\nTwitter to label tweets that get downranked for violating its hate speech policy<\/br>
\n2023-04-17 21:34:56<\/br><\/p>\n
Twitter announced today a new policy<\/a> that it claims will offer more transparency around which hateful tweets on its platform have been subject to enforcement action. Typically, when tweets violate Twitter\u2019s policies, one of the actions the company can take is to limit the reach of those tweets \u2014 or something it calls \u201cvisibility filtering.\u201d In these scenarios, the tweets remain online but become less discoverable, as they\u2019re excluded from areas<\/a> like search results, trends, recommended notifications, For You and Following timelines, and more.<\/p>\n Instead, if users want to see the tweet, they have to visit the author\u2019s profile directly.<\/p>\n The tweet may also be downranked in replies when such enforcement takes place and ads won\u2019t run against the content, Twitter\u2019s guidelines state<\/a>.<\/p>\n Historically, the wider public would not necessarily know if a tweet had been moderated in this way. Now Twitter says that will change.<\/p>\n The company plans to \u201csoon\u201d begin adding visible labels on tweets that have been identified as potentially violating its policies, which has impacted their visibility. It did not say when exactly the system would be fully rolled out across its network.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Twitter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In addition, not all tweets that have had their visibility reduced will be labeled, the company noted.<\/p>\n It\u2019s starting only with tweets that violate its Hateful Conduct policy<\/a> and says it will expand the feature to other policy areas in the \u201ccoming months.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis change is designed to result in enforcement actions that are more proportional and transparent for everyone on our platform,\u201d a blog post authored by \u201cTwitter Safety\u201d stated. The post additionally touted Twitter\u2019s enforcement philosophy, calling it \u201cFreedom of Speech, not Freedom of Reach.\u201d<\/p>\n If a tweet is labeled, the user themselves won\u2019t be shadowbanned or removed from the network \u2014 the company notes the policy actions will occur at \u201ca tweet level only and will not affect a user\u2019s account.\u201d<\/p>\n Twitter also explains that users whose tweets were labeled will be able to submit feedback if they think their tweet was incorrectly flagged, but says they may not get a response to that feedback, nor will it guarantee the tweet\u2019s reach will be restored.<\/p>\n Likely, this has to do with the vast cuts Twitter made to its Trust & Safety teams and the company as a whole. And it may be relying heavily on automation to make its decisions over labeling, though it\u2019s unclear to what extent this system will be automated. (Twitter no longer replies to press inquiries, so blog posts and tweets made by the company or its new owner, Elon Musk, are the only official word on things like this.) Automation, of course, could mean Twitter will get things wrong \u2014 something it admits in a Twitter thread<\/a> about the changes. Here, the company also says it plans to allow authors to appeal its decision at some point \u201cin the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Again, no hard deadline or a ballpark time frame was provided.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/enforcement-action-on-tweet-example.png?resize=680%2C680&ssl=1\")
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