The infamous Oscar Twitter, where the film industry's biggest stars and controversies unfold in real-time. The platform has become a breeding ground for heated debates and passionate discussions, often fueled by the opinions of fans and industry insiders alike.
In recent years, Oscar Twitter has seen its fair share of drama, with some of the most memorable moments coming from the #OscarsSoWhite controversy in 2016. The hashtag, started by April Reign, highlighted the lack of diversity among Oscar nominees that year, sparking a national conversation about representation in Hollywood.
Fans have also made their voices heard on Oscar Twitter, with many taking to the platform to express their love for their favorite films and actors. According to data, the most tweeted-about movie of all time is the 2019 film "Joker", with over 2.5 million tweets surrounding its release and Oscar campaign.
Oscars Controversy
The Oscars are already extremely angry at themselves, or at least that's what Twitter is saying. This year's ceremony started without us, and some awards were given out during off-air parts.
Eight awards were given out during the red carpet, including the documentary short, film editing, makeup and hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live action short, and sound categories. These awards will be edited into the telecast, but Twitter users are not happy about being excluded.
The Oscars are dealing with pressure to get higher ratings, and this approach has been deemed more TV-friendly. The ceremony will now start one hour earlier to present these awards, and they'll be folded seamlessly into the live televised show.
The audience at home won't notice a difference, but the live broadcast will become tighter and more electric. The Best Picture category will still be announced at the three-hour mark.
The Oscars' attempt to be fresh and cool has been met with skepticism on Twitter. They introduced two new categories, #OscarsFanFavorite and #OscarsCheerMoment, but they're not recognized as official Oscars awards.
The #OscarsFanFavorite category was voted on by participants who tweeted their pick or made a selection on OscarsFanFavorite.com. Army of the Dead won, but the confusion and anti-climactic buildup led to a lot of roasting on Twitter.
The #OscarsCheerMoment category didn't fare much better, with some users thinking it was a real award for the most cher-worthy movie moments. The Oscars are trying to be more engaging, but it seems they're coming across as trying to be the MTV Movie Awards instead.
Film Industry Issues
The film industry has its fair share of issues, and the Oscars are no exception. One major issue is the lack of diversity in nominations, with only 12% of nominees being people of color in 2020.
The #OscarsSoWhite controversy that erupted in 2015 highlighted the problem of racial bias in the film industry. The hashtag was created by April Reign, a journalist who noticed a lack of diversity in the nominees that year.
Many films are made with the intention of winning Oscars, leading to a focus on prestige over artistry. This can result in a homogenization of films, where only a certain type of movie is considered worthy of recognition.
Bots and Scams
Bots made up a small but significant portion of Twitter's users, with some studies suggesting three times as much as the company's estimate of 5 percent.
Twitter's algorithm ranks reply tweets by engagement, and bots have gamed the system to get more eyes on their scams.
More than 277,000 clicks were made on a scam link that was posted during the Academy Awards, with the bulk of those clicks coming on Sunday night when the broadcast took place.
The scam link was disguised as a Tumblr page called fixyourselff.tumblr.com and then redirected to a scam page offering a free gift card in exchange for personal information.
Twitter deleted associated accounts after the scam link received more than 68,000 clicks on Monday.
A Twitter spokesman said the company is aware of "this form of manipulation" and is "proactively implementing a number of signals to prevent these types of accounts from engaging with others in a deceptive manner."
Predictions and Confusion
The film industry can be a thrilling and unpredictable world, but sometimes it's the little things that cause the most confusion. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently posted a tweet that had Oscar watchers scratching their heads.
The tweet appeared to be the Academy's official predictions for the Oscars, showing Bong Joon Ho's "Parasite" winning best picture and Sam Mendes taking best director for "1917." The confusion was palpable, with many Twitter users wondering if the organization had accidentally leaked the winners in advance or if their account had been hacked.
The tweet was actually connected to the launch of an automated social media widget called the Oscars Prediction Experience. This widget allows users to create and share their own Oscar ballots in advance of the show.
The Academy's tweet sparked a lot of debate on Twitter, with some users accusing the organization of spoiling the show. But the truth was much more mundane. The Academy simply needed to clarify that the tweet was not their official predictions, but rather a widget that users could interact with.
In fact, the Academy had to clarify the situation twice, first with a tweet from former awards pundit Kris Tapley and then with a statement of their own. The statement explained that the issue was now resolved and that they would reveal their actual picks on Sunday.
The whole ordeal was a good reminder that even in the fast-paced world of social media, it's always a good idea to double-check the facts before jumping to conclusions.
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