consistent and clear value system, instead of making up what appear to be convoluted exceptions to those policies and creating the perception that it will do anything to allow certain powerful figures to remain on the site, no matter what they say.
Good morning! To encourage Twitter to drop Alex Jones, I just blocked the Twitter accounts of every Fortune 500 company w/ a Twitter presence. Ready to mass block Twitter's most lucrative advertisers with me? There are three quick & easy ways. Instructions are in this thread.
— Shannon Coulter (@shannoncoulter) August 12, 2018
As for Gaut, he ended his thread by expressing apparent skepticism at what looks to be an upcoming Twitter staff meeting to discuss the progress the company is making — scheduled for October 1, almost two months from now.
— jared. (@jaredgaut) August 14, 2018
Neither Gaut nor Twitter immediately responded to a request for comment.