Twitter announced Monday which will label tweets with potentially misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines and introduce a strike system that can lead to permanent suspension of the account.
The big picture: Technology companies are taking an increasingly aggressive stance against users trying to share misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines on their platforms.
- Facebook announced in February that it would crack down on misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine.
- YouTube announced last October that it would remove videos with misinformation from the COVID-19 vaccine. YouTube has a similar policy for accounts that violate its policies.
Details: The platform will begin applying the tags on Monday, using human review at the beginning and eventually also using automated tools.
- Labels can link to cured vaccine content and official public health information.
- People will be notified if their tweet has led to a strike. Users will receive five alerts and the level of punishment will go from no action to different account lockout periods until full suspension. Users can submit resources.
What they say: “Our goal with these product interventions is to provide people with additional context and authorized information about COVID-19, ”the company wrote in a blog post.
- “By using the strike system, we hope to educate people about why certain content violates our rules so that they have a chance to further consider their behavior and impact on public conversation.”