Twitter clarifies tweets reviewing process

Surrounded by controversies, Twitter provides clarification on how they review Tweets along with testing ephemeral tweets and emoji reactions.

As Twitter is being criticized, for not removing tweets from world leaders that violate its rules considering the Tweets might surround public interest, the platform is providing context on the review process of Tweets reported from these accounts along with more updates.

Review Process

Twitter's approach revolves around their purpose: letting people be a part of public conversation. The focus on the language of the tweets and do not attempt to determine interpretations of its intent.

Presently, direct interactions with fellow public figures, comments on political issues of the day, or foreign policy saber-rattling on economic or military issues are generally not in violation of the Twitter Rules.

And, even if a Tweet from a World Leader does violate Twitter Rules, but is in Public Interest, the platform would still let it stay, marked with a notice that provides context about the violation.

Although, the areas mentioned below, would result in enforcement actions by the platform without consideration of the potential public interest value in allowing the Tweet to remain visible behind a notice:

• Promotion of terrorism.

• Clear and direct threats of violence against an individual (as noted above, direct interactions with fellow public figures and/or commentary on political and foreign policy issues would likely not result in enforcement).

• Posting private information, such as a home address or non-public personal phone number.

• Posting or sharing intimate photos or videos of someone that were produced or distributed without their consent.

• Engaging in behaviors relating to child sexual exploitation.

• Encouraging or promoting self-harm.

Also Read: Twitter shares personal information from 2FA with advertisers

In this scenario, the 'clarification' option that Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, had mentioned at an event for Goldman Sachs in February 2019 would be a suitable option.

They would be able to keep the tweets issued in Public Interest on the platform with a clarifying context. The 'clarification' is different than a notice because a 'clarification' is specific to the tweet's context.

Although, we haven't heard about the feature, as to if it is under development or will be rolled out, since its mention.

Emoji Reactions

Twitter is testing emoji reactions in DMs. With the new feature, you'd be able to quickly respond to a DM with any of the seven quick emoji reactions.

Ephemeral Tweets

Kayvon Beykpour, Twitter's head of product mentioned that they are looking to explore ephemeral Tweets. She states ephemerality is essential for situations when people want to talk about something but don't want to last it forever.

The format of ephemerality has really picked up since Snapchat Stories and its duplication on Facebook family of apps. We might see ephemeral Tweets in the development soon if the platform maintains its interest.