Twitter on Monday denied that it is censoring WikiLeaks-related terms from its list of trending topics. "Twitter is not censoring wikileaks, cablegate or other related terms from the Trends list of trending topics," the company said in a statement.
The rumor first got started when several blogs noted that WikiLeaks was not showing up in Twitter's list of trending topics, despite being in the news almost constantly for the past week.
In May, Twitter changed its algorithm so that its trending topics list featured topics that were immediately popular, not necessarily things that were being mentioned the most. At the time, popular topics like singer Justin Bieber would sit on Twitter's trending list for months on end, but the change lets Twitter "capture the hottest emerging trends and topics of discussion on Twitter that are the most interesting.
Twitter said there are a number of factors to consider when it comes to the trending topics. "Sometimes topics that are popular don't break into the Trends list because the current velocity of conversation isn't greater than in previous hours and days." "Sometimes topics that are genuinely popular simply aren't widespread enough to make the list of top Trends. And, on occasion, topics just aren't as popular as people believe."
If you search for "WikiLeaks" on Twitter, however, the suggestion section atop the micro-blogging site does provide a link to Wikileaks's Twitter page.
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