Twitter announced in a recent website update that it would no longer enforce its Covid-19 misguided information security policy. This implies that the company will no longer prioritize separating or labeling misleading Covid-19 health data. The social media platform has been restricting the ability of its users to express themselves by suspending accounts and blocking the spread of information. The company has been aggressively banning content mostly linked to conservatives.
It was widely reported in November 2018 that the company was purging hundreds of thousands of Covid-19 accounts deemed as “false” or “misleading.” This included prominent conservatives, such as the group “@ReignOfApril,” which had 75,000 followers. The action led to a massive uproar from Covid-19 users, including some liberal groups.
The CEO of Twitter, Elon Musk, stated that the company’s priority is to ensure that Twitter is a platform for free expression. He reassured Covid-19 users that their accounts would not be affected by “flagging” or other recent algorithms. Earlier in 2018, Twitter announced that it was using automated tools to detect and label accounts promoting hate speech or misinformation. This label was automatically added to the accounts that were tagged.
However, at the time of writing this report, it is still being determined if any action has been taken on Covid-19 health data websites. This is because some users have reported that accounts with similar names and information have been suspended or updated for a long time. We still believe that Twitter does not want to become a “truth police” for using algorithms to determine what’s true and false. On Twitter, users can express their opinions freely without any interference from management or enforcement groups from outside networks.
The social network’s decision to stop policing Covid-19 misinformation comes after a controversial move last month by CEO Elon Musk to delete his own company’s Facebook pages.
Elon Musk has asserted that hate speech is not permitted on his platforms in the past. This is because he said that hate speech is a significant threat to Twitter’s existence as a platform for free expression. He stated that banning accounts with hate speech content would cause his company to harm itself and that this would not be beneficial for the future of the platform.
Musk has also been accused of blocking users from criticizing him or asking questions about Covid-19 online health data. Some users have claimed that they are censored or suspended from platforms, including Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/29/twitter-stops-policing-covid-19-misinformation-under-ceo-elon-musk.html.
Dil Bole Oberoi
