It was commonly described as a global town square.
Although that comparison was often repeated, Twitter eventually embodied that notion after its public launch on July 15, 2006, two decades ago.
At its peak, the platform — renamed X in 2023 — provided both prominent figures and ordinary users a venue to showcase themselves, initially limited to 140 characters and later expanded to 280.
While its memes and viral videos provided entertainment, Twitter also became the primary channel for politicians, heads of state, and notably a U.S. president to address the public. Activists in Iran, for example, leveraged the platform after the 2009 contested election to broadcast their message globally. Women likewise used it to recount experiences of sexual harassment and assault, helping to ignite the #MeToo movement.
Below are selected highlights — and a few setbacks — from the past two decades:
July 2006
A Tweet is Born
On July 15, 2006, Twitter’s public debut ushered in a new era of provocative commentary, swift reactions, and spontaneous observations on social media.
A preliminary launch occurred roughly four months earlier, when co‑founder and inaugural CEO Jack Dorsey posted the platform’s first tweet, which initially bore a slightly different name than the widely recognized brand.
“just setting up my twttr,” Dorsey wrote on March 21, 2006.
2009
The Birth of ‘Black Twitter’
One of the early popular hashtags, #uknowurblackwhen, was created by user Ashley Weatherspoon as a search workaround. The New York Times critic James Poniewozik described it as “the origin story of Black Twitter,” a broader manifestation of Black culture and identity online.
Users employed reaction emojis, such as a GIF of Michael Jackson eating popcorn from the “Thriller” video to convey amused anticipation, and shared jokes that often carried deeper meaning, exemplified by the #OscarsSoWhite tag, which protested Hollywood’s lack of diversity during awards season.
Black Twitter later addressed the deaths of Trayvon Martin and George Floyd, supported the Black Lives Matter movement, highlighted President Trump’s election, referenced incidents like BBQ Becky and Permit Patty, and reacted to Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform.
May 2009
A Dispatch From Space
Yuri Gagarin made the first human spaceflight, Neil Armstrong was the first to walk on the moon, and Mike Massimino became notable for his own space milestone.
While space achievements vary in significance, astronaut Mike Massimino, who participated in the 2009 STS‑125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope, holds a distinct historical footnote.
On May 13, 2009, he became the first individual to tweet from space, sending a dispatch to NASA that the agency subsequently posted to his account.
“From orbit: Launch was awesome!!,” he wrote. “I am feeling great, working hard, and enjoying the magnificent views; the adventure of a lifetime has begun!”
June 2009
The Green Movement
The Green Movement emerged in Tehran and other Iranian cities following a contested presidential election. Demonstrators turned to Twitter to broadcast their message beyond Iran’s borders, but concise text updates and brief video clips could not withstand the government’s violent crackdown.
c. 2012
Twitter Gets Weird
As Twitter’s subcultures solidified, the term “Weird Twitter” arose to denote a stream‑of‑consciousness collection of random observations, non sequiturs, and nonsensical commentary.
Some users sought likes or aimed to generate massive reply threads, favoring the snarkiest content.
On September 29, 2013, prominent Weird Twitter user @dril shared an itemized expense list—$200 for food, $150 for utilities, $800 for rent, and $3,600 for candles—and asked, “someone who is good at the economy please help me budget this. my family is dying.”
The “Candles tweet” was retweeted roughly 57,000 times and garnered over 900 replies; when a user advised @dril to cut candle expenses, the reply was simply, “no.”
March 2014
An Oscar-Worthy Selfie
This Oscar‑worthy moment caused Twitter to briefly stall, though it was neither an acceptance speech nor a red‑carpet appearance.
During the 2014 Academy Awards broadcast, Ellen DeGeneres pulled out a Samsung phone and took an impromptu selfie with a group of Hollywood A‑listers in the audience.
The photo featured Bradley Cooper holding the phone, alongside Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence, Lupita Nyong’o, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and Kevin Spacey. It was retweeted over two million times, establishing a record at the time.
October 2017
The Rise of #MeToo
After The New York Times released an investigative report exposing decades of sexual harassment by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, women began sharing their own experiences on Twitter. The ensuing movement adopted the hashtag #MeToo.
Actress Alyssa Milano is credited with sparking the campaign via a post on October 15, 2017 (though Tarana Burke had earlier coined the “Me Too” mantra to support Black women who had endured sexual abuse). “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted, reply with ‘me too,’” she wrote.
2020
Rest in Tweet
Twitter has become integral to modern obituaries, serving both to announce notable deaths and to host a cascade of tributes of varying scale.
In August 2020, when “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman died of colon cancer at age 43, his Twitter account and other social platforms announced his passing to fans.
His family disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer four years earlier, and that, as the disease progressed, he underwent surgeries and chemotherapy while continuing to appear in many of his most recognized films.
“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through everything and brought audiences many of the films they have come to love,” his family wrote.
The post amassed over 6.5 million likes and was retweeted more than 2.5 million times.
January 2021
A President Loses a Platform
Late‑night fusillades, ALL‑CAPS missives, and schoolyard‑style taunts defined his communication style.
No other U.S. president has matched Donald J. Trump’s communication style, which attracted more than 88 million followers during his first term as president.
His propagation of falsehoods and impulsive behavior placed him at odds with several social media platforms, especially Twitter, during the COVID‑19 pandemic and after his 2020 election loss.
In 2020, amid the global spread of COVID‑19, Trump retweeted a video falsely claiming that hydroxychloroquine was an effective COVID‑19 treatment, a post later removed by Twitter.
Trump’s relationship with Twitter hit a low on January 8, 2021, two days after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to halt Congress from certifying Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s election victory.
Twitter announced a permanent ban on Trump, citing two posts it deemed to glorify violence—one in which he referred to his supporters as “patriots,” and another stating he would not attend President Biden’s inauguration.
November 2022
X-Communicated No More
To offset his removal from Twitter and other platforms, Trump launched his own commentary service, Truth Social, in February 2022.
A few months later, the world’s richest man and Trump ally, Elon Musk, struck a deal to acquire Twitter for approximately $44 billion.
“I hope my worst critics stay on Twitter, for that is what free speech entails,” Musk tweeted at the time.
In November 2022, Musk announced he would reinstate Trump’s account following a poll on Twitter.
December 2022
Braggadocio and a Zinger
With a single click of the (now black) tweet button, both famous and anonymous users could launch name‑calling, offenses, or public feuds at a rapid pace.
Andrew Tate and Greta Thunberg entered the conversation.
In December 2022, influencer Andrew Tate—currently facing human trafficking charges in two European nations—retorted to Greta Thunberg’s environmental activism in a Twitter post.
“Hello @GretaThunberg,” he wrote. “I own 33 cars; my Bugatti features a 8.0 L quad‑turbo W16 engine.”
Tate, who, together with his brother Tristan, is known for misogynistic views and flaunting wealth, added that he would provide Ms. Thunberg with a list of his vehicles’ emissions.
Thunberg offered a scorching comeback.
“Yes, please do enlighten me,” she replied, supplying a fictitious email address intended to undermine his masculinity.
May 2023
A Glitchy Debut
As many prolific posters grew disillusioned with Twitter under Musk, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis— a Republican with presidential ambitions and aims to challenge Trump for the party nomination—expressed optimism about the platform’s voter‑reaching potential.
On May 24, 2023, DeSantis announced his presidential candidacy via an audio livestream on X.
The broadcast suffered technical glitches, hot‑mic moments, and muffled, incomplete remarks before cutting out abruptly.
Opponents seized on the mishaps, including Trump.
“The DeSanctus TWITTER launch is a DISASTER!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, employing one of his derisive nicknames for DeSantis.
2022-23
Bye, Bye Birdie
After Musk assumed control of Twitter, rebranding it X in 2023 and retiring its blue bird logo, a wave of left‑leaning celebrities abandoned the platform. Among them were Mark Hamill, Whoopi Goldberg, Shonda Rhimes and Barbra Streisand.
Many migrated to Bluesky, an experimental social app launched in 2019 under former CEO Dorsey.
Trump’s appointment of Musk to head the Department of Government Efficiency—a federal cost‑cutting initiative aimed at shrinking the federal workforce at the start of his second term—further fueled the exodus.
