The infodemic is a war that has raged on alongside the COVID-19 pandemic and Twitter is repurposing a tool it introduced earlier this year to assist in that war.
The tool in question is one where tweets containing manipulated images were labelled as containing manipulated media. Now, similar labels will appear on tweets containing misleading and potentially harmful information about COVID-19.
The labels that users will see, will link to a Twitter-curated page or external source containing additional information regarding the claims in the tweet.
“Depending on the propensity for harm and type of misleading information, warnings may also be applied to a Tweet. These warnings will inform people that the information in the Tweet conflicts with public health experts’ guidance before they view it,” wrote Twitter in a blog post.
The social network has said that misleading tweets will be filed into one of three categories based on the content.
Those categories are:
- Misleading information — statements or assertions that have been confirmed to be false or misleading by subject-matter experts, such as public health authorities.
- Disputed claims — statements or assertions in which the accuracy, truthfulness, or credibility of the claim is contested or unknown.
- Unverified claims — information (which could be true or false) that is unconfirmed at the time it is shared.
In the case of misleading information, those tweets will be primed for removal while disputed claims will receive a warning. As unverified claims aren’t false or true nothing will happen.
However, Twitter has said that this system is retroactive so if for instance an unverified claim is later found to be false you might find your tweet labelled.
“Our teams are using and improving on internal systems to proactively monitor content related to COVID-19. These systems help ensure we’re not amplifying Tweets with these warnings or labels and detecting the high-visibility content quickly. Additionally, we’ll continue to rely on trusted partners to identify content that is likely to result in offline harm,” added Twitter.
[Source – Twitter]
