Subverting the Platform Flexibility of Twitter to Spread Misinformation

Abstract

This chapter examines the evolution of Twitter from a platform for sharing ideas to one where users can engage in disruptive, negative, or nefarious activities because of platform features. We articulate this development by distinguishing Twitter’s primary design from its current deceptive use, particularly through an exploration of how users spread misinformation through the platform’s more recently modified features: the Fav to Like button, increased character limit, and the timeout function. We discuss the concepts of dark, gray, and light patterns as they relate to Twitter’s design principles. The resulting definitions allow for a better understanding and an easier detection of manipulative knowledge-sharing, and explore the development of countermeasures.