By Warner Todd Huston ——Bio and Archives--June 18, 2009
American Politics, News | CFP Comments | Reader Friendly | Subscribe | Email Us
The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday it had contacted the social networking service Twitter to urge it to delay a planned upgrade that would have cut daytime service to Iranians who are disputing their election.The Australian Broadcast Company also reported this U.S. State Dept. claim.
The US government asked micro-blogging service Twitter to delay maintenance plans because of the site's use as a communications tool by Iranians following their disputed election.CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 Blog also reported this State Dept. claim:
For example, senior officials say the State Department asked Twitter to refrain for going down for periodic scheduled maintenance at this critical time to ensure the site continues to operate. Bureau’s and offices across the State Department, they say, are paying very close attention to Twitter and other sites to get information on the situation in Iran.It all sounds like the incredibly hip cats at Foggy Bottom, being all plugged into the Internet tubes and all, were right on top of the situation, eh? Reading those Tweets and Twits and stuff was of top national importance, they claimed. Why, maybe even Secretary of State Hillary Clinton herself is a Twit! It seems that many Old Media outlets were hot to give the State Dept. credit, too. Not so fast. Unfortunately for the State Dept., Twitter says the claim is not really true. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said, “…it's important to note that the State Department does not have access to our decision making process.” Stone told reporters that the State Dept. did not have anything to do with its decision to skip the down time. That's two different stories, here. So why did Obama's State Department try to claim credit for something it probably had no role in? Is it because the State Department realized it was out of the loop, without assets on the ground, completely irrelevant in one of the most important foreign policy stories of the day? Or is Twitter just trying to reinforce that it isn't controlled by the U.S. government? Already one half-wit at the DailyKos was whipping up fear that Twitter is controlled by Washington. Maybe Twitter wanted to nip such talk in the bud? (H/T Mary Katharine Ham of the Weekly Standard Blog) In any case, I find it hard to believe that the laggards at State had much to do with Twitter's decision. It may have lately come to the realization of how integral Twitter was to the flow of information, but it doesn't seem likely that State was so on top of the situation that its entreaties factored much into Twitter's decision.
View Comments
Warner Todd Huston’s thoughtful commentary, sometimes irreverent often historically based, is featured on many websites such as Breitbart.com, among many, many others. He has also written for several history magazines, has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows.
He is also the owner and operator of Publius’ Forum.