Twitter He said about it Stopped applying A policy designed to prevent proliferation Misinformation about COVIDWhile its new owner, Elon Musk, continues to change its content moderation policy again.

The move comes after the tycoon, already clashing with US authorities over pandemic safety regulations, reinstated a series of accounts on the social network previously banned for violating its content rules, including those of former President Donald Trump.

“As of November 23, 2022, Twitter is ending its Misleading Information Policy on COVID-19“, is mentioned in the message published on Twitter’s transparency website.

During the pandemic, Twitter dedicated itself Flag misleading COVID tweets already Ban users who continue to spread such misinformation.

Twitter’s blog said the banned content included statements intended to influence people to break health authority guidelines, along with false cures or denial of scientific facts.

The blog said that as of September of this year, Twitter had suspended 11,230 accounts under the policy.

Twitter’s decision to no longer retract lies about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines has disappointed many public health officials, who said it could lead to more false claims about the virus, or about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.

“Great news“Eric Feigl-Dean, an epidemiologist, tweeted, urging people not to run away from Twitter, but to stay and follow reliable information about the virus. “Stay friends, don’t give them space.”

Musk, who also runs Tesla, clashed with authorities in 2020 over pandemic safety orders that temporarily shut down the electric car giant’s California factory, calling the stay-at-home orders “fascist” and an “outrage” that infringed on personal freedom.

Led by Musk, who calls himself “Absolutist of freedom of expression,, According to the platformer’s news blog, Twitter has begun restoring about 62,000 accounts in what it’s internally calling a “big bang.”

Musk himself has been spreading misinformation about COVID-19 on Twitter and has expressed interest in repealing many of the platform’s previous rules aimed at combating misinformation.

Since taking over the platform last month, Musk has laid off about half of Twitter’s employees, including many who were tasked with fighting disinformation, and an unknown number of voluntary resignations.

According to Twitter’s latest data, more than 11,000 accounts have been suspended for violating the rules and nearly 100,000 pieces of content have been removed from the platform.

Musk’s approach scared off the company’s main moneymaker: advertisers.

In recent weeks, half of Twitter’s top 100 advertisers said they were stopping or “outright stopping advertising on Twitter,” according to an analysis by the nonprofit watchdog group Media Matters.

(According to AFP and AP)

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