Twitter announced that it will no longer enforce its long-standing Covid misinformation policy, which was designed to combat misinformation about COVID-19 on the social media platform and resulted in the suspension of over 11,000 accounts.
When COVID first appeared in 2020, Twitter implemented a number of measures, including labels and warning messages on tweets containing disputed information about the health crisis, as well as a framework for users to remove tweets that advanced harmfully false vaccine claims. However, those measures are no longer in effect.
“Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter is no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy,” according to an update on its blog page.
Twitter used a five-strike system for accounts that posted demonstrably false or misleading content that could cause significant harm, such as exposure to Covid or damage to public health systems, under its Covid-specific policy.
Musk had previously promised that his Twitter amnesty program would restore many previously banned Twitter accounts as soon as this week. Some of the 11,000 accounts banned under Twitter’s former Covid misinformation rules may be among those restored.
The sources for this piece include an article in CNN.