Twitter Announces New ‘Birdwatch’ Feature for Users to Help Censor ‘Misinformation’
By Movieguide® Staff
Twitter announced a new feature called “Birdwatch,” that will allow users to help the company censor “misinformation.”
The social media giant said that the new feature is “community-driven” and encourages users “to identity information in tweets they believe is misleading and write notes that provide informative context.”
Twitter outlined how the new “fact-checking” system allows users to report tweets and add notes on why Twitter should take down someone else’s post.
I’m sure this is going to go really well https://t.co/XEeOwE2dAg
— Alexandra DeSanctis Marr (@xan_desanctis) January 25, 2021
Nick Pickles, director of public policy strategy and development for Twitter, told Reason that Twitter created “Birdwatch” because users “desire to be part of the conversation” regarding the platform’s “content moderation.”
As the feature rolls out, the notes added to tweets “will not have an effect on the way people see tweets or our system recommendations,” Keith Coleman, vice president of products for Twitter, said.
Coleman added: “I believe this approach has the potential to respond quickly when misleading information spreads, adding context that people trust and find valuable.”
Twitter’s decision to launch such a feature comes weeks after the company permanently barred former President Donald Trump from their platform.
Twitter claimed that Trump’s tweets incited the riots at Capitol Hill on Jan. 6. and that the suspension would reduce the “risk of further incitement of violence.”
The feature, while certainly motivated by big tech’s censorship of conservative voices, could be a positive change in accountability for the darker side of the social media app.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Twitter faces a federal lawsuit, filed on behalf of a teenager, which claims that the social media giant waited to remove sexually graphic videos involving minors posted to the platform by sex traffickers.
The lawsuit—filed on Jan. 20, 2021, in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California—withheld the minor’s name but identified him as a 16-year-old Florida resident.
“This lawsuit seeks to shine a light on how Twitter has enabled and profited from [child pornography] on its platform, choosing profits over people, money over the safety of children, and wealth at the expense of human freedom and human dignity,” the lawsuit reads.
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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