Following Backlash, Twitter Offers to ‘Memorialize’ Accounts Of The Deceased
Twitter announced Wednesday it will allow relatives to archive the accounts of deceased loved ones.
Jeff Chiu/AP
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Jeff Chiu/AP
Twitter will allow people to permanently archive and memorialize the accounts of deceased loved ones. The company received backlash this week after news broke that it would delete accounts that had not been logged in to in over six months.
A company spokesperson originally said inactive accounts would be removed from the platform starting in December as part of its “commitment to serve the public conversation.”
The announcement sparked a mass panic.
Numerous inactive users returned to the platform for the sole purpose of saving their accounts. Popular K-pop star Taeyang tweeted twice Wednesday, his first tweets since 2016. His messages were simple: One was a photo of a sun-shape balloon; the other just said, “Hello.”
Hello
— TAEYANG (@Realtaeyang) November 27, 2019
However, to many, the initial plan to delete inactive accounts wasn’t about losing a handle. It meant they might lose a digital remnant of their loved ones.
Harris Wittels, a comedian and television writer, died four years ago, yet his Twitter account was active Tuesday. His sister, Stephanie Wittels, logged on after she read that inactive accounts would be culled.
“Twitter is going to start deleting inactive accounts in December, and it would be a goddamn tragedy if this account got sucked into oblivion,” Wittels tweeted from her brother’s account. “So I’m tweeting to ensure that doesn’t happen.”
For others, it wasn’t possible to log on and tweet again. Drew Olanoff wrote in TechCrunch that he doesn’t have his late father’s password and thus cannot preserve his “quirky nerdy tweets.”
“It’s my way, odd or not, of remembering him. Keeping his spirit alive. His tweets are timestamped moments that he shared with the world,” Olanoff wrote.
Horrified and scared to think I’ll lose traces of my dead partner, or my dead friends. It should be possible to free up usernames without eradicating the work and words of those who are no longer around.
— General Elainovision 2019 (@scattermoon) November 26, 2019
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted Wednesday the company miscommunicated and is working to clarify its message.
Later, the company’s support account apologized for the confusion. It said the account removals will only occur in the European Union and only after a way to archive accounts is created.
“We’ve heard you on the impact that this would have on the accounts of the deceased,” the company tweeted. “This was a miss on our part. We will not be removing any inactive accounts until we create a new way for people to memorialize accounts.”
It is not clear when this function will become available.
Until then, Internet historians are offering solutions to those worried about their loved ones. Volunteers with The Internet Archive, a nonprofit digital library, created a public form that will collect the Twitter handles of deceased people and archive their accounts to the best of their abilities.
Paolo Zialcita is an intern on NPR’s Newsdesk.
Stephen F. Austin Defeats No. 1 Ranked Duke In Huge Upset
Stephen F. Austin University beat No. 1 ranked Duke in one of the biggest men’s college basketball upsets ever on Tuesday night.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Last night, a college basketball game had an ending that seemed pulled straight from your favorite cheesy sports movie. Stephen F. Austin State University, the pride of Nacogdoches, Texas, and ranked 222nd in the nation, faced the top-ranked team, Duke.
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Duke had not lost at home to a non-conference opponent in 150 games almost 20 years ago. So this was supposed to be an early season warm-up game against a completely outmatched opponent.
CHANG: Everyone expected the Lumberjacks of Stephen F. Austin to get crushed and then go home. Nathan Bain had other ideas.
SHAPIRO: With seconds left in overtime and the game tied up, Duke lost the ball. The Lumberjacks recovered. And suddenly, forward Nathan Bain had the ball at half court and a clear path to the basket.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED SPORTS ANNOUNCER #1: They’ve got a timeout. They don’t use it – Bain – yes. The Lumberjacks have done it.
CHANG: As you heard on the ACC Network, Bain’s layup with one-tenth of a second left sealed the stunning Lumberjack victory. Duke fans will spend Thanksgiving wondering what the heck happened.
SHAPIRO: And for at least the next few days, Nathan Bain is one of the biggest names in college basketball.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED SPORTS ANNOUNCER #2: Nathan Bain, this is your life. Wow.
CHANG: And about that life – Nathan Bain is from the Bahamas and the son of a minister.
SHAPIRO: His family pretty much lost everything when Hurricane Dorian ravaged the country two months ago. His father’s church was wrecked.
CHANG: Bain had all of that on his mind during a post-game interview.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
NATHAN BAIN: Man, it’s just – I’m trying real hard not to get emotional. You know, my family lost a whole lot this year. I’m not going to cry on TV. My family lost a whole lot this year, and I’m just playing this game for them, you know, just playing for my SFA family, my family back home in the Bahamas. I just want to make my country proud.
SHAPIRO: I just want to make my country proud. A GoFundMe to support his family had about $2,000 in donations before the game. As of this afternoon, not even 24 hours later, it was at $66,000 and counting.
CHANG: To be fair, almost every college basketball fan outside of Duke hates Duke. So at least some of this generosity is coming from a less-than-noble place.
SHAPIRO: One person donated $5 with the message, Duke sucks and nothing else.
CHANG: But even some Duke fans will admit this is sports hate for a good cause.
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