English

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Noun

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town square (plural town squares)

  1. An open area commonly found in the heart of a traditional town, used for community gatherings.
    Synonyms: city square, public square, piazza, urban square
  2. (by extension) An online space or platform which serves a similar function.
    Synonym: public square
    • 2019 November 7, Ben Hubbard, “Why Spy on Twitter? For Saudi Arabia, It’s the Town Square”, in The New York Times[1], →ISSN:
      In Saudi Arabia, where a relatively closed culture leaves citizens few public forums to discuss news and politics, Twitter has become a kind of town square, the place where citizens meet to swap information and debate the latest issues.
    • 2022 April 25, Melina Delkic, quoting Elon Musk, “4 ways Twitter could change under Elon Musk.”, in The New York Times[2], →ISSN:
      Mr. Musk has frequently expressed concern that Twitter’s content moderators go too far and intervene too much on the platform, which he sees as the internet’s “de facto town square.”
    • 2022 October 27, Lauren Hirsch, quoting Elon Musk, “Elon Musk Reaches Out to Advertisers Ahead of Deadline for Twitter Deal”, in The New York Times[3], →ISSN:
      Mr. Musk went on to say that the reason he was buying Twitter was “because it is important to the future of the civilization to have a common digital town square,” where a “wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner without resorting to violence.”

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