Twitter tackles COVID-19 vaccine misinformation with labels, strike policy

Microblogging platform Twitter is now deploying human monitors to crack down on disinformation as Covid-19 shots are being rolled out across the world.

From now onwards, it will label tweets that include misleading information about coronavirus vaccines.

Twitter said via a tweet that it would apply warnings to tweets that contain misleading information about COVID-19 vaccines and implement a strike system of enforcement that could see users permanently banned for repeat violations.

It claims to have removed more than 8,400 tweets and challenged 11.5 million accounts.

“Through the use of the strike system, we hope to educate people on why certain content breaks our rules so they have the opportunity to further consider their behaviour and their impact on the public conversation,” Twitter said.

Vaccines are at the centre of government plans to fight the pandemic that has caused more than 2.6 million deaths to date.

There have been concerns, however, that public distrust of the shots could jeopardize the success of vaccination programs.

Surveys and data show varying levels of willingness to receive a shot according to country and demographic group.