On Monday, Twitter announced that it will start labeling tweets making disputed or misleading claims related to coronavirus. These labels will redirect you to pages curated by Twitter or some external sources providing authentic and related information about those misleading claims. The platform also announced that it will add warning messages to those tweets which will cover the tweet. The users will have to tap again on the tweet to remove those warning messages and view the content in that tweet.
Twitter shared screenshots displaying that tweets containing coronavirus misinformation will be labeled with a link. The link says ‘Get the facts about Covid-19.’ According to Twitter, warning messages may be added to some tweets based on the type of misinformation it contains and the platform’s ‘prosperity for harm’ policy. For instance, some tweets may claim information that directly conflicts with health officials’ guidance, and Twitter will label these tweets with a warning message.
The warning message will state, ‘some or all of the information this tweet contains conflicts with public health experts guidance about the coronavirus, learn more.’ The platform previously used to label tweets spreading manipulated information such as ‘deepfake’ videos. During March, Twitter expanded its definition of harm and included information that conflicts directly with advice from authentic health information sources.
This allowed the platform to remove tweets which it believed could risk the health of the public, and it also gave it permission to add the ‘public interest notice’ to posts made by world leaders that might have violated the coronavirus guidelines.
Recently, a video related to the coronavirus from a popular vaccine conspiracist, and discredited scientist has spread across several platforms, and it seems that Twitter has hurriedly announced the policy to label tweets with coronavirus misinformation. The video has convinced a part of its authenticity which resulted in its rapid spread across social media platforms.
Twitter recently announced that the platform will evaluate individual clips from that video to assess if they are violating its rules. Twitter is not removing all the tweets with links to that video as some users may use the link to dispute the content.
The company did not specify how it evaluated how the tweets should be labeled. The micro-blogging platform is improving its internal system to actively monitor COVID-19 related content. Twitter also stated that the internal system may evolve and the company may add new labels.
Read next: Twitter issues warning to shut the site’s legacy theme once and for all in June 2020
Twitter shared screenshots displaying that tweets containing coronavirus misinformation will be labeled with a link. The link says ‘Get the facts about Covid-19.’ According to Twitter, warning messages may be added to some tweets based on the type of misinformation it contains and the platform’s ‘prosperity for harm’ policy. For instance, some tweets may claim information that directly conflicts with health officials’ guidance, and Twitter will label these tweets with a warning message.
The warning message will state, ‘some or all of the information this tweet contains conflicts with public health experts guidance about the coronavirus, learn more.’ The platform previously used to label tweets spreading manipulated information such as ‘deepfake’ videos. During March, Twitter expanded its definition of harm and included information that conflicts directly with advice from authentic health information sources.
This allowed the platform to remove tweets which it believed could risk the health of the public, and it also gave it permission to add the ‘public interest notice’ to posts made by world leaders that might have violated the coronavirus guidelines.
Recently, a video related to the coronavirus from a popular vaccine conspiracist, and discredited scientist has spread across several platforms, and it seems that Twitter has hurriedly announced the policy to label tweets with coronavirus misinformation. The video has convinced a part of its authenticity which resulted in its rapid spread across social media platforms.
Twitter recently announced that the platform will evaluate individual clips from that video to assess if they are violating its rules. Twitter is not removing all the tweets with links to that video as some users may use the link to dispute the content.
The company did not specify how it evaluated how the tweets should be labeled. The micro-blogging platform is improving its internal system to actively monitor COVID-19 related content. Twitter also stated that the internal system may evolve and the company may add new labels.
Read next: Twitter issues warning to shut the site’s legacy theme once and for all in June 2020
