"Don't Forget The Human Behind The Screen" Twitter Disclaimer

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About

"Don't Forget The Human Behind The Screen" or "Heads Up. Conversations Like This Can Be Intense." refers to a disclaimer that Twitter attaches to potentially volatile tweets on their mobile app that may cause anger or debate to discourage users from harassing or attacking the person who posted the tweet via comments, retweets and other forms of engagement. Twitter announced they'd be rolling the disclaimer out on October 6th, 2021. In December, Twitter users began noticing the disclaimers more frequently. Conservative voices have criticized Twitter's use of the disclaimer as a form of censorship, claiming it is more commonly attached to tweets that support conservative talking points and opinions, although this is debatable as the disclaimer seems to be attached to political tweets broadly.

History

On October 6th, 2021, the official @TwitterSupport Twitter^[1] account posted, "Ever want to know the vibe of a conversation before you join in? We’re testing prompts on Android and iOS that give you a heads up if the convo you’re about to enter could get heated or intense. This is a work in progress as we learn how to better support healthy conversation." The post gained over 3,000 likes and 2,900 retweets and includes screenshots of the disclaimer (shown below). The Verge^[4] reported on the new disclaimers on October 7th.

Heads up. Conversations like this can be intense. Don't forget the human behind the screen.

On December 14th, 2021, more Twitter users began to notice the disclaimer underneath some tweets and call it out, specifically ones discussing politics. The disclaimer reads "Heads up. Conversations like this can be intense. Don’t forget the human behind the screen," an attempt to stop Twitter users from harassing the tweet's poster for their opinions. An early example of this is a tweet^[2] by @tomselliott sharing a video of White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki saying she doesn't know anyone who is concerned about the national debt crisis. Twitter^[3] user @RonaldMcPaul commented on the post that day noting the disclaimer, simply writing, "Heads up Conversations like this can be intense. Don’t forget the human behind the screen."

Online Presence

Memes

On December 15th, Instagram^[5] page meaningful_incellectuals_only posted a screenshot of a tweet by Twitter^[6] user @Mrhflrs reading "has anyone checked on obama havent seen his shitty little playlist making its rounds," showing the disclaimer under it, gaining over 3,500 likes in two weeks (shown below).

On December 27th, Instagram^[8] user boomer.jim posted a meme using the disclaimer, gaining over 18,000 likes in a day (shown below).

Criticism

Conservative Censorship Concerns

The disclaimer has been called out by a number of conservative web users, who claim it is unfairly attached to posts sharing conservative viewpoints. Some see this as a form of censorship. On December 14th, Twitter^[9] user @catturd2 posted about the disclaimer claiming it is being attached to "just about every conservative tweet," gaining over 4,500 likes and 830 retweets in two weeks (shown below).

A number of conservatives have posted screenshots of their tweets with the disclaimer to call Twitter out for censorship. On December 18th, Instagram^[7] user and conservative news personality Carl Higbie posted a screenshot of a tweet sharing a news story about Elon Musk paying billions in taxes, a red arrow pointing to the disclaimer, gaining over 650 likes in 10 days (shown below). The top comment reads "OMG feelings checkers. I can’t."

On December 20th, Senator Marsha Blackburn shared on Facebook a screenshot of one of her tweets, reading "Biden will shut down your child's school before he shuts down the southern border," highlighting the attached disclaimer with the caption "Twitter’s right, illegal aliens killing innocent Americans is intense," criticizing the disclaimer (shown below, left). The disclaimer has also been seen on Steven Crowder's tweets (shown below, right).

In contrast to this, the disclaimer can be found on tweets from liberal and left-leaning posters as well, suggesting it is attached to political posts broadly, particularly if they share strong opinions. For example, the disclaimer has been seen on socialist steamer Hasan Piker's posts (shown below, left) and on tweets from the Working Families Party, a minor left-wing political party (shown below, right).^[10]^[11]