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(Reuters) - Twitter Inc said on Monday it launched a pilot program that has users flag tweets that they believe are misleading and write notes to provide context.
The project, called Birdwatch, is initially offered in the United States, the social media firm said in a blog post here.
Twitter and other social media companies have been under pressure to combat misinformation on their platforms. Twitter last year started adding labels and warnings about misinformation on the site, including about the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. election.
Birdwatch is on a separate section of Twitter twitter.com/i/birdwatch, and only pilot participants, who apply to the program, will write posts identifying and rebutting misinformation. Their notes will initially not be visible on Twitter for users outside of the pilot group but will be visible on the Birdwatch site.
Twitter launches Birdwatch to fight spread of misleading information
Matt Rourke/AP
FILE - This April 26, 2017, file photo shows the Twitter app icon on a mobile phone in Philadelphia. On Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2020, the social media giant announced through a blog post that they are working on a new verification policy and are inviting feedback from the public before they implement it. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
and last updated 2021-01-25 14:10:24-05
On Monday, Twitter launched a feature that ll help fight the spread of misleading information on the social media platform.
Birdwatch will allow users to identify information that they believe to be misleading or false, Twitter explained in a press release. The company is currently looking for people to test out the standalone section in the U.S.