Stories by Jacob Knutson

Twitter to allow users to hide replies to posts

Activist group, Change the Terms Reducing Hate Online, outside Twitter Headquarters in San Francisco. — Erin Shields of Baltimore and Media Justice protests with the activist group Change the Terms Reducing Hate Online outside Twitter Headquarters in San Francisco, Nov. 19. Photo: Philip Pacheco/FP via Getty Images

Twitter announced in a new blog post that it will allow global users to hide replies to their tweets in an effort to help people "feel safe and comfortable" on the platform.

The big picture: This isn't the social media company's first attempt to curb harassment and encourage online civility, but it is the first push to give users control over the tone and topic of a Twitter thread before it is derailed by irrelevant, insulting or unnecessarily unpleasant commentary.

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But, but, but: "Hide Replies has been one of Twitter's more controversial features to date," per TechCrunch. The new feature could silence warranted criticism or dissent, such as fact checks.

How it works: Users can hide replies to posts, but the comments will not be deleted. Other users can see the buried replies by tapping a grey icon that will appear directly on the tweets.

What they're saying: Suzanne Xie, director of product management for Twitter, said, "To give you more control over the conversations you start, we tested the option for you to hide replies to your Tweets."

Xie added that some users involved in the test questioned how politicians and public figures would use the update. She said so far they have not hidden replies often.

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Twitter

Jacob Knutson6 hours ago

Coldplay suspends touring over environmental concerns

Chris Martin of Coldplay performs in Argentina in 2017. Photo: Santiago Bluguermann/Getty Images

Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, said in an interview with the BBC Thursday that the band will not tour its latest album, "Everyday Life," because of concerns over the environmental impact of global tours.

The big picture: Instead of a tour, the band will broadcast two performances from Amman, Jordan, for free on YouTube on Friday, Nov. 22 — the new album's release date.

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Climate change

Jacob KnutsonNov 20, 2019

U.S. taxpayers have spent $6.4 trillion on post-9/11 conflicts

A boy watches a U.S. convoy on patrol in Syria, Oct. 31. Photo: Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images

American taxpayers so far spent $6.4 trillion on costs related to and caused by post-9/11 wars and conflicts in more than 80 countries, according to a new report by the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University.

The big picture: The institute notes that because the conflicts have been largely paid for with deficit spending, their total cost will continue to rise from loan interest — even if the U.S. withdraws from major war zones by the end of fiscal year 2020. Ongoing care costs for veterans will also increase the eventual cost.

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By the numbers: Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Pakistan — the longest war in U.S. history — has cost around $978 billion from fiscal year 2001 through fiscal year 2020, an average of $49 billion each year.

Appropriations for the Iraq and Syria wars have totaled about $880 billion from 2003 through 2020, averaging $44 billion every year.
All operations in the global War on Terror, including those in the U.S., Europe, Africa and other regions, averaged more than $100 billion each year.

What the report says: The Watson Institute reports that the increases in military spending over the last two decades "are likely to remain, inflating the military budget over the long run."

It concludes that the major trends in budgetary costs of the conflicts include "less transparency in reporting costs among most major agencies; greater institutionalization of the costs of war in the DOD base budget, State Department, and DHS; and the growing budgetary burden of veterans’ medical care and disability care."

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Defense spending