Twitter Quietly Notes It’s ‘No Longer Enforcing’ the Company’s ‘COVID-19 Misleading Information Policy’
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Elon Musk’s Twitter quietly added a note saying it will “no longer enforce” the company’s Covid-19 content moderation guidelines, which CNN noted “received acclaim from medical professionals.”
The company wrote on its “transparency” information website that the change went into effect on November 23rd, but as CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan noted, the note was only spotted online Monday evening.
“Twitter did not appear to formally announce the rule change. Instead, some Twitter users Monday night spotted a note added to the page on Twitter’s website that outlines its Covid policy,” reported O’Sullivan.
“Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter is no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy,” the note reads under the website’s “Covid-19 Misinformation” section.
Musk polled his Twitter followers last Wednesday, asking whether or not he should give “general amnesty to suspended accounts, provided that they have not broken the law or engaged in egregious spam.”
Much like he did when restoring former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account, after the poll found a majority in favor of amnesty, the billionaire replied on Twitter:
The people have spoken. Amnesty begins next week. Vox Populi, Vox Dei.
Twitter’s Covid-19 policy website notes that since the guidelines went into effect in January 2020, “we have challenged 11.72 million accounts, suspended 11,230 accounts, and removed over 97,674 content worldwide as of September 2022.”
Twitter’s lengthy guidelines laid out what kind of content the company would remove from its platform:
Statements which are intended to influence others to violate recommended COVID-19 related guidance from global or local health authorities to decrease someone’s likelihood of exposure to COVID-19, such as: “social distancing is not effective,” or “now that it’s summertime, you don’t need a mask anymore, so don’t wear your mask!”
Note: We will not require the removal of Tweets that include information about or encouragement to participate in demonstrations or protests.
Other social media platforms, like Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, have similar policies, which remain in place.
