Twitter is adding fact-checking labels to tweets that wrongly link new superfast 5G mobile networks with the coronavirus.
Instead of deleting or hiding such tweets, Twitter is showing a message on them that reads “Get the facts on Covid-19.” When clicked on, users are taken to a page titled “No 5G isn’t causing coronavirus” which debunks the conspiracy theory by linking to credible media websites and other official sources.
In a statement sent to CNBC, a Twitter spokesperson said: “We’re prioritizing the removal of COVID-19 content when it has a call to action that could potentially cause harm. As we’ve said previously, we will not take enforcement action on every Tweet that contains incomplete or disputed information about COVID-19.”
The introduction of the label comes after a Twitter pledge in May to fact-check coronavirus misinformation.
Tech companies including Twitter, Apple, YouTube, Spotify and Facebook have been accused of facilitating the spread of bogus claims that link 5G to the coronavirus by allowing content to be uploaded to their platforms. Critics say they’ve given a voice to conspiracy theorists like David Icke, who has been able to pass on his message to millions of people online via podcasts and interviews. Spotify removed a podcast featuring an interview with Icke after being alerted to it by CNBC last month, however Apple left the same podcast on its platform.
False claims
News of Twitter’s latest labeling comes after dozens of cell towers were torched in the U.K., while telecom engineers have been harassed on the streets, apparently in connection with the bogus claims linking 5G technology with Covid-19.
Source: CNBC
