Twitter has explained how it will deal with tweets that give misleading election results. As reported by TechCrunch this has all been illustrated in an updated policy notice from the company.
Twitter, as well as other social media platforms, have had to be particularly careful in the run-up to the election. They have faced pressure on both sides of the political divide to change their behavior with regards to censorship.
This had led to big tech CEOs being questioned by the Senate on their actions regarding misinformation. Twitter has also had to take actions to try and tackle the spread of misinformation. One of those methods has been the addition of banners explaining the dangers of fake news.
With many concerned that the result of the election will be contested, Twitter has taken steps to try and curb misinformation in this area. As a result, it has issued new guidelines about how it will deal with Tweets on this topic.
Twitter issues policy update regarding election results
This policy update outlined how Twitter would handle tweets making claims about election results before they were official. In September, the company said it would remove or attach a warning label to any premature claims of victory.
This is because these tweets incite “unlawful conduct to prevent a peaceful transfer of power or orderly succession.” However, now the company said it would prioritize labelling tweets about the presidential election. It also said the same goes for any other “highly contested races.”
The company said it can label a tweet if the account has a U.S. 2020 candidate label. This includes presidential candidates and campaigns.
Tweets can also be labelled if the account is U.S.-based with more than 100,000 followers. Or if they have significant engagement with the tweet. This threshold is normally 25,000 Likes or 25,000 Quote Tweets plus Retweets.
This latter action is to try and stop misinformation going viral even if it does not come from a big account. Twitter will consider and election result official if at least two of a select list of national news outlets confirm it.
Which includes ABC News, The Associated Press, CBS News, CNN, Decision Desk HQ, Fox News and NBC News.
In addition, Twitter says that if it sees content “inciting interference with the election, encouraging violent action or other physical harms” it may take additional measures. This would include adding a warning or even removing the tweet.
Concerns have spread about this sort of false election results claims after Trump said he planned to declare victory on Tuesday night if it looks like he’s ahead. He later denied these claims but it has clearly led to some concerns at Twitter.