“Twitter is today’s PR Newswire,” says Donna Francavilla, a communications specialist in Birmingham, Ala. “We think we’re talking to our followers and we think they’re all loyal to us and, if we issue an opinion, they’ll agree.” That’s not the case, she said. Often times, many people who follow Trump, for instance, may disagree with his views.

“It never used to be that way,” Francavilla said. “Social media used to be just you and your friends. But we’re now using this new megaphone to express our ideas to a much larger audience.” Anyone with a public Twitter account is a de facto public figure, she added. “We have to be mindful of every word we speak and everything we write.”