Earlier this week, rumors were swirling online that the highly anticipated Xbox One video game, Quantum Break, was going to receive a release delay. The news originated from Xbox Elite team writer Dae Jim on Twitter. His tweets suggested a delay was in store for the game, so it would not come out until 2016.
Earlier this week, rumors were swirling online that the highly anticipated Xbox One video game, Quantum Break, will experience a release delay. The news originated from Xbox Elite team writer Dae Jim on Twitter. His tweets suggested a delay was in store for the game, so it would not come out until 2016. Remedy Entertainment had previously announced for a 2015 release, so it did not yet have an official, formal release date. Earlier, Dae Jim’s profile claimed he was the Dutch Community & Social Media Manager for Microsoft. He later removed that label from his Twitter profile (via Dualshockers). The problem with this possible hoax or false rumor exemplifies a major issue with today’s digital social media age.
Something happened, because later, Dae Jim deleted all the tweets about the delay. He altered his Twitter profile. Then, he backtracked on his statements and wrote, “Guys guys, I write stuff for Microsoft and give some support but that’s it. Don’t take me for some Microsoft director or something, lol.” That fault lies with Dae Jim, considering that he put either an exaggerated, or outright false label, on his own personal Twitter account.
Twitter may make the world smaller and quickly connect people from all across the globe, but it creates a set of problems. A plucky gaming enthusiast, who maintains a friendly connection with Microsoft, might overstate his relationship; and it causes a rumor to become a story that spreads like wildfire. It is possible the game could get delayed. However, it was wrong to claim he is a Social Media Manager if he really is not. It is clear that something inappropriate happened here since Jim later deleted all his offending tweets.
A big problem with Twitter and social media is that almost no filter, editing or moderation exists for problems like this. The other issue is that tweets are generally too short. A twitter user cannot properly explain or make a major announcement with a 140-character limit. As a result, sources like Dae Jim, who are less than reputable or legit sources, can post announcements like this, and the tweets can be taken as gospel. Even if Dae Jim was expressing an opinion, it was erroneous for him to express that opinion from the position of Microsoft employee, if in fact he is not. The tweet makes his announcements come off as official.
Rumors like this could be fake as fool’s gold, but when they initiate from the Internet, the rumors possess a sense of mystery. The Internet is where major stories get leaked and put out into the world. Not to mention, the blatant trolling and spam that constantly fills Twitter. Even the CEO of Twitter admitted the company has failed at dealing with abuse. Jim should be banned from Twitter for this incident.
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