Twitter has announced that Birdwatch, its community-based fact-checking policy, will be expanded. Birdwatch was initially announced in October 2020. The system has thus far been evaluated by a limited number of 10,000 users who have spent time writing and grading remarks to provide more context to possibly inaccurate tweets. Even so, instead of allowing more contributors to join Birdwatch, the business will end up making those notes available and ratable by more individuals in the United States.
Beginning today, "a small and randomized" team of U.S. Twitter users might be ready to view Birdwatch key points effectively on tweets, and will also be able to give input by scoring the note as "Helpful," "Somewhat," or "No," and explaining why they answered the way they did. Birdwatch will benefit from such inputs.
By sending tweets to Twitter for examination, the primary goal of Birdwatch was to build a system for combating disinformation on the network at a far faster rate than is now achievable.
Misleading material can swiftly propagate online, like Twitter stated when the service formally began into actual study in January 2021, and the Birdwatch annotations could bring further context in a faster manner. Furthermore, the annotations may be useful in resolving issues with troublesome tweets that users might normally report to Twitter for removal but that did not truly violate the rules. They might also improve tweets that are technically correct but miss background that could convey a more complete view of the situation.
Twitter's statement arises barely days after The Washington Post published an article criticizing the company for failing to promote the Birdwatch program more than a year since it first launched. Ever since trial, Twitter has experimented with a slew of new revenue-generating initiatives, such as a collection of creator skills, e-commerce capabilities, a membership package for power users (certified) newsletters, NFT avatars, in-app donations, and more.
However, because of the dissemination of misconceptions and deception throughout social media, stronger (or at least faster) reality is more important than ever during the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Twitter claimed in a statement to The Washington Post that the Birdwatch trial would be expanded "very shortly." To put it another way, the timing of today's news is not a mistake.
Twitter also included a "Needs Your Help" button for Birdwatch participants to evaluate notes that require additional feedback, as well as in-app timely alerts to motivate authors to also mention their references and make their justifications apparent.
Read next: Twitter tests a new podcast tab to keep its users more inclined
Beginning today, "a small and randomized" team of U.S. Twitter users might be ready to view Birdwatch key points effectively on tweets, and will also be able to give input by scoring the note as "Helpful," "Somewhat," or "No," and explaining why they answered the way they did. Birdwatch will benefit from such inputs.
By sending tweets to Twitter for examination, the primary goal of Birdwatch was to build a system for combating disinformation on the network at a far faster rate than is now achievable.
So if you see a note, rate it! Your feedback helps improve the feature. While Birdwatch is currently US-only, we'll continue to improve the feature for helpfulness & positive impact, before scaling. Learn more about our broader efforts to address misinfo: https://t.co/gurGgLFLWE pic.twitter.com/UWun0uz0g6
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) March 3, 2022
Misleading material can swiftly propagate online, like Twitter stated when the service formally began into actual study in January 2021, and the Birdwatch annotations could bring further context in a faster manner. Furthermore, the annotations may be useful in resolving issues with troublesome tweets that users might normally report to Twitter for removal but that did not truly violate the rules. They might also improve tweets that are technically correct but miss background that could convey a more complete view of the situation.
Twitter's statement arises barely days after The Washington Post published an article criticizing the company for failing to promote the Birdwatch program more than a year since it first launched. Ever since trial, Twitter has experimented with a slew of new revenue-generating initiatives, such as a collection of creator skills, e-commerce capabilities, a membership package for power users (certified) newsletters, NFT avatars, in-app donations, and more.
However, because of the dissemination of misconceptions and deception throughout social media, stronger (or at least faster) reality is more important than ever during the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Twitter claimed in a statement to The Washington Post that the Birdwatch trial would be expanded "very shortly." To put it another way, the timing of today's news is not a mistake.
Twitter also included a "Needs Your Help" button for Birdwatch participants to evaluate notes that require additional feedback, as well as in-app timely alerts to motivate authors to also mention their references and make their justifications apparent.
Read next: Twitter tests a new podcast tab to keep its users more inclined