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Twitter has launched “Birdwatch,” a fact-checking program that’s intended to counter misinformation.
The program is currently available to a small number of users. The pilot iteration will only be available to approximately 1000 US Twitter users.
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Somewhat similar to TikTok’s new feature, users can add notes to tweets to provide context. Notes from participants in the pilot program won’t be publicly visible on Twitter.
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A spokesperson for Twitter said:
“We know there are a number of challenges toward building a community-driven system like this, ensuring it is resistant to manipulation attempts and isn’t dominated by a simple majority or biasedly based.”
A while back, the platform took steps to try and combat election misinformation during the US presidential campaign. It labeled tweets with false or misleading information about the election to help users make more informed decisions.
What does the Twitter community have to say?
While Twitter’s new “Birdwatch” feature would be beneficial for fact-checking, the question arises about who decides these facts? Several users raised concerns and voiced opinions about this new program.
“Cancel Culture” spreads faster than wildfire on social media platforms. With Twitter’s new program set in place, a potential group of people will have the power to ‘cancel’ other groups’ opinions. Such action can be taken merely based on disagreeing with their beliefs rather than a proper fact check.
One Twitter user wrote:
“So basically a group of ideologically aligned people can get on here, and basically take down anything they don’t agree with.”
The program indeed has the potential to do well, but most users pointed out that information disliked by one group could be flagged as misinformation by another.
Twitter controversy
Twitter recently came under fire after it refused to take down sensitive material because it did not violate company policy. The platform was caught up in controversy after allegedly refusing to take down widely shared sensitive images and videos of a child sex trafficking victim.
Users were not thrilled that Twitter is yet to address these issues on its platform.
Will “Birdwatch” work?
The majority of the Twitter community unanimously agrees that, while the program may have good intentions, the outcome could be very different. From maligning minority groups to labeling tweets only due to differences of opinion, a lot could go wrong with this initiative.
Here are a few light-hearted reactions to this pilot program:
One user, however, did raise a very concerning matter regarding the “birdwatch” program:
It’s difficult to ascertain the outcome of this program as there are many parameters to take into consideration. Hopefully, Twitter will work around all the flaws above and create a foolproof fact check system.
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