Twitter Prepares to Fight Disinformation Ahead of US Midterm Elections

Twitter is preparing to resume protective measures in connection with the US midterm elections. Some features come back, new ones appear. Will it be enough?

Twitter is about to restart and improve its strategy to protect voters from election misinformation. The platform is gearing up for the US midterm elections in a few months. As such, the network reactivated its Civic Integrity Policy ahead of the vote, and a number of useful improvements are on the agenda. First, the platform will no longer recommend misleading tweets via notifications, so lies can no longer spread so easily. The company is also considering this approach on “other surfaces”.

Twitter prepares to renew its defensive measures in the wake of the US midterm elections

You should also see the return of fact check labels, but they have been redesigned to be more visible and easier to read. Twitter tested these labels at the end of 2021.

Some features are back, new features are coming

Other features are returning. You can already see special labels for different candidates, whether it’s a gubernatorial candidate, the House of Representatives, or the Senate. Also expect proactive action to help counter false claims before they become too popular. You’ll also find a tab dedicated to elections under the Overview tab with state differences. Twitter has also already planned to strengthen candidate protections with “more sophisticated”detection of possible suspicious activity, as well as additional protections when connected, and faster account recovery in the worst case.

Will it be enough?

The changes, which are small compared to the methods applied since previous elections, including outside the United States, are an important sign that the platform is determined not to repeat the chaos of 2020. there were many criticisms on social media during previous elections.