Twitter Discreetly Eliminates Its Policy Regarding Covid-19 Misinformation
Twitter Discreetly Eliminates Its Policy Regarding Covid-19 Misinformation
Twitter has scrapped its misleading information policy related to COVID-19 that previously stopped users from spreading falsehoods about the virus. Around 11,000 Twitter accounts were banned under the platform's previous policy, and approximately 100,000 posts containing COVID-19 misinformation were removed between January 2022 and September, as per data published by Twitter and reported by CNN.
The social media company's new CEO, Elon Musk, has been restoring accounts that were previously suspended or banned due to policy violations. One such instance was the reinstatement of Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's personal account, which was taken down for posting COVID-19 misinformation. Taylor Greene acknowledged the situation from her representative account, stating: 'On January 2, 2022, they violated my freedom of speech and my ability to campaign & fundraise by labeling 'covid misinformation'. My account is back. Follow @mtgreenee for uncensored MTG.'
Twitter did not officially announce the policy change, but users noticed the lifting of the COVID-19 policy on Monday night, as indicated by a note added to its website. "Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter is no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy," the note read.
The update was placed below a line that still reads: "As the global community faces the COVID-19 pandemic together, Twitter is helping people find reliable information, connect with others, and follow what's happening in real-time."
Twitter did not provide a response to Gizmodo's request for comment, as it appears to have dismantled its communication department.
Twitter introduced its COVID-19 policy in April 2020 to assist users in accessing trustworthy information and incorporated a strike system. A first-time offender would receive one strike, with no action taken against their account. However, accounts with two or three strikes would face 12-hour locks, four strikes would result in a 7-day lock, and those with five or more strikes would be permanently suspended.
Musk himself treaded on the line in the early stages of the pandemic, posting that COVID-19 was "dumb" and suggesting that children were immune to the virus. However, these claims were proven to be false.
Musk wrote in a tweet in March 2020, "Kids are essentially immune, but elderly with existing conditions are vulnerable. Family gatherings with close contact between kids & grandparents might be the most risky." Twitter deemed Musk's posts as not violating its COVID-19 rules and allowed his account to remain active on the platform.
The change in COVID-19 policy occurred after Musk laid off nearly half of Twitter's staff earlier this month, significantly reducing the size of its content moderation department.
It appears that Musk is now relying on regular Twitter users to handle the bulk of content moderation. Twitter recently updated its Community Notes feature (formerly known as Birdwatch). It allows users to vote on whether a note is useful or if additional context is needed, or if the post is misleading. The update introduces "scoring," giving users the ability to rate the quality of the note. An algorithm update was also announced to identify posts and users who frequently contribute to "low quality" notes.
In the wake of the policy changes, Elon Musk, Twitter's new CEO, has expressed his interest in leveraging the platform's users for content moderation, encouraging the use of the updated Community Notes feature. He mentioned, "Twitter is no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy," opening up the platform for diverse discussions about technology and the future of information sharing on tech platforms.