Twitter To Curb Coronavirus Misinformation On Its Platform

Social media platforms are a thriving hub for communication. Serving as messaging platforms as well, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites are platforms to discuss various topics. However, with the coronavirus pandemic, a lot of misinformation is circulating on these platforms. Twitter is now working on banning coronavirus misinformation on its platform.

Twitter will be further tightening its rules and regulations around speech. In light of various misleading data on its platform, the company is now barring users from posting information about coronavirus COVID-19. This includes denials of expert guidance and encouraging fake treatments.

Twitter explained the new guidelines in a blog post noting that it would require Twitter users to remove posts, tweets encouraging people to act against the recommendations from public health authorities. For instance, “the news about washing your hands is propaganda for soap companies” and “use aromatherapy and essential oils to prevent COVID-19.” Twitter has now barred such statements from its platform.

“We couldn’t have predicted that this would happen in terms of the coronavirus,” Jerrel Peterson, Twitter’s head of safety policy, said in a phone interview with Reuters.

Twitter isn’t the only one working against misleading information on social media platforms. Facebook also has a similar setup where it’s taking down posts with false claims and conspiracy theories about the coronavirus.

Both Twitter and Facebook noted that such posts and information violate their policies around posts that could cause physical harm, departing from a normally hands-off approach to health content which has allowed anti-vaccination groups to thrive on their platforms.

Earlier, Google noted that it was relying on AI technology to check the content on YouTube as most of its employees were working from home. Twitter too has a similar setup with AI reviewing system checking the tweets and posts for abusive and misleading content. Now, it will further be barring users from such posts.