Why is Twitter linking the New York Times to the phrase "Enemy of the People"?

If you're on Twitter, here's an experience: type "Enemy of the People" in a tweet via Twitter's web client, then check if it automatically suggests an account to score. For many (if not all) users, this is currently raising The New York TimesTwitter handle. At first glance, this looks like a rather strange attack on the Times – and that's something a number of reporters and other users have noticed this afternoon.

It is not illogical to think that Twitter's algorithm has established a worrisome connection between one of President Donald Trump's favorite phrases and one of the targets he targets most often. But the real problem is apparently less overwhelming and confusing: Twitter seems to suggest the Time for just about any sentence that ends with the word in capital letters "People".

In the world of Twitter, The New York Times is the enemy of the people. He is also the friend of the people. And if you're talking about Foster the People or Village Village, Twitter is pretty sure you really want to tweet about the gray lady.

We do not know which specific link draws Twitter between @NYTimes and "People". Its automatic suggestion system is usually a little opaque. It may be a pure bug or an oblique badociation based on something Time profile. (To make things even more confusing, Twitter also seems connects the Time Sanders.) We contacted Twitter for more details – but for now, this is just one of the impenetrable mysteries of the algorithm.