Twitter clarifies special rules for tweets by world leaders like Trump
Twitter clarifies special rules for tweets by world leaders like Trump

          
          
The new system will only apply to government officials with verified accounts and more than 100,000 followers. That includes Donald Trump and a number of other officials, both in the United States and overseas. Twitter will take other steps to limit the distribution of tweets that receive this kind of notice. They won't be featured as top tweets on a user's Twitter timeline, in "safe search" results, or in "recommended tweet" push notifications.
"This notice won't be applied to any Tweets sent before today and, given the conditions outlined above, it's unlikely you'll encounter it often," Twitter says. "We cannot predict the first time it will be used."
Facebook is wrestling with the same issue
Traditionally, sites like Twitter and Facebook have preferred to think of themselves as neutral platforms that host a wide range of content without necessarily endorsing any of it. But as social media sites have become a more prominent part of national conversations, they have faced growing pressure to take a more active role in content moderation.
Facebook, for example, recently got into a feud with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over a video that was slowed down to make her appear drunk or senile. Pelosi wanted the video removed, but Facebook refused, arguing that it didn't violate Facebook's policies. Eventually, Facebook settled on an approach similar to the one Twitter is announcing today: the Pelosi video stayed up, but Facebook added a notice that the video had been altered. Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged Wednesday that Facebook had been too slow to respond to the fake Pelosi video.


          
                  