Twitter partners with Reuters and AP to combat misinformation

• Twitter has partnered with The Associated Press and Reuters to help combat misinformation on its platform.
• Twitter’s curation team will work with the media outlets to provide context on topics that are only starting to gain widespread interest.
• The platform’s “Trends” will soon show context and links to trusted sources.

Twitter is continuing its battle against misinformation on its platform, this time partnering with news services, The Associated Press and Reuters.

The company announced on Monday that the initiative will have Twitter’s curation team working with the media outlets to provide more context on emerging news stories.

Twitter users can expect to see the platform’s “Trends” show “contextual description and links to reporting from trusted sources more frequently.”

The new initiative aims to “proactively” provide context on topics that are starting to gain widespread interest. 

The company blog post read, “Rather than waiting until something goes viral, Twitter will contextualize developing discourse at pace with or in anticipation of the public conversation.”

Earlier this year, the platform launched the “Birdwatch” feature, a user-based forum that fights misinformation. This feature will also be using feedback from the AP and Reuters to help assess the quality of information elevated by users. 

Several lawmakers, particularly the Democrats and President Biden’s allies, have increased the pressure on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms to combat the spread of misinformation, particularly regarding the previous election, the coronavirus pandemic, and the COVID-19 vaccines.

The news outlets will initially focus on English-language content.

However, several platforms have been pressured to also battle misinformation spread in Spanish and other languages.

On the other hand, Republicans have also criticized online platforms for suspending accounts of politicians or removing posts that violate their policies.

Twitter clarified that AP and Reuters will not be involved in the enforcement of their platform rules.

Source: The Hill