Twitter has announced that it will add warning signs to some tweets that contain disagreeable or misleading information about the Corona virus, as part of a new approach to countering misinformation on its platform on this topic, which will eventually extend to other topics.
Twitter said in a post: "The new warning messages will provide links to more information in cases where the tweet does not inflict serious damage enough to remove it, but it may confuse and mislead people."
The company added that, depending on the amount of damage and the type of misleading information in the tweet, warnings can also be added that confirm the tweet is against the guidelines of public health experts, before users see it.
"The warning messages - which will look similar to those launched to warn of artificial and processed multimedia - will also apply to tweets sent before the Twitter announcement, and will be used regardless of who posts the tweets," she said.
Twitter security chief Yul Roth has admitted that the site "will not be able to take action on every tweet containing incomplete or disputed information about the Corona virus."
He said that the platform previously applied this procedure to misleading tweets, but in a lighter way, adding that the company is currently working on improving technology around its warning mechanism.
Twitter said in February that it would add warning labels to images or video clips that have been processed or tampered with, after a slowdown of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slowed to make her appear to misrepresent her words.
And social media sites - including Facebook and YouTube - are under pressure to combat the incorrect information that has spread on its platforms about the Corona virus, which has infected more than 4.3 million to date, of whom more than 283 thousand cases have died.
These false allegations ranged from false treatments and misinformation that links the virus to conspiracy theories revolving around prominent personalities such as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, or about 5G networks (5G).
Twitter said it "will not take action on Tweets with unconfirmed information at the time of the post, but it may place warnings or posters on the allegations that are disputed, in addition to those proven wrong."
Twitter last March banned tweets that contravened guidelines from public health authorities, and now the company said it will continue to prioritize removing tweets that could harm people, such as asking people to stop social separation.