US election: Twitter to enforce rules on retweets and victory claims

Twitter has announced that it will not enable any user, including candidates, to claim victory before the official results in the upcoming US election.

It said in a blog post that any tweets claiming victory before a clear projection would have a warning label added.

The tech giant said that it would also remove any tweets incited interference with election results, “such as through violent action”.

“Under this policy, we will label Tweets that falsely claim a win for any candidate and will remove Tweets that encourage violence or call for people to interfere with election results or the smooth operation of polling places.”

As per the blog post, tweets that falsely claim a win will not only be labeled but also direct users to the platform’s official US election page.

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In addition to this, twitter will also change the way retweets work on a temporary basis. It will prompt users to “quote tweet” and add their own opinions before sharing the message.

It will appear as a normal retweet if the users do not add anything.

“Though this adds some extra friction for those who simply want to retweet, we hope it will encourage everyone to not only consider why they are amplifying a tweet but also increase the likelihood that people add their own thoughts, reactions, and perspectives to the conversation,” the company said.

The changes are likely to be implemented from October 20th, “until at least the end of election week”.