Twitter Targets COVID-19 Misinformation With Labels, Strike System

On Monday, Twitter said it will begin labeling COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on its site. The platform also introduced a strike system for accounts that repeatedly violate the rules; one strike is a warning, second and third strikes result in a 12-hour account lock, a fourth strike is a weeklong lock on the account, and five strikes results in permanent suspension. This comes after Twitter decided to remove posts containing “the most harmful misleading information” about coronavirus vaccines in December. According to Twitter, the policy will remove tweets which "advance harmful false or misleading narratives about COVID-19 vaccinations." The Washington Examiner reported that since introducing the policy in December, Twitter has removed more than 8,400 tweets and challenged 11.5 million accounts worldwide. Initially, labels will initially be enforced by Twitter team members only, which will help automated systems pick up on violating content; eventually, Twitter will use both automated and human review to flag misleading information. The story received coverage from across the political spectrum. Some left-rated outlets tended to highlight the different types of COVID-19 misinformation on social media. Some right-rated outlets tended to highlight the number of accounts removed or challenged by Twitter, as well as the various partnerships Twitter has done with UNICEF, the Vaccine Confidence Project, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Dr. Anthony Fauci to combat COVID-19 misinformation.