What To Know About Twitter’s ‘Approach To The 2022 US Midterms’ Announcement
Bo Banks
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Twitter is already gearing up to intervene against “misleading narratives” they anticipate are coming ahead of the US 2022 midterm elections.
In a new announcement released on Thursday titled “Our approach to the 2022 US midterms,” the big giant explained that it aims “to enable healthy civic conversation on Twitter, while ensuring people have the context they need to make informed decisions.”
Some of the measures the platform plans on taking include blocking certain spreaders of “harmful misleading information” by “activating enforcement” of its “Civic Integrity Policy.” In other words, if Twitter deems information to be false, accounts could be removed from the site.
“People on Twitter will see a prompt prior to liking or sharing labeled tweets, and in cases where there is potential for harm associated with the false or misleading claim, the Tweet may not be liked or shared to prevent the spread of the misleading information,” Twitter claimed.
Two worrisome moves Twitter will be adding include “prebunks” and @TwitterSafety.
Prebunks, according to the platform, are used “to get ahead of misleading narratives on Twitter, and to proactively address topics that may be the subject of misinformation.”
“Over the coming months, [Twitter will] place prompts directly on people’s timelines in the US and in Search when people type related terms, phrases, or hashtags,” it added.
To educate users on identifying fake news, the announcement stated:
Keep an eye on @TwitterSafety for media literacy tips and suggestions, like how to spot misinformation, which were developed in partnership with educational experts.
Twitter critics were quick to point out that these safety precautions have been misused in the past, especially in the case of the suppressed Hunter Biden Laptop story that ex-CEO Jack Dorsey would eventually dub a “mistake.”
“We recognize it as a mistake that we made, both in terms of the intention of the policy and also the enforcement action of not allowing people to share it publicly or privately,” Dorsey said.
“We made a quick interpretation, using no other evidence, that the materials in the article were obtained through hacking and, according to our policy, we blocked them from being spread,” he added.
Users are rightfully discouraged by the platform’s alleged ability to combat and fight against misinformation. The Hunter Biden Laptop story is just one example, as there have been countless others that have shined a light on the platform’s bias toward conservative speech.
For instance, Twitter just recently banned author and mathematician James Lindsay for using the word “groomer” and other “hateful conduct.”
His end all be all crime? Saying “Ok, child sexualization specialist” in a response to Slate journalist Alejandra Carabello.
Tell James, I want him to know it was me. pic.twitter.com/fn49LqjTdK
— Alejandra Caraballo (@Esqueer_) August 5, 2022
Despite all the controversy, Twitter pledges “to share real-time information about [its] approach” as election day nears. Users shouldn’t hold their breath.
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