Politwoops U.S. is back!
Today, we’re officially relaunching Politwoops here in the United States! Just in time for the New Hampshire primary, we’ll be back to tracking and posting deleted tweets from political figures so that the public can hold them accountable for the statements they make on Twitter.
Since Politwoops first launched in the U.S. in 2012, we’ve documented the impact and importance of being able to track these public statements. From the initial reactions to the Supreme Court’s Affordable Care Act decision to the abrupt change of messaging surrounding the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl by the Taliban, Politwoops offers a unique window into how political officials communicate with the public.
You’ll notice a few changes to the tool that we’re excited to share. For starters, we’ll be showing you every deleted tweet — not just the ones we think are important — made by elected officials and candidates for office. Right now that includes Senate, House and presidential candidates, as well as governors and the D.C. mayor. In the future we hope to expand that to executive branch officials and state legislators. We’re also planning to implement a filtering system to more easily weed out simple errors and typos.
Politwoops is still a work in progress. That’s why we’re looking for feedback on how people use it, and how we can make it more useful. Please email us at twoops@sunlightfoundation.com and share your thoughts. If we’re missing a candidate for public office, or if you think you’ve been added to Politwoops by mistake, let us know.
A big thanks to Twitter, Access Now and Open State Foundation for working with us to bring back Politwoops, as well as everyone who supported the project throughout this process. Consider it an early Valentine’s Day present to you!