With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today .
Politwoops, which saved politicians' deleted tweets, is coming back
File: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) holds her weekly news briefing with reporters at the U.S. Capitol March 1, 2012 in Washington, D.C.
(
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
)
Tweet deleted by Linda Sanchez caught by Politwoops.
(
Politwoops
)
Tweet deleted by Dana Rohrabacher caught by Politwoops.
(
Politwoops
)
Tweet deleted by Nancy Pelosi caught by Politwoops.
(
Politwoops
)
Tweet deleted by Dana Rohrabacher caught by Politwoops.
(
Politwoops
)
Politwoops, run by the Sunlight Foundation, is a website that tracked tweets deleted by politicians — until Twitter pulled their access to the service. Now, Twitter is reversing course and restoring the chance to see what politicians don't want you to see.
Twitter announced in a blog post that they had reached an agreement with the Sunlight Foundation and the Open State Foundation allowing for Politwoops' return. The service pulled access to the organizations' API on June 3.
Some California politicians were caught by Politwoops before the site was shut down. In addition to tweets deleted due to things like broken links and typos, the site collected some embarrassing missives from politicians and their staffs, including a tweet from Rep. Nancy Pelosi, in which she (or her staff) referred to Africa as a country rather than a continent.
Tweet deleted by Nancy Pelosi caught by Politwoops.
(
Politwoops
)
Support for LAist comes from
California Rep. Lois Capps made the Sunlight Foundation's best of 2013 Politwoops blog post with 64 deleted tweets, the third highest of any politician tracked by the service. The post noted that most of them were due to her Facebook account being linked with her Twitter account, resulting in weirdly formatted tweets that were also often truncated and were soon deleted after they were posted.
Another to make the best of 2013 list — California Rep. Linda Sanchez, with a tweet of a Ways and Means Caucus meeting on Medicare, in which she (or her staff) complained about the number of acronyms being used and included a behind-the-scenes photo.
Tweet deleted by Linda Sanchez caught by Politwoops.
(
Politwoops
)
Politwoops also caught California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher getting hacked with Pinterest weight loss spam.
Tweet deleted by Dana Rohrabacher caught by Politwoops.
(
Politwoops
)
Tweet deleted by Dana Rohrabacher caught by Politwoops.
(
Politwoops
)
Still, Rohrabacher was able to laugh about it online:
Support for LAist comes from
"Politwoops is an important tool for holding our public officials, including candidates and elected or appointed public officials, accountable for the statements they make," Sunlight Foundation communications director Jenn Topper said.
In their blog post on the return of Politwoops, Twitter cited a statement made by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey at their conference in October on the company's responsibilities when it comes to government transparency.
"We have a responsibility to continue to empower organizations that bring more transparency to public dialogue, such as Politwoops," Dorsey said.
Now Twitter appears to be making good on that statement, restoring Politwoops. It's not back up and running quite yet.
The Sunlight Foundation, which worked on the U.S. side of the service, said in a blog post that they will be working behind the scenes in the coming days and weeks to set Politwoops back up once again. Meanwhile, the Open State Foundation said they would relaunch the service in more than 30 countries in the coming months.
"This agreement is great news for those who believe that the world needs more transparency," Open State Foundation director Arjan El Fassed said.
Support for LAist comes from
Politwoops has a post collecting California politicians' "oops" tweets here. You can also keep an eye out for when the service starts collecting deleted tweets once again.
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
The historic properties have been sitting vacant for decades and were put on the market as-is, with prices ranging from $750,000 to $1.75 million. -
Users of the century old Long Beach wooden boardwalk give these suggestions to safely enjoy it. -
The Newport Beach City Council approved a new artificial surf park that will replace part of an aging golf course. -
The utility, whose equipment is believed to have sparked the Eaton Fire, says payouts could come as quickly as four months after people submit a claim. But accepting the money means you'll have to forego any lawsuits. -
The City Council will vote Tuesday on a proposal to study raising the pay for construction workers on apartments with at least 10 units and up to 85 feet high. -
The study found recipients spent nearly all the money on basic needs like food and transportation, not drugs or alcohol.
Best of LAist