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Twitter shares stats on info-policing systems post-2020 US election

While there is still much to be done in policing rampant social media misinformation, Twitter shared what effects it recently introduced systems had on the 2020 US elections.
TJ Denzer
TJ Denzer
2

Social media remains a cesspool of contradicting and sometimes outright blatantly misleading information when it comes to important subject matters in the world. Twitter is, in part, responsible for the voices it allows to continue to gain traction and soapbox on its platform, but it finally begun to put substantial effort into the issue. Recently, Twitter introduced systems for moderating misinformation regarding particular subjects, and following the 2020 US election results, it has shared a little bit about what those efforts have amounted to and what comes next.

Twitter shared a report regarding stats on its systems and the 2020 elections on November 12, 2020. One of Twitter’s major efforts leading up to the 2020 US Election was tagging misleading tweets regarding election results and other sensitive matters, such as COVID-19 or manipulated media, with notes that would signal the invalidity of the information therein. In substantial cases, tweets would be outright hidden or limited on engagement and their spread. Current and exiting President Trump saw plenty of this moderation as he attempted to claim victory in states and victory overall in the election well before races were called.

Blatantly egregious incidents of misinformation on Twitter are hit with a filter that hides the tweet and makes it only interactable via quote retweets.
Blatantly egregious incidents of misinformation such as the ones above on Twitter are hit with a filter that hides the tweet and makes it only interactable via quote retweets.

Where before, and arguably for far too long, individuals like Trump were allowed to remain unchecked when it came to their tweets, Twitter has since made a substantial effort to reel in the freedom to make unchecked claims on critical matters without consequence. As such, many tweets such as the ones above have been limited entirely with only quote retweets as the sole interaction available on them. This has been part of Twitter’s effort as well, and the company claims it has made a substantial difference in what information is shared.

Despite the ongoing efforts, Twitter of all groups recognizes there is far more work to be done, and so it intends to monitor and evolve these systems further over time as elections, the pandemic, and other particularly serious issues continue to require moderation of misinformation.

As Twitter continues to evolve its efforts and rhetoric for the policing of misinformation, stay tuned to Shacknews as we watch for new details and updates on the situation.

Senior News Editor
Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.

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