Updated 11 June 2020 at 09:17 IST
Twitter acts over users sharing news stories without reading them; tests brand new feature
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey announced a new feature aimed at curtailing the spread of misinformation. The new feature will be rolled out for Android devices first.
- Tech News
- 2 min read
Adding friction to a continued struggle to reduce virality and velocity of spread in misinformation, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey sparked a new debate online when he shared a post by Twitter Support page that announced the introduction of a new feature to the microblogging site. The new change which will be tested on Android platforms first will highlight if a user has not read an article or news link that has been shared without opening it first.
Jack Dorsey, endorsing the site's new feature tweeted: 'Did you read the article you’re about to spread?'
Sharing an article can spark conversation, so you may want to read it before you Tweet it.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) June 10, 2020
To help promote informed discussion, we're testing a new prompt on Android –– when you Retweet an article that you haven't opened on Twitter, we may ask if you'd like to open it first.
This is only the latest development in the social network's series of "nudges" as it aims to organise its bolstering debate culture, which has been both welcomed and condemned by users.
Similarly, the company disclosed that it was experimenting with warning notices that prompted users to reconsider sending potentially "offensive" tweets.
Advertisement
While Twitter reacted to the new development in its usual gust, several people questioned the CEO's decision and slammed him for being intrusive and patronising. However, Kayvin Beykpour, Head of Product development at Twitter, stood by the firm's decision and explained to a news daily that due to the network's accessibility, chances of articles and links going viral are higher and that can be a powerful as well as a dangerous tool, especially if people sharing the content haven't read it themselves.
Advertisement
He was quoted saying: 'This feature (on Android for now) encourages people to read a linked article prior to retweeting it.'
The company further issued a clarification on whether the new feature detects if users have opened the article on other platforms as well.
For this experiment, if you Retweet a Tweet that contains an article link, we’ll check if you've recently clicked that article link only on Twitter, not elsewhere.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) June 10, 2020
Twitter isn't the first tech firm to make such changes to its product as WhatsApp banned its users from forwarding the same message to more than five people at a time as part of a global effort to combat “misinformation and rumours,” it announced in Jan last year.
Published By : Pragadish Kirubakaran
Published On: 11 June 2020 at 09:17 IST