Poll: Twitter has radically changed the work of journalists in 15 years: since its takeover by controversial billionaire Elon Musk, the future of the social network is unclear

By Paul Ricard

On the positive side, access to a multitude of sources and information, but on the negative side, a distorted view of reality and the risk of closing oneself in a bubble: in less than 15 years, Twitter has radically changed the work of journalists. Since its acquisition by the controversial billionaire Elon Musk, uncertainty surrounds the future of the social network with 237 million daily users, where journalists are massively present.

“A lot of people would find it hard to leave it because it’s such a huge part of their job,” Nic Newman, of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, told AFP. This British media expert worked at the BBC “when Twitter was born, in 2008-2009”. “Once their initial reluctance got over, journalists took it incredibly strongly,” he recalls. And its use is “profoundly ambivalent”, explains the editorial director of INA (National Audiovisual Institute), Antoine Bayet, interviewed by AFP during the Medias en Seine festival in Paris.

One of the changes introduced by Twitter has been to facilitate direct contact of journalists with sources of information, both experts and politicians. “Twitter was the new Rolodex,” smiles Mr. Newman, referring to an old rotary address book from the twentieth century.

Another revolution, the media have ceased to be systematically the first to reveal an event to the public, often preceded by tweets witnessing sudden news (accident, attack…). “This has significantly changed the role of journalists, now more related to contextualizing and verifying information” released for the first time on Twitter, underlines Mr. Newman. Likewise, institutions, politicians or celebrities communicate frequently via Twitter and vigilance is essential.

On a more personal level, Twitter has allowed some journalists “to build themselves there as a brand in their own right, even beyond their employer,” Stephen Barnard, a media researcher at American Butler University, reports to AFP. However, after the initial fever, critical voices were heard. “Twitter is destroying American journalism,” New York Times columnist Farhad Manjoo proclaimed in a column in 2019. He emphasized the fact that its way of operating encourages controversy and instant outrage, without flinching.

Another recurring criticism: the fact that this network where CSP+ and activists are overrepresented offers a vision that is not that of the majority of the population. At the risk of isolating journalists from reality. “Focusing on Twitter tends to distort the way people, journalists included, see the world. It makes certain behaviors and opinions seem more widespread than they actually are,” Mathew Ingram, digital media specialist at the magazine, tells AFP. American Columbia Journalism Review.

“It was definitely a problem in the newsrooms,” adds Newman. “I hope this is a point that journalists are aware of,” Mr. Barnard wants to believe. “The question is not necessarily that of the instrument, but of the distance that we can put or not with it,” abounds Mr. Bayet. Finally, the last element of Twitter’s accountability, “it has exposed journalists to a flood of disinformation and harassment like never before,” notes Ingram.

After massive layoffs by Elon Musk, who makes no secret of his contempt for journalists, fears have emerged that Twitter will simply cease to function. Although it seems unlikely to him, Mr. Barnard judges “that alongside Twitter employees themselves, journalists would be among the most affected categories”. For Mathew Ingram, “they should go back to more traditional ways of searching and reporting information and find other ways to engage with readers. But maybe that would be a good thing.”