Twitter ends Covid-misinformation policy, under Musk

Twitter says it has stopped enforcing its argumentation connected misleading accusation astir coronavirus.

According to the company's website, it stopped taking enactment against tweets breaching its Covid rules, connected Wednesday, 23 November.

Twitter had antecedently reported suspending much than 11,000 accounts for Covid misinformation arsenic of September this year.

BBC News has approached Twitter for comment.

Its different policies connected mendacious accusation stay connected Twitter's website, without a akin announcement saying they volition nary longer beryllium enforced.

Under its Covid-specific policy, Twitter operated a "five-strike system" for accounts posting "demonstrably mendacious oregon misleading" contented that whitethorn "lead to important hazard of harm" - specified arsenic vulnerability to Covid oregon harm to nationalist wellness systems.

No enactment would beryllium taken against accounts tweeting disinformation once. But repetition offenders could beryllium suspended for a substance of hours, days - oregon adjacent indefinitely, if they received 5 strikes against their account.

Though helium says the Covid reporting strategy connected Twitter was ne'er perfect, Dr Stephen Griffin of The University of Leeds School of Medicine says it was reassuring to cognize that galore thousands of accounts spreading disinformation had been removed since 2020.

Now, immoderate of those who fell foul of the rules are returning to the website.

For example, Twitter has reinstated the idiosyncratic relationship of US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, banned successful January.

Millions of users voted for the reinstatement of suspended accounts successful a Twitter poll, causing brag Elon Musk to tweet: "The radical person spoken... amnesty begins adjacent week."

The Tesla main enforcement has vowed to marque Twitter a hub for escaped code online pursuing his $44bn (£37bn) purchase.

Criticisms the level has been dilatory to enactment connected mendacious oregon unproven wellness claims are thing new.

Even erstwhile Twitter did present an enactment to study misleading posts successful the summertime of 2021 - thing it present seems to beryllium rowing backmost connected - I heard from dozens of radical who said the process was unclear and the enactment didn't ever look to beryllium available.

But the tract did look to beryllium trying to get a grip connected immoderate of its astir perchance harmful posts, removing much than 10,000 accounts - similar Dr Robert Malone, whose connection Covid vaccines are ineffective oregon precise unsafe is contradicted by the overwhelming value of evidence.

Now the absorption astatine Twitter HQ is changing, the question is whether these accounts volition instrumentality oregon caller ones volition beryllium emboldened to stock incorrect information, that could power the decisions radical marque astir their health.