In Twitter, Nunes has the right target but the wrong focus | By Kara Alaimo via CNNOpinion
Kara Alaimo, an assistant professor of public relations at Hofstra University, is the author of"Pitch, Tweet, or Engage on the Street: How to Practice Global Public Relations and Strategic Communication." She was spokeswoman for international affairs in the Treasury Department during the Obama administration. Follow her on Twitter @karaalaimo. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author; view more opinion at CNN.
On Tuesday, Rep. Devin Nunes filed a defamation lawsuit against Twitter for allowing users to post insulting tweets about him. The suit also alleges that Twitter deliberately prevented users from seeing his own tweets.
Kara Alaimo On Tuesday, President Trump weighed in on the lawsuit, saying"we have to do something" about social networks because"names are taken off, people aren't getting through" and"it seems to be if they're conservatives, if they're Republicans.""It's collusive," he said. Nunes' claims against Twitter are dubious on several scores.
Social media's role in spreading hate 06:50Of course, Nunes is right that social platforms need to do more to police abuse. Specifically, they need to crack down on users who threaten or harass people on their platforms. Such activity is widespread. Forty-one percent of Americans have experienced online harassment, according to a 2017 Pew Research Center study. Of them, 18% were victims of truly frightening behavior, such as stalking and physical threats.
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