Twitter makes temporary retweet changes for US election

In the run-up to the US presidential election, Twitter has announced and incorporated a range of temporary features and changes.

The company made the announcement outlining the changes on its Twitter Comms account.

The changes are aimed at promoting engagement, slowing the spread of misinformation and disinformation, and encouraging users to read before sharing.

For example, the read before retweeting prompt has been rolled out more widely. If you try to retweet a story without reading it first, you will receive a prompt asking you to read the article.

Another change is the prioritisation of the Quote Tweet feature over the Retweet feature.

When users click on the retweet button, a Quote Tweet window will open instead. To retweet with no additional comment, the user will need to tap the blue retweet button.

First, we’re encouraging everyone to Quote Tweet. We hope it will encourage everyone to not only consider why they are amplifying a Tweet, but also increase the likelihood that people add their own thoughts, reactions and perspectives to the conversation. https://t.co/WGwUrE6kQG

— Twitter Comms (@TwitterComms) October 20, 2020

“We’re encouraging everyone to Quote Tweet,” the company said.

“We hope it will encourage everyone to not only consider why they are amplifying a tweet, but also increase the likelihood that people add their own thoughts, reactions, and perspectives to the conversation.”

Twitter is also temporarily removing “liked by” and “followed by” recommendations from your timeline.

“This will likely slow down how quickly Tweets from accounts & topics you don’t follow reach you, but is a worthwhile sacrifice to encourage thoughtful & explicit amplification,” Twitter says.

These changes will reflect for Twitter users across the globe — something some users are unhappy about.

However, one US-specific change relates to Twitter Trends. In the US, Twitter will only show trends that have context in the “For You” tab. Some US-based accounts will also see further restrictions and warning labels applied for sharing misleading information.

The changes took effect from 21 October.

Feature image: Shereesa Moodley/Memeburn