Twitter Tackles Deceptive Information and Manipulated Media

Following Facebook and Reddit, Twitter has unveiled new rules governing how it will handle deceptive information and manipulated media.

Social media platforms are increasingly under pressure to moderate misleading information on their platforms. With an upcoming election the pressure is even greater, as a single well-timed, misleading post could have profound repercussions. Following similar announcements from Facebook and Reddit, Twitter has announced its own policy to tackle the issue.

The company detailed the new rule in a blog post:

“You may not deceptively share synthetic or manipulated media that are likely to cause harm. In addition, we may label Tweets containing synthetic and manipulated media to help people understand the media’s authenticity and to provide additional context.”

In a chart the company uses, there are three prime factors that will determine how Twitter responds: media that is significantly and deceptively altered or fabricated; media that’s shared in a deceptive manner; and whether the media will cause serious harm or impact public safety.

The company admits they may make mistakes as the policy starts being enforced on March 5, 2020.

“This will be a challenge and we will make errors along the way — we appreciate the patience. However, we’re committed to doing this right. Updating our rules in public and with democratic participation will continue to be core to our approach.

We’re working to serve the public conversation, and doing our work openly and with the people who use our service.”