Why is the journalistic standard to embed tweets (xeets?) instead of using screenshots?

An embedded tweet can be deleted, and depends on X supporting the functionality. If editing is ever introduced on the platform, it would permanently break all past articles that don’t have an independent record of the tweet (such as a full quote in the article or a screenshot). X can potentially (and maybe does) embed tracking features.

It seems like there are a lot of good reasons not to use embedded tweets, but almost every news source does it this way. Is there a good reason why?

  • magnetosphere@kbin.social
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    Those are indeed good reasons, but there’s so much other content that doesn’t scale, like charts, graphs, and maps. If I was running a large media company, I’d rather use high-resolution screenshots than let the Muskrat alter the content of my stories.

    Let him sue. I’d rather go to court than let that jackass undermine journalistic integrity.