Twitter's Ongoing Fight Against Disinformation

About a week ago I opened Twitter like I so often do. As I went to retweet an article, there was a different prompt than usual. Instead of having an option to retweet or quote the tweet, I was instantly put into the quoting function with the tweet I clicked. I did not know the reasoning for this, but it did not bother me. After reading an article from Social Media Today, I found the solution to my confusion.

Twitter has been stepping up their fight against disinformation by creating more friction when sharing posts. They are adding an extra step before sharing so that users will be more aware of what exactly they share. With this new feature, they have added new warnings on posts that contain possible misinformation. When you go to retweet a post, Twitter will automatically remind you to open the link and read instead of just sharing based off the headline.

We all know how clickbait has taken over the internet. Articles with preposterous headlines spread like wildfires, with fewer people taking the time to gain context. With the new warning feature before retweeting, "Twitter found that these prompts lead to people opening articles 40% more often."

Since this avenue was so successful, Twitter will be adding the same feature when liking posts with possible misinformation. Content is spread to other people's feeds if you like it as well. Tweets will show up with a small font at the top that reads "_____ liked." This, along with many other moves made by Twitter will slow down the sharing of misinformation. Tweets about the election that have been disputed by many will also show up with a warning of the refutes.

The two images included show examples of how this new function works.

I believe that these functions will be overall beneficial to slow the spread of misinformation. It is critical that social media users learn about what they are sharing. If someone shares an article with a misleading headline, it will be interpreted by other users as such. Just a headline. This process has a chain effect that will lead to more and more shares when posted.

Twitter and Facebook are homes to incredible amounts of misinformation that needs to be pushed aside. Every social media user is put into their own news silo of their preference. As we like and share posts, the social media algorithms will show you more posts similar to the one shared. News outlets that you share before will reappear inevitably, which will likely lead to another share.

Even though Twitter and Facebook's main goals are to keep you on social media, it is good to see at least one of them fighting against these patterns that they continuously host. Being reminded to fact-check never hurts, but some will continue to disregard possible elaboration and extra information.

If you feel inclined, read this article for yourself and learn more. We all need to remember that we are accountable for what we share, so double-checking information should be a must. These new functions don't impede upon our First Amendment rights, they only push us to seek the whole truth.

Source: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/twitters-working-on-new-warnings-for-likes-of-tweets-which-include-dispute/588666/