Other tweets might be covered entirely by a
warning label alerting users that “some or all of the
content shared in this tweet conflict with guidance
from public health experts regarding COVID-19.”
Twitter won’t directly fact check or call tweets
false on the site, said Nick Pickles, the company’s
global senior strategist for public policy. The
warning labels might send users to curated
tweets, public health websites or news articles.
“People don’t want us to play the role of
deciding for them what’s true and what’s not
true but they do want people to play a much
stronger role providing context,” Pickles said.
The notices, which could start appearing as
soon as today, could also apply retroactively
to past tweets.
The fine line is similar to one taken by tech rival
Facebook, which has said it doesn’t want to be
an “arbiter of the truth” but has arranged for
third-party fact checkers to review falsehoods on
its site. The Associated Press is part of Facebook’s
fact-checking program.
One example of a disputed tweet that might
be labeled on its site includes claims about the
origin of COVID-19, which remains unknown.
Conspiracy theories about how the virus started
and if it is man-made have swirled around social
media for months.
Twitter will continue to take down COVID-19
tweets that pose a threat to the safety of a person
or group, along with attempts to incite mass
violence or widespread civil unrest. The company
has been removing bogus coronavirus cures and
claims that social distancing or face masks do not
curb the virus’ spread for several weeks.