As an example, local police here sent out urgent missing person reports and the "more information" link was a twitter link (behind a bit.ly shortener if you can believe it)

I can't help but contrast this response with the dismissive reactions towards censorship and the Twitter Files. Turns out, it actually is an important source of information. Are we about to see op-eds about how it needs to be public or regulated like utility companies? :)

Aside from that, critical information is not exclusively posted on Twitter, although it used to be "locked" behind a radio or a TV receiver. An online account is not the insurmountable hurdle that you paint it as.

TV receivers didn't come with built-in user tracking.

You could get user tracking added by a company called Nielsen but they actually paid you a small sum for your data.

I think this is quite different.

Sure, I do not have a Facebook account for similar reasons despite hearing that a lot of valuable information and networks are on that platform. Ten years ago I might have complained about it loudly, but nowadays I tend to think about things more pragmatically. Or at least that's what I tell myself after I caved and bought a smartphone after resisting for over a decade since they became ubiquitous :)

I didn't use Twitter for the better part of the last decade and don't feel like I missed anything important. Idem with Facebook that I haven't touched in over ten years. If I cared enough about defeating trackers I could spin up a personal Nitter instance with a pseudonymous account, otherwise I see it as the price to pay to have access to such a large volume of information instantaneously, and I would rather be tracked by private interests than by the government.

I also find it frustrating when any organization, government or otherwise, only publishes information on restricted channels, but that is nothing new.

>I also find it frustrating when any organization, government or otherwise, only publishes information on restricted channels

Then we agree :)

> my public officials seem to be using it as an official communications platform

Oof

>Sorry, my public officials seem to be using it as an official communications platform. For many people, it is in fact mandatory.

I don't believe that anyone but Elon Musk use twitter as its only communicatuon platform.

Does the name ‘Donald Trump’ ring a bell?

Is he still using twitter?

Also: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/ (which includes a news section)

No but for a time it was his primary news distribution platform, which means it’s reasonable for some other important person to also use it as their platform.

Except for sharing his mug shot, even he hasn't posted on Twitter since Biden's inauguration.

I’m responding to the parents ‘ I don't believe that anyone but Elon Musk use twitter as its only communicatuon platform.’ - at some point trump did use Twitter as his primary communication platform, whether he still does or not is largely irrelevant to the point.

what is important is that you changed the goal post.

I said "only" and you moved it to "primary".

Primary meaning first and possibly only - I really don’t know if trump had secondary platforms, but people would talk about his Twitter, not his blog.

Proving it to be his only source is likely impossible to do, but also has little value (do you want to learn the latest news now or in a weeks time when secondary sources catch up?)

And to follow up, my understanding is that trump would post personally, not one of his PR staff, I’m not aware of him personally posting elsewhere until after he was banned from Twitter.

That's present tense though. It was more popular in the past, but today, it's been relegated.