Twitter has been live since 2007, and in its 15-year history, the social media platform has done much to alter culture, communication, and the ways in which we disseminate news and ideas. Twitter gave us the now ubiquitous hashtag, and with it, a messaging categorization system that has led to more accountability within our culture, bringing awareness to innumerable causes great and small. Twitter has become the birthplace for many social justice movements like #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo, movements that then spread to other platforms and into real life, changing the culture and even some laws along the way.
Likely, Twitter’s founders did not foresee the importance that something like #BlackLivesMatter would have back in 2007, but with great power comes great responsibility. As the outsized role the platform would have in shaping culture became clear, Twitter leaned into its growing responsibility and ultimately began operating intention. As the tumultuous Trump era gave way to the tumultuous COVID era, they made very intentional moves. They were the first platform to permanently ban Trump-owned accounts after the January 6th insurrection, and they are also proactive in quashing COVID misinformation.
Similarly, they have taken a very intentional approach to accessibility. And as Twitter increasingly becomes the platform where those uniting under a cause can meet to share information about injustices that affect their daily lives, ensuring that information on Twitter is accessible to all who desire it is more crucial than ever. Given that, what exactly is Twitter’s approach to accessibility, and how do its efforts stack up against that of the Metaverse?
Better than Meta?
Twitter has dedicated much time, effort, and resources to accessibility, efforts that seem to outshine those of their peers at Meta. Instagram offers the bare minimum by way of accessibility, which is to say it offers alt-text/image description options that were only introduced in 2018. Facebook has a bit more to offer by way of accessibility, but the platform lags behind Twitter in several crucial areas: transparency, creating community + inviting feedback, and representation of employees with disabilities whose perspectives are valuable and necessary.
Transparency
As evidenced by postings in the company blog, Twitter values transparency when it comes to accessibility. The blog is open, honest, and clear about the company’s work on improving accessibility, highlighting successes but acknowledging gaps and shortcomings as well. Facebook does have an Accessibility Help page with useful info for accessing content, but nothing quite like the Twitter blog which goes a long way in offering up transparency of behind-the-scenes action in a way that feels sincere and authentic. Perhaps this disparity isn’t a surprise given Facebook's history; During the Trump + COVID era, the site became known for congressional hearings and whistleblowers, controversies that indicate that a lack of transparency is something like company policy.
Creating community and inviting feedback
Twitter runs several accounts that are related to accessibility and the experience of users with disabilities. These accounts serve as a rallying point for various disabled communities and their advocates and allies. Not only do these accounts help to build communities that support and uplift each other, but they also exist as a forum for user feedback, feedback that Twitter actively solicits. The account @TwitterA11y is “dedicated to making Twitter accessible for everyone” and serves as a forum for Twitter to announce new accessibility measures all while inviting users to experiment with improvements and provide honest feedback. The account @TwitterAble is described as “Disability @Twitter. Here for disabled employees/employees with disabilities and allies that support them.” And the account @TwitterTogether is “a community of Tweeps, advocates, allies, and champions—working together #UntilWeAllBelong.”
While Facebook does have its own version of the @TwitterA11y account that features accessibility news and updates—the Meta Accessibility Facebook page—the account never invites feedback. This is not to say Facebook doesn’t get it; the one thing that is unalterably true about Facebook is that users are not shy about sharing their opinions in ALL CAPS. When Facebook does receive this type of feedback or queries that are difficult to answer, their Help responses apologize, but also deflect and often fall short of addressing the concern. And there seems to be very little community built up around the Meta Accessibility Facebook page. It, like the celebration of Festivus, seems to exist only as a forum with which to air grievances, not support and goodwill.
Representation and input
According to Twitter’s Help Center Page dedicated to accessibility, Twitter has “a dedicated group of cross-functional inclusive designers and engineers, with and without lived experience of disability, focused on providing the best experience regardless of device, platform, or disability by incorporating established guidelines and best practices.” In other words, Twitter understands that accessibility initiatives without the guidance of those with lived experience lead to inferior accessibility that is inclusive in name only. They are fully aware that giving experts with disabilities a seat at the table is the only way to craft a user experience that is truly accessible.
It’s possible that Meta is similarly stacked with employees who can speak to the lived experience of disability, but the public wouldn’t know it due to the lack of transparency on many things, particularly representation and the processes behind accessibility improvements.
With that in mind, it could be said that much of Twitter’s transparency is self-congratulatory, a public forum they use to pat themselves on the back for being slightly more progressive and inclusive than their competition. There is perhaps a kernel of truth to that notion, but the crucial point to remember is that, compared to its peers at least, the approach Twitter is taking to accessibility is worthy of that pat on the back.
Conclusion
Meta’s and Twitter’s approaches to accessibility are decidedly different. While Twitter definitely leads in progressive policies and transparent, supportive communication, ultimately it is up to users to decide which platform’s functionality they prefer. Compare and contrast accessibility features at Twitter and Facebook. But if the comments sections on their respective accessibility accounts are any indication, the winner is once again Twitter. By a mile.
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