TECH BREAK: Twitter steps up Covid-19 misinformation fight

Twitter has announced that it will add labels and warning messages on some tweets with disputed or misleading information about Covid-19, as part of a new approach to misinformation that will eventually extend to other topics.

Twitter’s new labels will provide links to more information in cases where the risk of harm from the tweet is not severe enough to be removed but people could be confused or misled, Twitter said in a blog post.

In March, Twitter said it would delete Covid-19 tweets that may harm people’s health even if it’s tweeted by President Donald Trump.

The rule is also applicable for Trump’s account, according to Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of site integrity.

“These labels will apply to anyone sharing misleading information that meets the requirements of our policy, including world leaders,” Roth wrote in a tweet Monday in response to a question about how the policy would apply to Trump and other elected officials.

LINKS TO MORE INFORMATION

Twitter’s new labels will provide links to more information in cases where the risk of harm from the tweet is not severe enough to be removed but people could be confused or misled.

The company said these labels, which will look similar to ones launched to flag synthetic and manipulated media, will also apply to tweets that have been sent before Twitter’s announcement and will be used regardless of who sent the Tweet.

Social media sites, including Facebook and YouTube, are under pressure to combat misinformation that has spread on their platforms about the Covid-19 pandemic caused by the new coronavirus.

Such false claims have ranged from bogus cures to misinformation linking the virus with conspiracy theories about high-profile figures such as Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist Bill Gates or about 5G mobile phone technology.

Twitter’s labels will link to a Twitter-curated page or external trusted source containing additional information.