[pjc50]

> very short 'soundbite' structure onto debate

But as you say the traditional media do this too - and have been just as instrumental in the rise of Trump. The "false equivalence" media structure, and the direct promotion of right-wing editorial through Murdoch news properties, are also extremely important.

[sitkack]

Propaganda is asymmetric, it takes more energy to communicate and rebut with Truth than it does to fabricate lies. Truth requires precision, clarity and subtlety; lies are a dead-blow hammer.

[pjc50]

Yes. But this isn't new and certainly isn't specific to Twitter.

[sitkack]

The channel capacity is full of false. So responding takes more than one tweet of true. The medium of twitter makes it hard to rebut anything but the most simple statements.

[chiefalchemist]

Agreed. Twitter is only a clearer mirror of who we really are.

[bsenftner]

No, "conversations" on twitter are a reflection of the platform's limited ability to convey the nuance and subtle nature of truth in contexts that matter.

[chiefalchemist]

Thank you for saying "traditional media" and not using the word journalists.

Wanna bring my blood to a quick boil? Have a news program that pulls content from Twitter. And usually completely unvetted. Who needs legit sources?

It this regard, Twitter is an idea shit show. You can find just about anything said about anything there. So to pull more or less randomly is, to me, unimaginable and too often inappropriate and upsetting.