Twitter (NYSE:TWTR)
Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) has announced it will expand its Birdwatch crowd-sourced fact-checking initiative to combat disinformation throughout the platform.
Birdwatch, which debuted at the beginning of the previous year, lets its users highlight content on Tweets they find deceptive and add notes to provide a different perspective. Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) found that users exposed to a Birdwatch note were 20-40% less likely to agree with the content of a potentially deceptive Tweet than users who only saw the Tweet. Twitter also claims that users are less inclined to Like or Retweet a post when accompanied by a Birdwatch note, ranging from 15 percent to 35 percent.
Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) will soon provide a revised Birdwatch onboarding procedure to encourage more serious note-writing and rating. Birdwatch was previously an experimental project with only 15,000 users and their fact-checking notes. In anticipation of the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, Twitter has decided to increase the rate at which it recruits new contributors to the platform to around 1,000 per week.
Every possible investor will be given a Rating Impact Score by the company. This starts at 0 and needs to reach 5 for a user to be considered a Birdwatch contributor; Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) suggests this is doable in around a week. Birdwatch users can earn these points by giving remarks in a “Helpful” or “Not Helpful” assessment. They take a hit when their evaluation is at odds with how the note ultimately turns out.
Both producing Helpful notes and continuing to rate the notes of others will boost a contributor’s Writing Impact and Rating Impact, the platform claims.
Anyone who has used the Twitter app for at least six months, verified a phone number, and has not violated Twitter’s rules in the last month can apply to be a Birdwatch contributor. All of the Birdwatch notes are accessible to anyone, but the process uses the data from the various participants to highlight the ones that have been regarded as most helpful.
Pessimistic Predictions Raised by Concerns Over Rising Platform Abuse
Like many other social media sites, Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) has constantly scrutinized the content moderation practices they employ. Twitter’s efforts to protect its platform and increase trustworthiness, as well as its efforts to delete false pages and accounts, are ongoing.
The company has deleted unauthorized, spamming, fraudulent, or otherwise malicious accounts. While this effort promotes positive dialogue over the long run, it may slow subscriber growth in the short term. Like many other social media platforms, Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) is under greater scrutiny due to concerns about user privacy and how it handles user data.
Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) stock has fallen 4.7% year-to-date compared to the 51.1% decrease in the Zacks Internet – Software category. Currently, Twitter carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Featured Image – Megapixl © Miluxian
Author Shariq Khan 
