Twitter is Testing Community Reporting to Curb Misinformation

The demo shows red or orange labels for tweets deemed as “harmfully misleading”.

Twitter is testing a new user-driven approach that would let users identify misleading content on its platform.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint/ Twitter/@NBCNews)

Twitter is testing a user-driven approach that would allow users to identify any misleading content being shared by public figures, NBC News reported showing a leaked demo of the new features.

The article stated that community reporting feature is one of the many possibilities that the micro-blogging website would explore to tackle misinformation. The features will allow Twitter users to “earn points and a community badge if they contribute in good faith and act like a good neighbour and provide critical context to help people understand information they see."

A Twitter spokesperson, in an email, told The Quint, “We're exploring a number of ways to address misinformation and provide more context for tweets on Twitter. This is a design mock-up for one option that would involve community feedback. Misinformation is a critical issue and we will be testing many different ways to address it.”

As per the demo, the users are first asked if the tweet is “harmfully misleading.” Following which, they are asked to rate, on a scale of 1 to 100, how many people would respond with the same answer. They are then asked to specify reasons for labelling the tweet as being “harmfully misleading.”

"The more points you earn, the more your vote counts," the leaked demo reads.

Misleading Tweets to Have Coloured Labels

The leaked demo also shows red or orange labels for tweets that are considered to be “harmfully misleading”. These labels are approximately the same size as the tweet.

As per the leaked demo, the disinformation or misinformation posted on Twitter would have corrections issued by verified fact-checkers and journalists exactly below the tweet.

Twitter has, however, not yet announced when these features would be unveiled.

In February, Twitter had said that it will soon begin labelling tweets containing "manipulated media" and would take steps, including the removal of such tweets having the potential to harm public safety or lead to voter suppression.

The crackdown on manipulated media comes at a time when there have been concerns globally, over the implications of altered, forged content, including deepfake videos.

(With inputs from NBC News)