Twitter’s Response to the Oscars Slap Was a Predictable Cycle

So many of these social-media conflicts involve the amplification of other content—the best example here is the quote tweet. An amplification of something you disagree with will create awareness and act as a signal. But that signal will likely recruit members from both sides of the conflict. It may have the intended effect of creating pressure on t... See more

In Waghre’s model, he has a Group A, which kicks the storm off with a post that includes some piece of content or speech that is deemed dangerous by Group B. When Group B calls it out—a behavior incentivized by algorithmic engagement, as other members of Group B reward it—Group A members will usually double down.

Raising awareness and pushing back or calling others out might be righteous at times, but it also means generating engagement for yourself or your cause and the thing you dislike. There’s a constant risk/reward calculus we’re asked to make before posting, and the problem is that the deck is stacked against us. We take the prompt, we play the role, ... See more