Twitter updates US Election Day tweet labelling policies

The move comes at a time when a USAToday survey showed that three out of four Americans were concerned about election day violence

San Francisco: As voting begins for the US presidential polls on Tuesday, Twitter has warned that it may label tweets, starting on election night, that make claims about election results before they are officially called.

“We’ll be prioritising the presidential election and other highly contested races where there may be significant issues with misleading information,” Twitter said on the eve of the election.

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The move comes at a time when a USAToday survey showed that three out of four Americans were concerned about election day violence and only one in four were confident that the transfer of power would be peaceful if the Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump.

Twitter said it will consider a result official when announced by a state election official, or when calls are made by at least two of the seven national news outlets that have dedicated, independent election decision desks: ABC News, CBS News, Fox News, NBC News, Associated Press, CNN, or Decision Desk HQ.

When users attempt to Retweet a Tweet with a misleading information label, they’ll see a prompt pointing them to credible information before they are able to amplify it further on Twitter.

“If we see content inciting interference with the election, encouraging violent action or other physical harms, we may take additional measures, such as adding a warning or requiring the removal of tweets,” Twitter said.