Twitter has locked hundreds of Accounts of users to wrong information about the European elections widely used. However, it often encounters the False, says Social Media Analyst Luca Hammer in the DW-Interview.
Election campaign via a Tweet-a Snitch? Users can report content that violates Twitter policy
DW: Before the European elections in cases in which the Twitter Accounts of its users locks are piling up. Mostly on the grounds that the Tweets would spread misleading information. What’s going on?
Luca Hammer on Twitter: has published about two weeks ago, a new Directive on the integrity of elections. Since it is a question that you would like to prevent, that Social Media platforms are used to manipulate the European elections. So no false information can be disseminated. Unfortunately, the Directive is either inaccurate or the Content presenter inside of Twitter is not trained accordingly, which it has come to many wrong decisions.
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It has also made politicians and the media, which is very common apparently harmless information. Collect user disables the #Twitter. What Twitter is doing wrong?
It is unclear at the Moment. With this Directive, a new reporting option has been activated. Now wild any content be reported to and Twitter locks a surprising number of of this content. Self-content which does not actually have to do directly with the election. The same is true of celebrities Accounts, and those that do not want to manipulate the obvious choice, but possibly a joke. Sometimes only one Interview is linked.
This means that activists could use the Report of Accounts as a tool for the political opponents to damage?
There are also Accounts that propagate the actually. To notify your Followers to call on certain Accounts or to search for specific content and to report them. And after the Accounts are locked, the Person who has reported that a message: “thank you for Your help. We have locked the Account.” And these messages are then posted again. So you are actually proud of the abuse of this function. And several hundreds of Accounts are now affected in fact.
What says because Twitter itself? Have were your errors?
You are still holding back. The only two Tweets, in which they do not respond specifically to it. But you admit mistakes, how you deal with messages, and say they are the better. In addition, Twitter will be in the Committee for Digital Agenda in the Bundestag, and there again to answer.
What could not do Twitter, so this kind of thing occurs? You need more moderators? A better algorithm?
This is not at the Moment, still unclear, because we know actually where the Problem arises. Whether that was a conscious decision of Twitter, “to operate over blocking” to delete so prefer more content or to suspend, at least, than is actually necessary. Or whether the people are trained in error, the meeting in fact, the decision of whether something is locked. It may also be that there are politically motivated people are sitting, then make the appropriate decisions. You don’t know at the Moment, unfortunately.
Social Media Analyst Luca Hammer
But Twitter and its lock policies are definitely a factor in this election campaign?
You should not overestimate Twitter. It is only about five percent of the German population are weekly active on Twitter. But, of course, a very important space of communication, because there are very many politicians and journalists and citizens have the opportunity to interact very directly with the politicians in contact. Thus, it is of course interesting, to interfere with this communication space – especially now in the hot Phase of the election campaign. If you can make it there, that politicians are locked for several days or just several hours, you manipulated the election campaign. With the function that should prevent it.
The “over blocking” is a reaction of Twitter to the fact that you had accused the company previously, to do too little against all the Fake News, for example, in the US election?
In any case. Concrete examples in this Directive relate to the US election. There is about been informed that you may choose for the first time via SMS, which of course is a complete hoax, which is a lie. You don’t know how many people have believed it, but you just know that it had been used. That it has tried to demobilize people to demo that you go to the polls, but wrong choose. Options that don’t exist. In addition, there is a very large political pressure, especially from the EU-Commission published at the beginning of the year, a “code of conduct to combat disinformation”. The large platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Mozilla have voluntarily signed up for. They are committed to measures against Manipulation and false information. And if the platforms do not get a grip on the Problem, then the EU will propose further measures or regulations to meet.
What do individual users that are affected?
If Twitter locks the Account, then there is a Link in this notification directly there, where you can appeal. There is also the opportunity to collect a form objection. This objection takes but most of the time a little longer. The Alternative is that they say: Yes, okay, it was a joke, but it could be interpreted as Manipulation, and deletes the Tweet. And then usually within twelve hours to regain access to his Account.
The Social Media Analyst Luca Hammer advises companies and organisations in dealing with platforms such as Twitter or Facebook.