WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th January, 2021) Twitter said in a statement it has launched a new feature called "Birdwatch" to allow users to fix misleading information that the company had to continuously label as such.
"We also want to broaden the range of voices that are part of tackling this problem, and we believe a community-driven approach can help," Twitter Product Vice President Keith Coleman said in the statement on Monday. "That's why today we're introducing Birdwatch, a pilot in the US of a new community-driven approach to help address misleading information on Twitter."
Coleman said Birdwatch allows people to identify information in Tweets they believe is misleading and write notes that provide informative context.
"We believe this approach has the potential to respond quickly when misleading information spreads, adding context that people trust and find valuable. Eventually we aim to make notes visible directly on Tweets for the global Twitter audience, when there is consensus from a broad and diverse set of contributors," he said.
Coleman pointed out that users came to Twitter to stay informed and they seek credible information.
"We apply labels and add context to Tweets, but we don't want to limit efforts to circumstances where something breaks our rules or receives widespread public attention," he said.
Coleman explained the corrected notes left by users will only be visible on a separate Birdwatch site and pilot participants could rate the helpfulness of the notes.
"These notes are being intentionally kept separate from Twitter for now, while we build Birdwatch and gain confidence that it produces context people find helpful and appropriate. Additionally, notes will not have an effect on the way people see Tweets or our system recommendations," he said.
As Twitter continues to develop algorithms that power Birdwatch - such as reputation and consensus systems - it aims to publish that code publicly in the Birdwatch Guide, Coleman said.
"We hope this will enable experts, researchers, and the public to analyze or audit Birdwatch, identifying opportunities or flaws that can help us more quickly build an effective community-driven solution," he added.
