Birdwatch: New Twitter feature allows users to flag misinformation January 26, 2021 Twitter will allow users to flag posts that are misleading or inaccurate in its latest effort to purge misinformation from its platform. The new feature, dubbed Birdwatch, allows people to write notes providing context and rebuttals on posts they believe are misleading. The pilot programme is being tested in the US, with notes initially only [...]
Screenshot: Is social media heading for a new era of privacy? January 15, 2021 A weekly column from City A.M. bringing you all the biggest stories and trends in technology, media and telecoms This week **Media Moment of the Week: CNN’s crowbar correction **Whatsapp’s privacy exodus **Music touring: A victim of Brexit? Media Moment of the Week Given the extent of the carnage at the Capitol last week, reporters [...]
Trump brands social media ban ‘catastrophic mistake’ and defends pre-riot speech January 12, 2021 Donald Trump has branded his social media ban a “catastrophic mistake” as he refused to take responsibility for inciting riots at the Capitol last week. The outgoing president, who has been accused of inciting violence and is facing a second impeachment, today played down his role in the riots and attempted to blame Silicon Valley. [...]
Twitter shares slide following ‘problematic’ Donald Trump ban January 11, 2021 Twitter’s shares went into reverse this morning following the social media site’s decision to ban US President Donald Trump. The platform permanently suspended the president’s account over the weekend, stating that there was a risk of further incitement of violence following riots at the Capitol last week. “After close review of recent Tweets from the [...]
Twitter permanently suspends Donald Trump’s account to prevent incitement of violence January 9, 2021 Twitter has permanently suspended Donald Trump’s account, citing the risk of further incitement of violence following the storming of the US Capitol on Wednesday. The US President has repeatedly used the platform to declare that the outcome of the 3 November election was fraudulent and to share other conspiracy theories. Trump also urged his supporters [...]
Twitter bans harmful false claims about COVID-19 vaccinations December 16, 2020 By Elizabeth Culliford (Reuters) – Twitter Inc said on Wednesday that it will start removing false or misleading tweets about COVID-19 vaccinations that could be harmful, including false claims the vaccines will intentionally cause harm or control populations or that invoke “a deliberate conspiracy.” Twitter’s policy update, announced in a blog post the same week [...]
UK to regulate social media firms such as Facebook and Twitter over content removal December 11, 2020 The UK government will announce plans for a new law next week under which social media companies will have a duty to be impartial and be barred from “arbitrarily” removing comments because they are controversial, according to a report in The Times today. UK ministers will announce plans on Tuesday for a statutory duty of [...]
Screenshot: Can social media win the anti-vax war? December 4, 2020 A weekly column from City A.M. bringing you all the biggest stories and trends in technology, media and telecoms This week **Media Moment of the Week: A very British scandal **Social media gears up for the vaccine information war **How data dominates financial markets Media Moment of the Week It was quite possibly the most [...]
Twitter to hand over @Potus account to Joe Biden on 20 January November 21, 2020 Twitter will hand over the official account of the US president to the Joe Biden administration on 20 January, the company said today. The @Potus account is the president’s official account, and is separate from the personal account used to tweet by Donald Trump to tweet. “Twitter is actively preparing to support the transition of [...]
Mudge: Why has Twitter just hired a world-famous hacker? November 17, 2020 Twitter may have been awash with excitement about its new disappearing Fleets service, but behind the scenes there were other clandestine matters underway today. The social media platform said it had hired Mudge, one of the world’s best-regarded hackers, to the new position of head of security. The appointment comes at a crucial time for [...]