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Following mounting pressure from the White House, Twitter has announced a new user feature intended to better tackle the online spread of misinformation.
If ever there was a specific period to really underpin the dangers of misinformation, with Covid-19, the introduction of 5G, and the US presidential election, 2020 was certainly that year.
Those who previously spread unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about the dangers of Covid-19 vaccines or uncounted electoral votes – including none other than ex-President Donald Trump – were typically forced to take their online commentary to sketchy apps like Parler.
Around that time, Twitter introduced its plans to build a community hub focused on pointing out bogus information. Aptly dubbed Birdwatch, this crowdsource feature allowed users to flag tweets for moderation and explain their reasoning within a context box.
If deemed to contain misinformation, a small binoculars icon would accompany a reported tweet which would open up a separate tab with contrary information backed by legitimate sources. Fact-checks could also be upvoted and downvoted – Reddit style.
Having invested a lot of time and effort in Birdwatch, rolling out several pilots over the last two years, Twitter has now decided to greenlight an even simpler report process for users.
You can now report health and political misinformation on Twitter in the US! pic.twitter.com/Z5dq2lsirQ
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) August 18, 2021
Instant misinformation reports
Users in the US, Australia, and South Korea may already notice that the three dot contextual menu has been expanded in the upper right corner of tweets.
Specifically, a new option under ‘report tweet’ will allow people to flag content as ‘misleading’ before ticking off associated boxes like politics, health, or something else. The extent to what people can bulls**t about on the internet has no bounds.
Selecting politics will prompt further specifications tied to any elections that may be happening, and health will offer up more detailed options such as Covid-19.
Strictly, if any information being shared has the potential to inflame people, is completely speculative, or goes against Twitter’s terms of service, it may be taken down for good.
Designed to limit the spread of misinformation fast, this process will sort reported tweets for review based on a priority system.
Essentially, those with the largest following or with tweets generating a high level of engagement will be bumped up to the front of the queue.
Data obtained from this initial test phase will help Twitter determine how it can further tackle misinformation, as social media in general is pressured to continue its industry wide crackdown.
