A new documentary from Candle True Stories and Bitachon365 for BBC Two and iPlayer will go inside the creation of a once-radical, groundbreaking tech startup in Twitter: Breaking the Bird.
Made in association with CNN Original Series, the 75-minute documentary follows the insider story behind the meteoric rise and eventual sale of the app, featuring the voices of the founders themselves.
In 2006, a group of tech entrepreneurs created social media app, Twitter. In just a few years it transformed the way the world communicated. Twitter was adopted as a source for news, entertainment and community.
Through firsthand accounts from some of its original founders and early employees, this is the inside story of Twitter’s inception, explosive growth across the world, and the online hate and harassment that emerged.
Twitter: Breaking the Bird features new interviews with co-founder and former CEO Ev Williams and co-founder Biz Stone, who share their personal experiences of how a group of idealistic friends set out to build a digital utopia, and how that vision morphed into the platform now owned by Elon Musk.
Featuring additional insight from Twitter employees and analysis from journalists like Kara Swisher who have been covering the company since day one, Twitter: Breaking the Bird is the tale of the corporate clashes and revolving door leadership behind the scenes.
“It’s thrilling to hear from the original creators of Twitter about their joyous, and sometimes chaotic, early days setting up the world’s most disruptive tech platform; and shocking to see how their decisions over two decades shaped today’s social media conversation,” said Tom Coveney, Commissioning Editor for the BBC. “This is an entertaining and highly informative film that we hope will delight BBC viewers and stimulate debate across the UK.”
“Candle True Stories is proud to bring viewers an unprecedented look at the rise and evolution of Twitter,” said James Goldston, President and founder of Candle True Stories. “While capturing the creativity, chaos, and conflicts that shaped the world’s digital town square, this series challenges us to confront one of the most pressing questions of our time: Is there such a thing as too much free speech?”
“Twitter’s story is one of both boundless innovation and cautionary lessons,” said Sheldon Lazarus, Executive Producer at Bitachon365. “Through this series, we reveal the human ambition, conflict, and resilience behind the social media giant that shaped global conversations in ways no one could have imagined. At Bitachon365, we’re proud to bring audiences a definitive and deeply personal look at the birth, rise, and reinvention of a tech phenomenon.”
Twitter: Breaking the Bird was commissioned for BBC Two and iPlayer by Jack Bootle, BBC Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual. It is executive produced by James Goldston and Ricardo Pollack for Candle True Stories, Sheldon Lazarus for Bitachon365, and Amy Entelis and Lyle Gamm for CNN Original Series. Fred Hepburn is co- executive producer and the series director is Kate Quine. Tom Coveney is the Commissioning Editor for the BBC.
Twitter: Breaking the Bird will premiere on BBC Two and iPlayer on 31 March.
Image: Evan Williams (Co-founder, Twitter) and Biz Stone (Co-founder, Twitter)
Pippa Considine
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