Twitter Ends Enforcement of Policy on COVID Misinformation
2022-12-01
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Twitter says it is no longer enforcing a policy that aimed to limit misinformation about COVID-19.
2The move is the latest major change at Twitter since American businessman Elon Musk took ownership of the social media service in October.
3A short statement announcing the change was added to an official Twitter page that explained the company's efforts to provide factual information about COVID-19.
4"Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter is no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy," the statement said.
5The statement did not provide additional details on exact enforcement measures that would change.
6During the pandemic, Twitter established several measures aimed at helping users learn more about COVID-19.
7It also launched efforts to prevent misleading information from appearing on the service.
8The efforts included banning some users who repeatedly published material on COVID-19 identified as misinformation.
9Other social media services established similar measures.
10They included Facebook parent Meta and Alphabet-owned YouTube.
11Twitter's announced policy change was praised by some people and criticized by others.
12Some public health officials warned the change could bring more false claims about COVID-19.
13They said it could lead to increased material claiming vaccines to fight the virus are ineffective or unsafe.
14"Bad news," tweeted public health scientist Eric Feigl-Ding, about the latest change at Twitter under Musk.
15However, Feigl-Ding urged people not to flee Twitter. "Stay folks - do NOT cede the town square to them!" he tweeted.
16Musk has described himself as a "free speech absolutist" who is seeking to make Twitter available to people with widely different opinions.
17He has described earlier Twitter rules that sought to limit misinformation and hate speech as forms of censorship.
18Soon after the new announcement, some Twitter users tested the new lack of enforcement and celebrated the service's latest "hands-off" rule.
19Simone Gold is a doctor who created and leads the organization America's Frontline Doctors.
20Gold and her group have criticized Twitter and other social media companies.
21Gold tweeted, "This policy was used to silence people across the world who questioned the media narrative surrounding the virus and treatment options."
22She declared Twitter's latest announcement "a win for free speech and medical freedom."
23Paul Russo is a social media researcher and administrator at the Katz School of Science and Health at Yeshiva University in New York.
24He told The Associated Press that Twitter's past efforts to stop false claims about COVID-19 were not perfect.
25However, he said the company's decision to end enforcement of its current misinformation policy represents a disservice to Twitter users.
26"It is 100 percent the responsibility of the platform to protect its users from harmful content," Russo said.
27Russo added that the decision is the latest in a series of moves that will likely lead more users and advertisers to leave Twitter.
28Several big businesses have stopped advertising on Twitter over questions about its direction under Musk.
29Yoel Roth is the former head of trust and safety at Twitter who left after Musk took over.
30When asked about Twitter's latest move, Roth said he was concerned about how many employees were left to moderate published material.
31Musk reportedly dismissed half of Twitter's employees shortly after taking over.
32Roth said it is difficult to know how many moderators are currently working at Twitter to identify and remove material that violates company policies.
33"I couldn't tell you," he said when asked to offer an estimate.
34Roth added that part of the problem was that a company-wide listing of employees was turned off immediately after Musk's takeover.
35"It was that chaotic," he said.
36I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Twitter says it is no longer enforcing a policy that aimed to limit misinformation about COVID-19. 2The move is the latest major change at Twitter since American businessman Elon Musk took ownership of the social media service in October. 3A short statement announcing the change was added to an official Twitter page that explained the company's efforts to provide factual information about COVID-19. 4"Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter is no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy," the statement said. The statement did not provide additional details on exact enforcement measures that would change. 5During the pandemic, Twitter established several measures aimed at helping users learn more about COVID-19. It also launched efforts to prevent misleading information from appearing on the service. The efforts included banning some users who repeatedly published material on COVID-19 identified as misinformation. 6Other social media services established similar measures. They included Facebook parent Meta and Alphabet-owned YouTube. 7Twitter's announced policy change was praised by some people and criticized by others. 8Some public health officials warned the change could bring more false claims about COVID-19. They said it could lead to increased material claiming vaccines to fight the virus are ineffective or unsafe. 9"Bad news," tweeted public health scientist Eric Feigl-Ding, about the latest change at Twitter under Musk. However, Feigl-Ding urged people not to flee Twitter. "Stay folks - do NOT cede the town square to them!" he tweeted. 10Musk has described himself as a "free speech absolutist" who is seeking to make Twitter available to people with widely different opinions. He has described earlier Twitter rules that sought to limit misinformation and hate speech as forms of censorship. 11Soon after the new announcement, some Twitter users tested the new lack of enforcement and celebrated the service's latest "hands-off" rule. 12Simone Gold is a doctor who created and leads the organization America's Frontline Doctors. Gold and her group have criticized Twitter and other social media companies. 13Gold tweeted, "This policy was used to silence people across the world who questioned the media narrative surrounding the virus and treatment options." She declared Twitter's latest announcement "a win for free speech and medical freedom." 14Paul Russo is a social media researcher and administrator at the Katz School of Science and Health at Yeshiva University in New York. He told The Associated Press that Twitter's past efforts to stop false claims about COVID-19 were not perfect. However, he said the company's decision to end enforcement of its current misinformation policy represents a disservice to Twitter users. 15"It is 100 percent the responsibility of the platform to protect its users from harmful content," Russo said. 16Russo added that the decision is the latest in a series of moves that will likely lead more users and advertisers to leave Twitter. Several big businesses have stopped advertising on Twitter over questions about its direction under Musk. 17Yoel Roth is the former head of trust and safety at Twitter who left after Musk took over. When asked about Twitter's latest move, Roth said he was concerned about how many employees were left to moderate published material. Musk reportedly dismissed half of Twitter's employees shortly after taking over. 18Roth said it is difficult to know how many moderators are currently working at Twitter to identify and remove material that violates company policies. "I couldn't tell you," he said when asked to offer an estimate. Roth added that part of the problem was that a company-wide listing of employees was turned off immediately after Musk's takeover. "It was that chaotic," he said. 19I'm Bryan Lynn. 20The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. 21_______________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23cede - v. to give something up to someone else 24absolutist - adj. a person who holds absolute principles in political or other matters 25censorship - n. the system or practice of censoring books, movies, letters, etc. 26option - n. a choice 27disservice - n. a situation in which something causes harm to someone or something 28platform - n. a company or service that permits someone to tell a large number of people about ideas or products 29moderate - v. to make sure the rules of an internet discussion are not broken 30chaotic - adj. in a state of chaos: a situation where there is no order at all and everyone is confused 31__________________________________________________________________ 32What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 33Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.