Twitter to strip 5G conspiracy tweets that could fuel violence

Twitter will now remove posts that could incite harmful actions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company announced on Wednesday.

“We have broadened our guidance on unverified claims that incite people to engage in harmful activity, could lead to the destruction or damage of critical 5G infrastructure, or could lead to widespread panic, social unrest, or large-scale disorder,” said Twitter.

The move comes after a number of conspiracy theories that link 5G to the spread of the novel coronavirus gained traction online, and resulted in the destruction of 5G equipment in a number of countries.

We have broadened our guidance on unverified claims that incite people to engage in harmful activity, could lead to the destruction or damage of critical 5G infrastructure, or could lead to widespread panic, social unrest, or large-scale disorder.

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) April 22, 2020

The company also gave two examples of tweets it would consider harmful. The first suggests that any tweet that potentially incites harmful mass action will be targeted.

• The National Guard just announced that no more shipments of food will be arriving for two months — run to the grocery store ASAP and buy everything.
• 5G causes coronavirus — go destroy the cell towers in your neighborhood!

Twitter in March announced it would remove posts that contain fake news about the pandemic.

Feature image: Shereesa Moodley/Memeburn