Twitter has launched a new feature that lets users report tweets that contain misinformation or that they think are “misleading”.
The social media giant is testing the feature in the US, South Korea, and Australia.
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Announced via tweet, users in those countries will see the option to flag a tweet as misleading. They can do so the same way they would report a tweet that has harmful content.
We’re testing a feature for you to report Tweets that seem misleading – as you see them. Starting today, some people in the US, South Korea, and Australia will find the option to flag a Tweet as “It’s misleading” after clicking on Report Tweet.
— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) August 17, 2021
“We’re assessing if this is an effective approach so we’re starting small,” Twitter wrote in a follow-up tweet.
“We may not take action on and cannot respond to each report in the experiment, but your input will help us identify trends so that we can improve the speed and scale of our broader misinformation work.”
If a user sees a tweet they think is misleading, they can report the tweet by selecting the Report Tweet option in its dropdown menu.
Twitter did not say if and when it would roll the option out to other countries.
It comes as Twitter has come under increased pressure to combat fake news and misinformation on the platform.
Earlier this month, Twitter announced it had partnered with Reuters and Associated Press (AP) to add context to tweets.
The partnership aims to give app users verified information on topics while they are still new and trending. It also aimed to assist Twitter’s expertise and access to reporting global issues and events.
And in January, Twitter launched the community-driven forum Birdwatch to combat misinformation on the app.
Available in the US, Birdwatch lets members identify misleading tweets and provide feedback with context about them.
Featured image: Unsplash/Ravi Sharma
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