Twitter rolled out an update to its “crisis misinformation policy” on Thursday, saying it will put a warning label on posts about the conflict in Ukraine that fit certain criteria, limiting their ability to be seen, shared or liked. The announcement comes just a day after the resignation of US government’s “disinformation czar” Nina Jankowicz, who had advocated for the ability to edit other people’s tweets.
The policy will be applied globally and guide Twitter’s efforts to “elevate credible, authoritative information,” and “help to ensure viral misinformation isn’t amplified or recommended by us during crises,” said Yoel Roth, the company’s head of Safety and Integrity.
As soon as there is evidence that something posted “may be misleading,” Twitter will label it with a notice and won’t amplify or recommend it in the Home timeline, Search, and Explore tabs. Warning notices will be prioritized for “high profile accounts” such as those designated “state-affiliated media,” verified users, and official government accounts.
Declaring something misinformation will require “verification from multiple credible, publicly available sources, including evidence from conflict monitoring groups, humanitarian organizations, open-source investigators, journalists, and more,” Roth added.
As examples, Roth cited “false coverage or event reporting, or information that mischaracterizes conditions on the ground as a conflict evolves,” false allegations regarding “use of force, incursions on territorial sovereignty, or around the use of weapons,” as well as “demonstrably false or misleading allegations of war crimes or mass atrocities against specific populations” and falsehoods regarding “international community response, sanctions, defensive actions, or humanitarian operations.”