Twitter can be a scary place.
Among armies of inaccuracies, a general lack of intellectual honesty and the constant barrage of opinions, it can be easy to become misinformed while using the site.
Fortunately, Twitter is taking steps with its newest update to help people consider the accuracy of the news they share. It prompts users to read a news article before they retweet it, which should ideally promote informed conversation. Slowing down and pausing to consider whether a news article contains accurate information could help prevent the spread of false statements.
“Sharing an article can spark conversation, so you may want to read it before you Tweet it,” Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) said in a tweet in June. “To help promote informed discussion, we’re testing a new prompt on Android. When you retweet an article that you haven’t opened on Twitter, we may ask if you’d like to open it first. We’re seeing promising results from this prompt, so we’re expanding the test to iOS.”
According to Pew Research, roughly “one-in-five U.S adults say they get their political news primarily through social media.” Pew Research also claims that these people tend to be not as well informed about important topics such as the coronavirus outbreak.
It is, admittedly, much easier to click through social media a few times to learn about current events than it is to sit through a 30-minute news broadcast. When life is busy, social media platforms like Twitter seem a bit less time-consuming, at least when it comes to getting the news.
It is also quite easy to retweet a headline that catches your attention and seems to line up with your opinions. But this isn’t always a good thing ― in fact, it usually isn’t.
“We shouldn’t have to say this, but you should read an article before you Tweet it … So, we’ve been promoting some people to do exactly that. Here’s what we’ve learned so far,” Twitter Comms (@TwitterComms) said in a thread on Sept. 14. “People open articles 40% more often after seeing the prompt…people opening articles before RTing increased by 33%. Some people didn’t end up RTing after opening the article – which is fine! Some Tweets are best left in drafts.”
This is a good first step toward better accuracy on social media. A second step is to verify the information on various websites like snopes.com, whose sole job is to ferret out the truth. Ultimately, however, the fault lies with you if you fail to check your facts appropriately.
