Twitter’s new feature to curb spreading of misinformation: Here’s how it will work

Twitter has developed a new feature that will pop up a “misleading information” label on a tweet that is already labelled as misinformation, whenever you try to like it.

Representational image (REUTERS)

Twitter  wants you to see, retweet and like only that news that are legit and doesn't spread misinformation. While it has been working on that front already, it's latest efforts now come in the form of expanding “misinformation” labels on misleading tweets. As mentioned by TechCrunch, Twitter has developed a new feature that will pop up a “misleading information” label on a tweet that is already labelled as misinformation, whenever you try to like it. 

The feature is not live yet however, it was discovered by reverse engineer Jane Manchun Wong in the Twitter app code. She even posted a screenshot of the feature and said that it doesn't really stop you from liking a tweet but only acts as a pop-up warning.

The new feature also falls in line with Twitter's recent efforts to curb the spread of misinformation, specially those regarding the US elections. Recently, the microblogging website also started prompting users to share a quote tweet instead of retweet. This will direct users towards pausing and thinking about the tweet before simply retweeting it.

The firm has also introduced a series of new policies that guides users on handling of misleading tweets.

Even as social media companies made extra efforts, misinformation continued to spread on some platforms. Facebook took down some prominent pages and one group that were found promoting misinformation. The pages that were linked to Donald Trump's former advisor Steve Bannon. The move impacted at least seven pages that had more than 2 million followers.