Before the US midterm elections, Twitter reintroduces its election misinformation guidelines

12 Aug 2022 , 11:06 AM

Twitter Inc. announced that it would bring back tools on the social media platform to encourage accurate information regarding the November US midterm elections and crack down on false and misleading remarks. Civil rights advocates and experts on internet misinformation claim that social media and tech companies are failing to do enough to stop the spread of false information, such as the claim that President Joe Biden did not win the 2020 election.
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On November 8, when all 435 members in the U.S. House of Representatives and nearly a third of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate are up for election, Twitter will implement its civic integrity policy, which was first proposed in 2018.The policy forbids users from uploading deceptive material meant to discourage people from voting as well as assertions meant to erode public trust in an election, including erroneous claims regarding the results of elections.
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The potential for "future instigation of violence" was cited by Twitter as the reason for permanently suspending Donald Trump from the service last year, days after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.The San Francisco-based business, which is suing Elon Musk for $44 billion to fulfill his purchase deal, claimed it tested ways to stop fraudulent tweets from being forwarded to other users through notifications.
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According to Twitter, the testing prevented 1.6 million fewer people from viewing false content each month.

To "prebunk," or refute falsehoods before they go further online, information prompts are incorporated into user timelines as part of attempts to combat disinformation, such as those made before the 2020 presidential election.