Twitter stops enforcing Covid-19 misinformation policy

Twitter volition nary longer halt users from spreading mendacious accusation astir the Covid-19 microorganism oregon vaccines, according to an update connected its contented moderation policies.

It’s different large displacement nether caller proprietor Elon Musk, who has pressed for “free speech” supra each other connected the platform. Twitter’s Covid-19 misinformation leafage was updated with a enactment saying that arsenic of Nov. 23, the level would nary longer enforce its policies against spreading misleading accusation connected the microorganism and vaccines — which had led to much than 11,000 relationship suspensions since 2020.

Since his takeover, Musk has fired immense swaths of the company, including thousands of declaration and full-time employees who were liable for contented moderation.

At the aforesaid time, respective apical executives overseeing contented moderation policies and enforcement, including Twitter’s erstwhile caput of Trust and Safety, Yoel Roth, person near the company.

While Twitter ne'er formally announced the change, Twitter users noticed the argumentation update connected Monday night, and it was first reported by CNN. It appears to beryllium portion of Musk’s plans to assistance “general amnesty” to antecedently banned accounts — similar that of erstwhile President Donald Trump — and the tech billionaire has said he’s updating policies this week that would reinstate much accounts.

This could mean the 11,230 accounts suspended since Twitter’s Covid-19 misinformation argumentation went into effect in aboriginal 2020 whitethorn soon beryllium oregon are successful the process of being reinstated. One of the biggest repetition offenders was Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), whose idiosyncratic relationship was reinstated past week aft being suspended for repeatedly breaking Twitter’s argumentation against spreading mendacious Covid-19 information.