Twitter Launches Birdwatch, for Fact-Checking & Controlling Misinformation

To battle misinformation and let the individuals decide on what's right and what's wrong, Twitter launches Birdwatch a pilot project for fact-checking tweets that spread false news updates. To address misinformation on Twitter, the company is stepping into the user-supported fact-check-program that is intended to cope with fake stories that we can see everywhere on social media networking platforms.

Making it a real-effort, Twitter already has conducted over 100 qualitative interviews with Twitter users who are interested in politics and use Twitter frequently. Those users were the most exciting members to join Twitter's Birdwatch program.

This fact-checking system with its own separate and public website will include 1,000 fact-checkers in the first round and that too only from the US. Those 1,000 users will be able to add notes to tweets and provide context which will be available publicly only on the Birdwatch website (available to selected countries only) and not on Twitter's main platform.

Here's how you will see Tweets with notes:

As this is a pilot program, after some testing and making the platform to work as per the rules (terms and conditions will be provided by Twitter) the notes will be visible on Twitter's website and app that Twitter users will be able to read publicly.

With too much of misleading information being shared in Tweets, the company is making it difficult for fake-stories to spread like wildfire. Here's what Twitter VP of product Keith Coleman wrote in a blog post:

“We believe this approach has the potential to respond quickly when misleading information spreads, adding context that people trust and find valuable - Eventually we aim to make notes visible directly on Tweets for the global Twitter audience when there is consensus from a broad and diverse set of contributors.”

To further elaborate on the new programme, the Twitter team shared more:

“These notes are being intentionally kept separate from Twitter for now, while we build Birdwatch and gain confidence that it produces context people find helpful and appropriate.”

Combating misleading information that spreads quickly than the real news updates, Twitter is developing algorithms to power up Birdwatch and the code will be publicly visible on Twitter's GitHub page.

This is how Twitter is aiming to help the community and the world of social media news by developing a fact-checking platform that may save people from hearing false news and facts.