B2 – Upper Intermediate
Shadow banning or comment ghosting is a way of suspending an account on social media networks like Twitter. The user thinks their posts are going through when in fact, their contents are not visible nor accessible to others.
Twitter is working on a feature that will show whether an account is shadowbanned and the reason behind it. In addition, it will show the users how to appeal for their accounts not to be shadowbanned.
Read the article and watch the video to know more about Twitter’s new feature that will determine whether an account has been shadowbanned.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/09/tech/musk-twitter-shadowbanning
Vocabulary Questions:
- What is “shadow banning”? “Twitter is rolling out a new feature that will flag ‘shadowbanning.” Use it in your own sentence.
- What does “outcry” mean? “With that announcement, Musk, who has said he now votes Republican, prompted an outcry from some conservatives, who accused him of continuing a practice they opposed.” Give 1-2 synonyms of this word. Use it in your own sentence.
- What does “thread” mean in this sentence, “Musk on Friday shared Weiss’ thread in a tweet and added, “The Twitter Files, Part Duex!!” along with two popcorn emojis.”? Use it in your own sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- What are your thoughts on shadow banning?
- What do you think about Twitter’s new feature that will flag shadow banning?
- Should negative/hate tweets be de-boosted and demonetized? Explain your stand.