Twitter COVID Misinformation Could Go Wild After Its Latest Update
Ever since Elon Musk took over Twitter, it has been nothing but bad news for both its users and employees. It is evident that Musk wants changes, and he wants them implemented ASAP. Twitter verification badge debacle already put his authority in question, but it seems that he won’t stop at just that.
Twitter announced that it will no longer dedicate its resources to tackling misinformation related to COVID present on Twitter. So, users have to watch out for any information related to the spread/treatment of the pandemic.
Why won’t Twitter monitor COVID-related information?
Musk started his Twitter takeover with a lot of firing, a lot! Abruptly slashing such a workforce and only focusing on retaining engineers is already backfiring. He is squeezing every bit of manpower into launching new features, which did more harm than good in the first week. The verification badge debacle eroded the value of a big pharma company. While that feature is being improved, this ignorance of COVID will also cause a lot of commotion on Twitter.
Moderating content on Twitter means that it requires a big enough team. Since Musk laid off most of the team along with other categories deemed “non-essentials.” So, the COVID-related misinformation will go unnoticed by the moderators, and more than 11000 suspended accounts could slowly return to the platform. Elon Musk is only focusing on the company’s growth, but that could ruin the platform in the coming months. Imagine people with verified accounts and badges promoting ludicrous practices and favoring a vaccine company.
But many Twitter users believe that Musk isn’t thinking straight before passing orders. It is a foolish way to push the company toward profitability. Musk even conducted a poll asking users about granting amnesty to suspended accounts if they never engaged in spamming or broke the law. The poll ended with favorable results, and many suspended accounts will soon return to Twitter. Meanwhile, be cautious about everything you read on Twitter and cross-check that information with credible sources.
