Twitter launched a new crisis misinformation policy on May 19, 2022. The social media company cited that they will apply warning labels to claims that experts have identified as “misinformation during fast-moving times of crisis.”
The social media giant introduced this new policy as people use the platform to find reliable information in real time. Also, accessing credible and authoritative information during the periods of crisis like armed conflict situations and public health emergencies is more critical, according to Twitter.
Twitter’s new crisis misinformation policy is designed, in the first place, to slow the spread of misinformation during armed conflicts, public health emergencies, and natural disasters. The new platform’s outlines will ban false or misleading claims and add a warning notice on content, including:
- False coverage or event reporting, or information that mischaracterizes conditions on the ground as a conflict evolves;
- False allegations regarding the use of force, incursions on territorial sovereignty, or the use of weapons;
- Demonstrably false or misleading allegations of war crimes or mass atrocities against specific populations;
- False information regarding international community response, sanctions, defensive actions, or humanitarian operations.
Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of safety and integrity, has mentioned in a blog that the platform requires verification from multiple credible sources, including evidence from conflict monitoring groups, humanitarian organizations, open-source investigators, journalists, and more.”
Roth also mentioned that determining whether a piece of information is true or false can be "exceptionally difficult."
The platform also stated that it would target state-run media accounts that make demonstrably false and misleading claims.
Following the conflict in Ukraine and other armed conflicts, the blog stated that content that violates Twitter's new crisis misinformation policy would be hidden behind a warning notice, as seen below.
To view the content, Twitter users will need to click through the warning notice. Furthermore, the content will not be amplified or recommended to other users, and responses such as likes, retweets, and shares will be disabled. Twitter will also provide more context through labels, as well as additional information about the new misinformation policy.
Since last year, before the Ukraine war, the social media giant has been working on developing a crisis misinformation framework.
The company defines crises as "situations in which there is a widespread threat to life, physical safety, health, or basic subsistence" in order to introduce its new misinformation policy. Twitter's Head of Safety & Integrity also stated that their definition of a crisis is "consistent with the UN's definition of a humanitarian crisis and other humanitarian assessments."
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