Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) is making considerable changes to the way that they portray potentially misleading tweets, which the company does not believe are serious enough to be removed from the platform entirely.
To go along with this, the company has introduced a "test" in a tweet this past Thursday as well as images with misinformation labels. In the test, these particular tweets emerge with color-coded backgrounds, which in turn cause them to become much more easily seen in the feed, as well as offering users an easy way to glean information from visual cues.
Tweets that Twitter has claimed to be "misleading" or to be the result of some sort of misinformation will receive a red background with a brief description as well as a notification that users are unable to like, reply, or share the material. Yellow labels will also show up on material that is not quite as directly misleading. In either case, Twitter has made it evident that users are able to click on the labels to discover true or more verifiable information regarding individual topics, such as the pandemic.
"People who come across the new labels as a part of this limited test should expect a more communicative impact from the labels themselves both through copy, symbols and colors used to distill clear context about not only the label, but the information or content they are engaging with," a Twitter spokesperson told TechCrunch regarding this new feature.
Separately, Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) hopes to employ similar methods of anti-extremist techniques that will ultimately provide support and resources to users who may be easily led astray by the vast array of misinformation out there on the Web.
"It's the best of both worlds" for the companies, said Lisa Fazio, a Vanderbilt University psychology professor who has made studies regarding the effects of spreading misinformation online, according to the Associated Press. "It's seen as doing something about misinformation without making content decisions."
Social media platforms Twitter and Facebook have made great strides as of late when it comes to cracking down on the spreading of general online misinformation about a wide variety of topics - particularly, the coronavirus pandemic. It will likely enhance both knowledge and safety, and improve the overall experience of social media users.