Twitter Claims Incredibly High Performance on Content Moderation, in Contrast to Third-Party Reports

Okay, we’re going to get requested about this, which is the one motive I’m going to cowl it – as a result of actually, it’s not possible to look at such claims with none entry to the info in query.

In the present day, Twitter tweeted out a new claim that ‘greater than 99.99% of Tweet impressions are from wholesome content material, or content material that doesn’t violate our guidelines’.

As per Twitter:

“On Twitter individuals are free to be their true selves. On a regular basis, we work to protect free speech on Twitter, whereas equally sustaining the well being of our platform. For the reason that launch of ‘Freedom of Speech Not Attain’, we’ve seen encouraging outcomes. That is why within the coming weeks, we’re increasing the applying of this enforcement motion from our Hateful Conduct coverage to now embody our insurance policies on Abusive Habits and Violent Speech.”

Twitter’s ‘Freedom of Speech Not Attain’ strategy, which it outlined back in April, primarily explains that Twitter’s now seeking to cut back the attain of some much less violative content material within the app, regardless of it technically breaking its guidelines, versus eradicating such outright. Twitter has additionally added labels to those tweets, to make clear when such motion has been initiated.

As Twitter notes, initially, this strategy was solely utilized to tweets that may beforehand have been deemed in violation of its Hateful Conduct coverage, however it’s now seeking to develop this identical systematic enforcement motion to abusive and violent tweets as properly.

To be clear, Twitter’s guidelines round such content material haven’t modified, however its enforcement strategy is completely different, in that earlier Twitter administration would have eliminated extra of all these feedback outright – however now, Twitter’s taking a extra lenient strategy, by lowering their attain as an alternative.

And Twitter says that that is working – with a staggeringly low 0.01% of tweets that violate its guidelines now being seen by any customers in any respect.

Which appears most unlikely, based mostly on total trade tendencies, and exterior reporting on Twitter particularly.

For instance, the prevalence of comparable violations on Fb on Instagram sits at round 0.05% – and Meta has way more workers, and way more superior methods working to handle such throughout its apps. The suggestion that Twitter has one way or the other been in a position to finest this, after culling 80% of its workers, together with most of the individuals who have been engaged on addressing these components, appears questionable at finest.

There have additionally, as famous, been a spread of third-party evaluation reviews which recommend, for instance, that antisemitic tweets have change into extra widespread since Elon Musk took over on the app, that slurs towards Black and transgender individuals have additionally elevated, whereas hate speech, normally, has additionally change into extra prevalent amid the app’s broader adjustments in strategy. Twitter’s additionally dealing with authorized motion in each Australia and Germany for failing to take away hate speech in a well timed method.

As we’ve reported beforehand, a number of the conflicting figures right here appear to come back all the way down to various definitions of what really qualifies as hate speech, and the way Twitter itself is measuring such. However we don’t understand how Twitter has come to this new 99.99% determine, as a result of there’s no proof – the Twitter staff hasn’t supplied any precise knowledge or perception to again this quantity up.

So it’s simply ‘take out phrase for it’, that one way or the other, Twitter has achieved record-setting leads to moderation efficiency, regardless of slicing nearly all of its workers, and in distinction to exterior tutorial evaluation, which factors to the alternative.

I’m not saying that it’s not proper, however I don’t know, and also you don’t know both, as a result of Twitter hasn’t defined itself in any manner.

So what meaning, ultimately, I don’t know.

However positive, it’s a powerful determine, I assume.