Twitter will flag tweets that promote hate speech

Twitter announced that embed tags in tweets that violate the terms of use and have been restricted. The new implementation is part of Elon Musk’s “Free Speech, Not Sweep” strategy for the new era of the social network. In accordance with company blog postTwitter would prefer to reduce the amount of contentbut not before pointing out why he did it.

The labels are similar to what we saw before the arrival of Elon Musk. If we remember a similar measure was applied to Donald Trump’s tweets during the 2020 election, unsubstantiated accusations of electoral fraud, as well as accusations of those who protested the death of George Floyd, were enough for Twitter to use this function.

“Restricting access to tweets, also known as “visibility filtering,” is one of our actions that allows us to go beyond the binary keep-or-delete approach to content moderation,” Twitter said in a statement. “Like other social platforms, we have historically not been transparent when we have taken these actions,” the company said.

tags include a title stating that the tweet violates the terms of useand also a link to learn more about it. As with Donald Trump, limited reach tweets will disable the answer function, do retweetgive like or share.

Twitter will fight hate speech without censoring it

The company announced that the new labels provide a new level of transparency showing which policy the tweet potentially violates. Content that violates the terms of use will be less visible on the platform. This means that you will be excluded from search results, recommendations or trendsas well as in the author’s profile.

Flagged tweet won’t show up in tabs For you or Next, even if you are following the user. In the event of an error, the tweeter can appeal the decision, although this does not guarantee that the social network will respond or restore coverage. Let’s remember that Twitter operates with fewer employees than before, so it’s almost certain that the platform will automate moderation and only back off in certain cases.

Limited Visibility Labels will initially apply to tweets that violate the hate speech rules, although they will expand to other areas in the coming months. Twitter confirmed that this measure will not replace other moderation mechanismssuch as removing illegal content and suspending accounts that violate the terms of use of the platform.

Elon Musk wants his company to be transparent

The new mechanism comes after months of promises of more transparent governance. Elon Musk’s 2nd tweet was notable for criticizing the censorship that prevailed in previous years. Labels not only seek to preserve freedom of expression, but also shadowban.

During an interview with BBC, Elon Musk denied the rise in tweets promoting hate speech. The tycoon suggested that the journalist show him an example of content that violates the rules. However, the British media have mentioned studies carried out by organizations such as the Institute for Strategic Dialogue in the United Kingdom.