Twitter ends Covid misinformation policy
Twitter will no longer enforces its policy regarding false information regarding the coronavirus.
The website says the company stopped taking action against tweets breaching its Covid rules on Wednesday, 23 November.
More than 11,000 accounts had been suspended, as of September this year, due to Covid misinformation.
It appears Twitter’s other policies regarding false information remain on its website.
Twitter implemented a “five-strike system” for accounts that posted content that was “demonstrably false or misleading” and could “lead to significant risk of harm,” such as exposure to Covid or damage to public health systems, in accordance with its Covid-specific policy.
There would be no action taken against accounts that tweeted false information once. However, users could be suspended for hours, days – or even indefinitely, assuming that they got five negative marks against their record.
Suspended accounts to be reinstated
Dr Stephen Griffin of The University of Leeds School of Medicine says that it was reassuring to know that many thousands of accounts spreading misinformation had been removed since 2020.
Now, those people who fell foul of the standards are getting back to the site.
For instance, US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s banned personal account has been reinstated on Twitter.
CEO Elon Musk asked the public to vote via a Twitter poll, asking if accounts should be reinstated: “The public has spoken, and amnesty will begin next week.”
Following his $44 billion (£37 billion) acquisition, the CEO of Tesla has pledged to make Twitter a hub for online free speech.
