As part of its bid to curb the spread of misinformation and fake news online, Twitter has recently introduced a number of new, experimental features to its service – most recently, the company introduced a prompt to encourage users to read through a linked article before retweeting it. Now, a new endeavour called ‘Birdwatch’ might go a step further.
In a move that could position Twitter somewhat closer to the online forums of yesteryear, ‘Birdwatch’ appears to introduce the capability for moderators to flag tweets, vote on whether it could be misleading, or add notes to the tweet itself. The move could be a lynchpin to adding greater context to tweets in which information may be false or misconstrued.
The Verge notes that in September, Twitter added an ‘Add to Birdwatch’ feature below options to either block or report accounts, which may trigger the ability to either invite moderators to review content, or append notes yourself depending on the dynamics of the discussion at hand.
Twitter user Jane Manchun Wong further noted that triggering the Birdwatch feature unleashes a survey which enables users to elaborate what harm they believe the tweet may cause. Notably, the feature also allows users to self-identify on the political spectrum of an argument.
Twitter continues working on “Birdwatch”, the crowdsourced misinformation combatting tool which they’ve confirmed working on yesterday
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) October 3, 2020
Here’s the first look of Birdwatch’s “Twitter Community” form, where users states and elaborates whether a tweet is misleading pic.twitter.com/0zbQppm2kh
Twitter’s more recent measures have also attempted to tackle online bullying, and recent features point to the introduction of warnings for users who attempt to post malicious responses to other users.
What remains unclear, however, is whether Twitter will rely on AI or human-led moderation teams to respond to discussions and to verify the facts contained within tweets themselves.
What are your thoughts on Birdwatch? Could the feature resolve some of the issues facing the platform? Would it affect your willingness to engage on the social media network? Let us know in the comments below.
