Twitter Expands Feature Allowing Users to Flag Misleading Tweets

Twitter said on Monday it will expand its test feature which allows users to flag misleading content on its social media platform to Brazil, Spain, and the Philippines. The company had introduced the pilot test of the feature in August last year, as a part of its effort to reduce misinformation on its platform. It was first tested in the United States, Australia, and South Korea.

Since it was first announced, Twitter said it has received around 3 million reports from users who have used it to flag tweets which they believe are in violation of its policies. The social media giant last year launched another programme called Birdwatch, which lets participants write notes and provide additional context to misleading tweets, though those notes are held on a separate website.

To begin with, a button was visible to some users from the United States, South Korea, and Australia to choose “it’s misleading” after clicking “report tweet”. Users could then be more specific, flagging the misleading tweet as potentially containing misinformation about “health,” “politics,” and “other.” “We’re testing a feature for you to report Tweets that seem misleading – as you see them,” the social network had said in a tweet in August last year that introduced the feature.

“We’re assessing if this is an effective approach so we’re starting small. We may not take action on and cannot respond to each report in the experiment, but your input will help us identify trends so that we can improve the speed and scale of our broader misinformation work.”

Social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube regularly come under fire from critics who say the companies do not do enough to fight misinformation spread.

© Thomson Reuters 2022