Twitter Launches New ‘Crisis Information Policy’

May 21st, 2022 3:36 PM

On Thursday, Twitter announced that it launched a new “crisis information policy” to thwart the recommendation or amplification of “viral, false content that can further harm already vulnerable groups.”

“People turn to Twitter during crisis times to share news, find support, and stay connected,” Twitter said. “Today, we’re launching a crisis misinformation policy so Twitter doesn’t recommend or amplify viral, false content that can further harm already vulnerable groups.”

Twitter said it placed a “warning notice” on “high visibility misleading Tweets related to the war in Ukraine.”

“We’ve been refining our approach to crisis misinformation, drawing on input from global experts and human rights organizations,” Twitter said. “As part of this new framework, we’ll start adding warning notices on high visibility misleading Tweets related to the war in Ukraine.”

Fox Business reported that Twitter defined “crises” pursuant to “the United Nations’ definition.”

"For the purposes of this policy, we define crises as situations in which there is a widespread threat to life, physical safety, health, or basic subsistence," the platform said of the policy according to Fox Business. "This definition is consistent with the United Nations’ definition of a humanitarian crisis and other humanitarian assessments."

Twitter also said it would “prioritize” warnings about so-called misinformation on “high profile accounts.”

NewsBusters reported last year that Twitter launched “Birdwatch” which accomplished a similar goal.

“Birdwatch allows people to identify information in Tweets they believe is misleading and write notes that provide informative context. We believe this approach has the potential to respond quickly when misleading information spreads, adding context that people trust and find valuable,” Keith Coleman, Twitter’s Vice President of Product, said at the time. “Eventually we aim to make notes visible directly on Tweets for the global Twitter audience, when there is consensus from a broad and diverse set of contributors.” 

Twitter said any user could sign up for Birdwatch. 

“We want to invite anyone to sign up and participate in this program, and know that the broader and more diverse the group, the better Birdwatch will be at effectively addressing misinformation…” Coleman added. 

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