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Bulletins

Twitter will block retweets of misinformation from politicians

Twitter will also begin showing users who are about to retweet misinformation a warning label.

A Twitter misinformation warning screen

Starting next week, Twitter users will have to click through a warning label to see posts by U.S. politicians that have been labeled as containing misinformation.

Image: Twitter

In a blog post Friday, Twitter announced a series of changes designed to curb the spread of misinformation on its platform — particularly when it comes from political figures.

Starting next week, the company will prevent users from retweeting, liking or replying to posts by U.S. politicians that have been labeled as containing misinformation. They'll also have to click through a warning label to see the posts. Users will be able to quote tweet the misinformation, but Twitter executives said the new restrictions will help limit its reach.

"We expect this will further reduce the visibility of misleading information, and will encourage people to reconsider if they want to amplify these Tweets," Kayvon Beykpour, Twitter's product lead, and Vijaya Gadde, Twitter's head of legal, policy and trust, wrote in the blog post. That policy will also apply to accounts that have more than 100,000 followers or "that obtain significant engagement."

In addition to that policy, next week Twitter will also begin showing users who are about to retweet misinformation a warning label, directing them to more credible information. And beginning Oct. 20 and lasting at least through the end of election week, the company will begin prompting anyone attempting to retweet anything to instead write a quote tweet, in which they add their own context. "Though this adds some extra friction for those who simply want to retweet, we hope it will encourage everyone to not only consider why they are amplifying a tweet, but also increase the likelihood that people add their own thoughts, reactions and perspectives to the conversation," the post read.

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 Issie Lapowsky

Issie Lapowsky ( @issielapowsky) is Protocol's chief correspondent, covering the intersection of technology, politics, and national affairs. She also oversees Protocol's fellowship program. Previously, she was a senior writer at Wired, where she covered the 2016 election and the Facebook beat in its aftermath. Prior to that, Issie worked as a staff writer for Inc. magazine, writing about small business and entrepreneurship. She has also worked as an on-air contributor for CBS News and taught a graduate-level course at New York University's Center for Publishing on how tech giants have affected publishing.

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On this episode of the Source Code podcast: First, a few takeaways from another blockbuster quarter in the tech industry. Then, Janko Roettgers joins the show to discuss Big Tech's obsession with the metaverse and the platform war that seems inevitable. Finally, Ben Pimentel talks about Robinhood's IPO, and the company's crazy route to the public markets.

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David Pierce

David Pierce ( @pierce) is Protocol's editor at large. Prior to joining Protocol, he was a columnist at The Wall Street Journal, a senior writer with Wired, and deputy editor at The Verge. He owns all the phones.

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