Twitter's attempt to curb fake news
Ahead of the US presidential election, Twitter on Wednesday rolled out updates that encourage more thoughtful amplification of Tweets which add more context to content. The micro-blogging platform is encouraging users to add their own thoughts through "quote tweeting" rather than simply amplifying others' posts by retweeting.
"One of these updates is temporarily prompting Quote Tweets instead of Retweets. We heard your overall feedback and understand that some of you, like artists who share their work on Twitter, value Retweets. You can still Retweet by not adding anything into the Quote Tweets composer," Twitter said.
Retweeting previously was a two-click process where users chose the option to simply retweet or add a quote. Now, the quote window opens automatically to encourage new thoughts.
"As we continue to protect the integrity of #Election2020 conversation on Twitter, we're announcing new, significant updates today that will bring more context and encourage thoughtful consideration before Tweeting," the company said.
Earlier this month, Twitter updated its Civic Integrity Policy. "You may not use Twitter's services for the purpose of manipulating or interfering in elections or other civic processes. This includes posting or sharing content that may suppress participation or mislead people about when, where, or how to participate in a civic process," it read.
"In addition, we may label and reduce the visibility of Tweets containing false or misleading information about civic processes in order to provide additional context".
Now, when people attempt to Retweet a Tweet with a misleading information label, they see a prompt directing them to credible information about the topic before they can amplify it.
