DOING SOMETHING

Twitter Will Now Label Posts With COVID-19 Misinformation

The new label will read: “Some or all of the content shared in this tweet conflict with guidance from public health experts regarding COVID-19.”

Twitter announced on Monday that it will introduce “new labels and warning messages” to alert users if a tweet contains “disputed or misleading information” related to the coronavirus. In an effort to control the surge of misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, the social-media giant said it will “prioritize review and labeling of content that could lead to increased exposure or transmission.” The company’s statement adds that tweets containing unverified claims, “which could be true or false,” will remain untouched, while those sharing disputed claims or misleading information will be marked with a warning label and removed if they are deemed harmful to the public.

The warning label, which will be rolled out on the platform Monday, will inform users that “some or all of the content shared in this tweet conflict with guidance from public health experts regarding COVID-19.” Nick Pickles, Twitter’s global senior strategist for public policy, told the Associated Press that “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.”