Twitter is testing new feature to let users report misleading tweets

Twitter has started rolling out the test feature for some users in the US, Australia and South Korea. Only after testing the feature completely, will Twitter consider a stable rollout.

Listen to Story

Advertisement
Twitter is testing new feature to let users report misleading tweets

In Short

  • Twitter is finally testing a new feature that would let users report misleading tweets.
  • Twitter said that feature is available to some users only in the US, South Korea and Australia. 
  • The test will help Twitter in spotting tweets that contain harmful information and has the potential to go viral.

Twitter is finally testing a new feature that would let users report misleading tweets. Using the feature, users can report or flag tweets that spread Covid-19 related misinformation or election-related fake news. Twitter said that feature is available to some users only in the US, South Korea and Australia.

Talking about the feature, Twitter said, “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.”

advertisement

“We're assessing if this is an effective approach so we’re starting small. 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,” it added.

As per the Verge report, a dropdown menu will appear at the top right of every tweet. Users can share whether the misleading tweet is about health, politics or any other category. So while flagging a tweet, you can also specify the category of the tweet. If it is a fake tweet about heath, you can specify whether it is related to Covid-19 or not. Twitter has started rolling out the test feature for some users in the US, Australia and South Korea. Only after testing the feature completely, will Twitter consider a stable rollout.

The company said that they would not review every tweet, but all use the data to determine how the feature could be expanded. The test will help Twitter in spotting tweets that contain harmful information and has the potential to go viral. The feature is controversial, and sometimes it may be exploited by people of similar interests. For instance, if a group of people do not like a politician, they can flag all of his tweets as fake news out of vengeance. If Twitter does not review the reports correctly, it may end up suspending the account of the person without him doing anything wrong.