To counter the spread of misinformation and fake news Twitter introduces the label of “controversial” tweets
In recent months Twitter has introduced new features to counter the spread of fake news and misinformation on the social network. Now it launches a new label that will report the “controversial” tweets, inviting users to better inform themselves to avoid spreading misleading content.
To announce the news is the same social network, which explains how the measures already in place in recent months have allowed to reduce by 29% the mentions with incorrect or false information. A measure taken during the Covid-19 pandemic and reinforced in November for the presidential election in the United States. From now on, if a user tries to like or retweet a chirp considered controversial, he will receive a special alert that will help him avoid spreading a fake news. The new feature will first be available on the desktop version of the app and for iOS devices and then will be extended to Android devices.
Controversial tweets: what they are
A new feature introduced by Twitter will allow users to receive a notification if they try to Like or retweet a “controversial” tweet. The social network is thus committed to flagging content it deems misleading, which could help spread misinformation and fake news.
When you tap the “Like” button, an alert will pop up that warns users and urges them to get informed to help make the social a platform that only shares content deemed trustworthy.
Twitter and the fight against fake news
Twitter announced the new feature on its official support page, noting that tags recently introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 U.S. presidential election helped reduce mentions of tweets containing misleading information by 29 percent.
Between Oct. 27 and Nov. 11, 300,000 tweets were labeled “misleading,” and for 456 of those, the social prevented retweets thanks to its warnings. The social network’s goal is to continue to combat misinformation and make its platform fake news-proof.