Twitter recently added a label to National Public Radio (NPR) accounts which reads “State-Affiliated Media”. This label was added in an effort to make it easier for Twitter users to easily identify which accounts are part of a state-run media system.
In an effort to increase transparency, Twitter created the new label to inform users as to the source of information. The global policy team at Twitter said in a blog post: “We want to provide transparently, credible information about the accounts people encounter on our platform, and in some cases Twitter labels may help the public or our customers better understand the source of the information they are receiving.”
The new label means that when Twitter users look up a NPR account, they will instantly know it is a state-sponsored account. The label only applies to accounts that are directly managed by, or affiliated with, government entities or government-funded news outlets.
This move by Twitter comes at a time when many countries and governments around the world are investing in media manipulation and the spread of false information to influence public opinion. The label hopes to make it easier for people to recognize when they are dealing with state-affiliated sources.
The fact that Twitter has decided to label accounts that have a direct affiliation with governments and state-funded news outlets is significant. It will give users more insight into who is behind the content that they are consuming, and allow them to make more informed decisions.
Twitter also announced it will begin testing a label on tweets that contain synthetic or manipulated media. The synthetic media label will be applied to tweets that “contain media (videos, audio, or images) that has been significantly altered or fabricated”. This label is intended to help users quickly spot manipulated media and to help areas of the public better identify disinformation.
The labels on these accounts demonstrate Twitter’s commitment to protecting the platform from false or state-sponsored content. By adding state-affiliated media and synthetic media labels, Twitter is helping to ensure that its users have more transparency and clarity around the content they are viewing.
