Twitter to label disputed COVID-19 tweets

Twitter, microblogging giant, says it would start notifying users anytime a tweet makes unsubstantiated claims about the coronavirus pandemic.

In a blog post on Monday, the microblogging company said the move was in furtherance of its quest to rid the platform of potentially harmful and misleading content.

“In serving the public conversation, our goal is to make it easy to find credible information on Twitter and to limit the spread of potentially harmful and misleading content,” it wrote.

“Starting today, we’re introducing new labels and warning messages that will provide additional context and information on some Tweets containing disputed or misleading information related to COVID-19.”

Twitter added that the measure would also enable the public know if a particular tweet conforms with health guidelines provided by experts or not before they view it.

“These warnings will inform people that the information in the Tweet conflicts with public health experts’ guidance before they view it,” it said.

Nick Pickles, the company’s global senior strategist for public policy, also explained that Twitter won’t directly fact check or call tweets false on the site.

According to him, the warning labels might direct users to curated tweets, public health websites or news articles.

“People don’t want us to play the role of deciding for them what’s true and what’s not true but they do want people to play a much stronger role providing context,” he said.

In the same vein, Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of site integrity, said the company may not be able to take up enforcement action on every of such tweets with disputed claims about the novel disease.

“We will not be able to take enforcement action on every tweet with incomplete or disputed information about COVID-19,” he said.

The latest initiative comes on the heels of other measures taken by Twitter to contain spread of misinformation about COVID-19.