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twitter-arguing-raven-rabit-header.jpg

Twitter is Arguing Over Whether This Raven is a Rabbit or a Raven (I Mean, It's Obviously a Raven)

By Petr Navovy | Social Media | August 21, 2019 |

By Petr Navovy | Social Media | August 21, 2019 |


twitter-arguing-raven-rabit-header.jpg

Twitter is such a fascinating place. Outside of Reddit it’s the last bit of social media I have, and I don’t intend on getting rid of it any time soon. This despite all the mountains of toxic sludge that pepper its landscape. All the Nazis and racists and misogynists that—surprise surprise!—the huge corporation drags its feet on dealing with. All the faux outrage and nuance-free, often facile hot takes that the form of the medium itself encourages. All of that nonsense does sometimes combine to sap you of the very will to live; but the fact is that Twitter—and social media in general—has given a platform to those previously denied it. Leftists, marginalised communities, and other alternative voices that the traditional gatekeepers of the narrative were used to running roughshod over now hold a far greater sway and have the power too to define their own stories. And yes, as expected the powers that be at Twitter have already cracked down on a good number of these voices—and for every valuable voice being added to the conversation another twenty or so despicable ones join the fray too—but nevertheless, the democratising effect has been palpable, and riveting (now let’s move it all onto a public, accountable platform, where the setters of the limits of debate and the arbiters of truth aren’t a bunch of crypto-fascist-bros with capricious ‘libertarian’ whims. Nationalise Social Media 2020).

And then also, you know, there’s the frivolous sh*t too.

Remember that goddamn dress colour argument?

Remember Laurel and Yanny?

Well here is a raven that’s clearly a raven, but that is being presented—jokingly, I think?—as a rabbit, but which some people—genuinely, I think?—actually think is a rabbit?

So what have we learned today?

Well we’ve learned that yes, it’s possible for a raven to look somewhat like a rabbit given a selective angle and the right amount of willpower.

We’ve learned that it’s become nigh-on impossible to discern the fault lines between sincerity, irony, and mockery.

And—most importantly—we’ve learned that ducks are not to be trusted. Just in general. Don’t let your guard down around ducks. They might appear innocuous enough, paddling there on the sidelines, cartoonishly quack-quacking now and then to provide a fitting aural backdrop for a bucolic day. But. Do. Not. Be. Lulled.