https://twitter.com/UKISOCIETY/status/880526986187333634
Begun, the flag wars have https://t.co/FHDvJ4nfkP
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) June 29, 2017
File this one under “What Could Possibly Go Wrong”:
Scoop: Twitter is prototyping a button that would let users flag fake news. https://t.co/3ekH3GPwhk
— Elizabeth Dwoskin (@lizzadwoskin) June 29, 2017
More from the Washington Post:
Twitter is exploring adding a feature that would let users flag tweets that contain misleading, false or harmful information, according to two people familiar with the company’s projects.
The feature, which is still in a prototype phase and may never be released, is part of the company’s uphill battle against rampant abuse on its platform. It could look like a tiny tab appearing in a drop-down menu alongside tweets, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release details of the effort.
…
It was not clear how Twitter’s crowdsourcing feature would function, and the company is still researching how to design it, one person said. The process is moving slowly in part because there are concerns that people could use the new button to game the system, the way other aspects of Twitter have been manipulated. Twitter’s process for testing new features usually begins with prototyping. The next step is for employees to test the product internally before it gets released to a small subset of the public before being launched throughout the service. Many prototypes never make it to the wider employee testing phase.
Assuming WaPo’s report isn’t fake news itself, let’s hope this “prototype” would stay far, far under wraps.
Because crowdsourcing the truth has worked out so great the past decade https://t.co/NuLlD2tHAl
— kilgore trout was in the loop (@KT_So_It_Goes) June 29, 2017
Oh yeah. For sure.
"You have posted a link that many users have flagged as 'fake.' Your account access will be restored once you delete the offending content."
— Razor (@hale_razor) June 29, 2017
Crowd sourcing censorship–what could go wrong?
— él Tiburón (@bay_snark) June 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/NailButNoHammer/status/880522848372174848
https://twitter.com/HenroidT/status/880546472424423424
I'm sure that won't get abused.
— Krister Johnson (@KristerJohnson) June 29, 2017
That'll work really well when everybody uses it
— Aimee DeMaio (@AimeeDemaio) June 29, 2017
HUGE mistake.
— cathy (@cathyxOR) June 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/Bernie_Facts/status/880526034965155840
More important: Let users mark THEIR OWN TWEETS as no longer relevant because new info came out.
This idea is fucking terrible. https://t.co/5bydGIJQhE
— NeoN: Automataster (@neontaster) June 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/NicoleLaraviie/status/880523008703700992
This would destroy Twitter inside of 60 seconds.
— Discarded Virtues (@DiscardedVirtue) June 29, 2017
https://twitter.com/CuffyMeh/status/880521048063492096
https://twitter.com/MetricButtload/status/880526486964404225
Twitter after they allow users to flag fake news pic.twitter.com/d1pyjh0cRt
— Ryan (@chasinghumility) June 29, 2017
Twitter changes generally aren’t greeted very favorably. But this one could really be a nail in their coffin.
This will end in tears https://t.co/VWUKxbM72y
— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) June 29, 2017
***
Related:
Seriously? Facebook is going with THESE sources as ‘fact checkers’ to crack down on fake news?
Join the conversation as a VIP Member