Amid the #BlackLivesMatter protests across the US, social media has once again become a key tool for sharing information, and spreading the message of what people are experiencing on the ground.
But with the influx of activity around related hashtags, along with scammers and spammers trying to hijack the discussion streams, platforms will inevitably face some challenges in keeping everything running smoothly.
Today, Twitter is working to resolve an issue with its API which has seen links shared within WhatsApp not rendering correctly within WhatsApp chats.
this is concerning.
WhatsApp had suddenly stopped displaying a tweet preview when you share its URL. myself & my network have been sharing resources like this (on the ground, from twitter) non-stop this week — why the sudden blackout @WhatsApp? today vs. yday ???? pic.twitter.com/CyMKc5FpHM
— Alice Ophelia (@iamaliceophelia) June 2, 2020
Given the usage of WhatsApp to share messaging among protest groups, this is a key channel, and Twitter has noted that it is working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
Twitter has also seen ‘technical difficulties‘ with its Trends listings, while it’s also removed several profiles which portrayed themselves as ANTIFA groups, in order to provoke further tension among protesters.
Instagram, too, has faced technical challenges, with the mass-use of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag triggering its anti-spam filters, while TikTok has also had to work to accommodate the sudden rise in related posts.
If you’re having difficulty sharing tweet links via WhatsApp, the situation should be resolved shortly, while Twitter continues to work to keep its systems operational amid rising demand.
