"But for all its flaws, Twitter is where so much public debate happens, much of it fascinating. It’s where you can actually reach beyond your bubble."
-BY LIRIEL HIGA via NY Times“Turn to Twitter for breaking news. More so than any other social platform, Twitter excels at breaking news. (That means misinformation spreads fast too, but it’s typically quick to self-correct.) It’s helpful to follow news organizations — when there’s big news, they’ll all be tweeting about it. But individual journalists also regularly share scoops on the platform. I learned about Osama bin Laden’s death because I followed @brianstelter, who tweeted at 10:25 p.m. on May 1, 2011: Chief of staff for former defense sec. Rumsfeld, @keithurbahn, tweets: “I’m told by a reputable person they have killed Osama Bin Laden.” President Obama didn’t give his scheduled 10:30 p.m. speech till an hour later, by which point the networks had already interrupted programming 45 minutes prior after confirming the news with anonymous sources.”
Three Activists to Follow:
@RaquelWillis_
“Raquel Willis is a Black queer transgender activist, writer and media maven dedicated to inspiring and elevating marginalized individuals, particularly transgender women of color. She is a National Organizer for Transgender Law Center, the largest organization in the U.S. advocating on behalf of transgender and gender nonconforming people. She is also a part of Echoing Ida, a national Black women’s writing collective.” (keep reading here)
@befeqe
“Befeqadu, also known as Befekadu Hailu, is an award-winning Ethiopian writer, activist and blogger who has been imprisoned solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression. Befeqadu, along with other members of the Zone 9 blogging group, was arbitrarily arrested and charged with terrorism in 2014 due to his online and offline activism and campaigning on human rights in Ethiopia. Although he has now been released, Befeqadu is still facing trial for a charge of “inciting violence through writing”. He’s a prolific writer – he came third in the 2012 Burt Award for African Literature for his novel Children of their Parents (2013) and was awarded the International Press Freedom Award from the Committee to Protect Journalists in 2015. He tweets about human rights in Ethiopia.” (Keep Reading Here)
@faiza_n_ali
“Faiza N. Ali is a New York Times profiled community organizer, civil rights activist and diehard Mets fan. As the Advocacy & Civic Engagement Coordinator at the Arab American Association of NY, she continues to explore ways to build community power. A 2011-2012 COR fellow, Faiza worked as an organizer with Brooklyn Congregations United, a faith-based organization seeking to empower grassroots leaders to transform their communities and neighborhoods. She is also the former Community Affairs Director at the Council on American-Islamic Relations in New York (CAIR), America’s largest Muslim civil rights organization. Recognized in 2009 as one of 100 young American Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow, Faiza is a sought after speaker on issues impacting American Muslims on topics ranging from social justice to civic engagement.” (Keep Reading Here)
The story of a #