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Twitter rescinds its COVID-19 misinformation policy

Twitter has gone back on its initiative to combat misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Donovan Erskine

November 29, 2022 8:50 AM

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Throughout the pandemic, there has been a consistent issue with misinformation on social media. It’s why back in 2020, Twitter established an initiative to combat the spread of misleading information surrounding the COVID-19 virus on its platform. Now under new leadership, Twitter has seen changes in a lot of its operations, including this one. Twitter has confirmed that it is no longer enforcing its COVID-19 misinformation policy.

Twitter made an update to its Coronavirus safety page earlier today, as spotted by Reuters. The page features details about the virus as well as credible sources for information in the fight against it. It’s also where Twitter previously shared its own plans to fight against pandemic misinformation on the social media platform. However, the company will no longer do that. At the top of the page is now an update that reveals Twitter is rescinding that policy. “Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter is no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy.”

This move comes not long after Elon Musk took over as CEO of the social media company. The billionaire has looked to change a lot about the way Twitter operates, and the company’s COVID-19 misinformation policy is apparently not a part of that vision. He’s spoken on many occasions about his desire to promote free speech on Twitter, regardless of whether the information is factual.

With Twitter Blue creating an impersonation crisis on Twitter, the axing of the COVID-19 policy likely won’t help the increase in misinformation being spread on the platform. It’s also worth keeping in mind that Twitter has let a large portion of its workforce go since the Musk takeover, many of those employees being part of the content moderation team. Stick with Shacknews as we continue to follow everything going on at Twitter.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_