This archive report was first published on 12 May 2020.
Published on May 12, 2020, Twitter Inc has announced a new approach to combat misinformation on COVID-19, including adding labels and warning messages to tweets with disputed or misleading information.
As part of this new approach, Twitter 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's new labels will also apply to tweets that have been sent before Twitter's announcement and will be used regardless of who sent the tweet.
According to Twitter's public policy director Nick Pickles, the company is not waiting for a third party to have made a cast-iron decision on the accuracy of a tweet, but rather reflecting the debate and providing context around different types of unverified claims and rumors.
Twitter will use internal systems to proactively monitor tweets related to COVID-19 and rely on 'trusted partners,' such as non-governmental organizations and think tanks, to identify content that could cause harm.
Other social media sites, including Facebook and YouTube, are also under pressure to combat misinformation on their platforms.
