Twitter is testing new warning labels to prevent the spread of fake news

Twitter (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

Three new misinformation warning labels have been found on Twitter.
Twitter says these are "some early experiments" that are being worked on.

Twitter is testing three new warning labels that are designed to try and prevent the spread of misinformation. Tweets will include labels including "Get the latest," "Stay informed," and "Misleading" depending on their content.

The new labels were discovered by researcher Jane Munchun Wong with screenshots of all three shared for all to see. Wong had to tweet something that would trigger all three warnings, hence the rather odd content.

Twitter is working on three levels of misinformation warning labels:

“Get the latest”, “Stay Informed” and “Misleading” pic.twitter.com/0RdmMsRAEkTwitter is working on three levels of misinformation warning labels:

“Get the latest”, “Stay Informed” and “Misleading” pic.twitter.com/0RdmMsRAEk— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) May 31, 2021 May 31, 2021

Since that tweet went live, Twitter Head of Site Integrity Yoel Roth has confirmed the labels' existence, saying that they're "early experiments" while inviting feedback on their current setup.

👀 some early experiments with new design treatments for our labels on misinformation. Let us know what you think, and how we can improve. (cc @tapatinah) https://t.co/BLXVDAhox7👀 some early experiments with new design treatments for our labels on misinformation. Let us know what you think, and how we can improve. (cc @tapatinah) https://t.co/BLXVDAhox7— Yoel Roth (@yoyoel) May 31, 2021 May 31, 2021

Twitter, like other social networks, has come under fire for the ease with which misinformation can spread. These labels are one way that such a problem could be dealt with, at least in part. There's no indication if or when these labels will be made available to all or whether they'll be limited to the official Twitter apps. Whether you're using Twitter or Tweetbot, knowing what information is real and what isn't is vital.

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Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.