Twitter: Defining Online PR
Twitter is the ultimate public relations platform. In the past few years, multiple events, scandals, news stories, etc. have stemmed from a simple tweet; many of which violated Twitter’s Rules. The tweets so far have been allowed because they contribute to the larger scheme of the public interest, though the platform is aware they can also be quite damaging. Enter: The warning label.
In Summer 2019, Twitter announced that it would begin adding warning labels to controversial tweets from high-profile users while continuing the practice of disabling those that are excessive in their abuse. The warnings will mask the original tweet with a label explaining why the message has been hidden along with an option for users to view the tweet by clicking a ‘view’ button.
Twitter’s new warning label allows the user to view the tweet by selecting the ‘view’ button at the user’s own discretion.
Twitter is exemplifying the ‘Free Flow of Information’ clause within the code of ethics set by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), “… protecting and advancing the free flow of accurate and truthful information is essential to serving the public interest and contributing to informed decision making in a democratic society.” By allowing the tweets to still be viewable by an advised audience they are removing themselves from liability while still allowing the public to make their own conclusion regarding what was said.
There does seem to be a bias here that high-profile users such as celebrities or politicians are above the rules set out by Twitter, but this exception has been created because they have greater influence over the public. Many of these distinguished users employ the platform to make their announcements, release anticipated statements, or provide news. General users of the platform will not likely see much of a difference in their daily activity and still have the ability to be removed from the platform should they go too far with their comments.
Businesses however, particularly those with influence, will now have to proceed with additional caution. Previously, a business may have been able to post a statement without the public knowing if it went against the rules or not. Now, a rule breaking tweet could mean the difference in a judgement call by a potential customer.
Small businesses, however, will need to avoid being too controversial with their posts, as they’ll likely fall under the same category as a general Twitter user and losing their Twitter profile means cutting off a major marketing resource. Needless to say, only time will tell how this new change will be received but one thing is for sure — we’re finally getting some direction as to what will be accepted and what will not on the networking service that reshaped communication around the world.
