New media mayhem
Twitter has hit back at claims it suppressed the accounts of student protestors or worked with the police to monitor protest-related tweets, branding them ‘absurd'.
Students have used Facebook and Twitter to coordinate protests against tuition fees, which have left the police struggling to keep up with organisational changes.
However, according to The Guardian, some students, including those camping out in University College London (UCL) have claimed they could not access their Twitter accounts. They apparently switched to a new @UCLocc Twitter account after UCLOccupation stopped working for a good few hours.
Furthermore, lots of tweeple have reportedly claimed they were unable to see the #demo2010 Twitter tag and accused the company of censorship as it did not appear in the ‘trending' lists.
However, a spokesman for twitter called Matt Graves, told the newspaper there was ‘absolutely no truth' in the accusations.
"Twitter has not been contacted by UK authorities or by any UK police force regarding the use of Twitter by student protesters. Any suggestion that we have suspended or interfered with the Twitter accounts of protest groups or with hash-tags related to the protests is absurd," he reportedly said.
He insisted that Twitter is committed to an ‘open exchange of information' and has played its part in organising political protests in the past.
"We have not, and will not, do anything to stand in the way of people using Twitter for the open exchange of information. Period," he reportedly added.
