Twitter Cracking Down on ‘Misleading’ Tweets Ahead of Midterms

The social platform is restricting the share of information it considers harmful.

QUICK FACTS:
  • A new policy that Twitter is enforcing for the 2022 midterm elections is intended to limit the dissemination of information that the social media platform deems misleading or harmful.
  • The company seems to be indicating that it will increase its censorship of speech on its online platform.
  • Twitter announced on Thursday that it was enforcing its “Civic Integrity Policy” in preparation for the 2022 midterm elections.
  • The policy is said to apply to issues like how to cast a ballot, as well as any content that has “misleading claims” about the election outcomes.
  • It is also targeting any information that is believes could undermine voters’ faith in the election process.
HOW TWITTER EXPLAINED THE CHANGES:
  • “Tweets with this content may be labeled with links to credible information or helpful context, and Twitter will not recommend or amplify this content in areas of the product where Twitter makes recommendations,” the company said on its blog.
  • “People on Twitter will see a prompt prior to liking or sharing labeled tweets, and in cases where there is potential for harm associated with the false or misleading claim, the Tweet may not be liked or shared to prevent the spread of the misleading information,” the social-media giant went on to say.
  • Twitter also announced several “product updates” that it said would empower voters, including a feature called “Prebunks,” through which they plan to talk about election-related information they want to warn voters is false before it spreads.
  • “We’re also bringing back prebunks — in English, Spanish, and all other languages supported on Twitter — to get ahead of misleading narratives on Twitter, and to proactively address topics that may be the subject of misinformation,” Twitter said.
BACKGROUND:
  • Twitter has become one of the most used pieces of social media for those in politics, with Entrepreneur calling them “Decentralized PR” and saying that Twitter has essentially become the “tech newsroom.”
  • The article pointed out the massive power that Twitter has in allowing companies, individuals, and politicians to send information to their followers at the click of a button.
  • According to a study by Muck Rack, “76 percent of journalists say Twitter is the most valuable social network to them, and 37 percent plan to use Twitter more in the next year.”

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