Social media has changed everything, we know that, but something we may not give enough importance is that social media, specifically Twitter, changed and broke the news.
The event was described in an article by The verge. Twitter first appeared as a digital place where people could get everything they wanted in real time, updates from their friends, from their favorite celebrities, and of course, news.
The feeling of being in the same place as your favorite celebrity or even a politician made Twitter feel like a democratic place, but of course it wasn’t. You could even reply to the Pope’s tweets, tell him something important or just make fun of him. This false sense of closeness made journalists think they were in the best place for news.
Journalists could do anything so easily. They always had the opportunity to respond to politicians, reach a new source with just a new DM, instantly reach a large audience, and there was always the chance of a hit tweet.
But not everything was as great as it seemed, Twitter made journalists focus on metrics, always chasing the big story and forgetting the small community stories. The focus on Twitter also led to the exploitation of reporters’ work for social media, there was a time when journalists were expected to make money from Twitter, but it only served to promote their brands.
Twitter also made people addicted to fame and attention.
The perfect example of this is Elon Musk. He became so obsessed with this artificial place where suddenly a bunch of people agreed with him that, in one of his most delusional and megalomaniacal moments, he decided to buy the platform and lead it to its final moments.
The Verge also wrote that journalists have become so attached to Twitter that even in this new X form, with Musk attacking and mocking them, they still can’t leave the platform.
Twitter has had a huge impact on news and journalists, but maybe it’s time to let it go.
