Twitter yesterday confirmed it is working on an edit feature. “Now that everyone is asking… yes, we’ve been working on an edit feature since last year! no, we didn’t get the idea from a poll. We’re kicking off testing within @TwitterBlue Labs in the coming months to learn what works, what doesn’t, and what’s possible.”
Twitter Comms also followed the tweet with a GIF that shows the user pressing the ‘more’ tab, and the ‘edit tweet’ option appearing in the lowdown. The demand for edit button was also recently fanned by Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, who retweeted Elon Musk’s poll and said, “The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully.” Musk has posted a poll, asking users, “Do you want an edit button?”
Now imagine, if there is an option to edit. For many of these troll accounts, it could be a quick way to just post an abusive tweet, let it be there for their five minutes of fame, and then edit it out before the proposed time limit goes up. For women, it is already harder to keep track and report these tweets. Edited tweets will just complicate the issue further.
The ‘Edit’ button also raises concerns given the nature of Twitter. It is a public platform where most of us are sharing our public opinions, likes and dislikes, with millions of strangers. Unlike Facebook or Instagram, both of which can function as private spaces, Twitter has always been viewed as having more public importance. Never mind that the number of users on Twitter is nowhere close to Facebook or Instagram, it is definitely perceived as an important platform to mark your public presence. And how the ‘Edit’ button impacts these public conversations needs to be carefully considered.
