{"id":1756071,"date":"2022-11-30T06:05:19","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T11:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1756071"},"modified":"2022-11-30T07:33:09","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T12:33:09","slug":"twitter-stops-enforcing-covid-19-misleading-information-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/twitter-stops-enforcing-covid-19-misleading-information-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Twitter Stops Enforcing COVID-19 &#8220;Misleading Information&#8221; Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftwitter-stops-enforcing-covid-19-misleading-information-policy%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1756071&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-twitter\">Twitter<\/a> has stopped enforcing its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-covid-19\">COVID-19<\/a> \u201cmisleading information\u201d policy that had resulted in nearly 100,000 pieces of content being cut from the platform and led to more than 11,000 account suspensions.<\/p>\n<p>The social media giant, which was taken over by industrialist Elon Musk at the end of October, <a href=\"https:\/\/transparency.twitter.com\/en\/reports\/covid19.html#2021-jul-dec\">said in a report<\/a>\u00a0that, effective Nov. 23, Twitter is \u201cno longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The report included information about Twitter\u2019s enforcement actions related to its COVID-19 content policies. Between January 2020 and September 2022, there were 11.72 million accounts challenged, 11,230 accounts were suspended, and 97,674 pieces of content removed.<\/p>\n<p>The policy, which was introduced to curb the spread of \u201charmful <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-misinformation\">misinformation<\/a>\u201d related to COVID-19, was praised by some, including\u00a0U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, who in an advisory (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hhs.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/surgeon-general-misinformation-advisory.pdf\">pdf<\/a>) on \u201cbuilding a healthy information environment\u201d cited Twitter\u2019s rules as a model for companies to fight misinformation.<\/p>\n<p>But heavy-handed enforcement of the policy garnered criticism, such as when earlier this year Twitter flagged numerous tweets with factual information about COVID-19 as misinformation and suspended accounts of scientists and doctors.<\/p>\n<h2>The Crackdown<\/h2>\n<p>In one case,\u00a0Twitter blocked a post from Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/florida-surgeon-general-recommends-against-mrna-covid-19-vaccines-for-males-aged-18-39_4783372.html\">promoted<\/a> an analysis that asserts there were a high number of cardiac-related deaths among men who took an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.<\/p>\n<p>The post, which was unblocked hours later,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FLSurgeonGen\/status\/1578515633159180289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">reads<\/a>: \u201cToday, we released an analysis on COVID-19 mRNA vaccines the public needs to be aware of. This analysis showed an increased risk of cardiac-related death among men 18\u201339. FL will not be silent on the truth.\u201d It also linked to guidance and a news release regarding the analysis.<\/p>\n<p>Several members of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019s administration criticized Twitter for blocking Ladapo\u2019s post.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTwitter has not explained WHY the study findings constitute \u2018misinformation\u2019 nor proven them wrong,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChristinaPushaw\/status\/1579113117522759680\">wrote<\/a> DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw on Twitter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is an unacceptable and Orwellian move for narrative over fact,\u201d Bryan Griffin, the governor\u2019s press secretary, wrote on Twitter.<\/p>\n<p>Ladapo commented on the incident after his post was restored:\u00a0\u201cI love the discussion that we\u2019ve stimulated. Isn\u2019t it great when we discuss science transparently instead of trying to cancel one another?\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FLSurgeonGen\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In another case,\u00a0Dr. Peter McCullough, a renowned Texas-based internist and cardiologist who has raised questions about the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/dr-mccullough-who-raised-questions-over-safety-of-covid-19-vaccines-suspended-from-twitter_4781132.html\">was suspended<\/a> from Twitter and his account remains blocked.<\/p>\n<p>McCullough is one of several individuals who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/health\/twitter-silenced-physicians-who-posted-truthful-information-about-covid-lawsuit-alleges_4571886.html\">have sued<\/a> Twitter for suspending their accounts over COVID-19 related information.<\/p>\n<h2>\u2018Mistakes Made\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>In August, after Twitter received a number of complaints and queries over its heavy-handed enforcement of the COVID-19 content policy, the company\u00a0removed a number of warning labels from tweets and restored accounts.<\/p>\n<p>Twitter also acknowledged the problem in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2022\/08\/25\/twitter-factual-covid-info-labeled-misinformation\/\">an interview<\/a> with The Washington Post.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re always working to improve the safety of our service and ensuring we provide avenues of recourse when we get it wrong through our appeals processes,\u201d then Twitter spokesperson Celeste Carswell told the outlet. \u201cWe acknowledge the mistakes made in these cases, and we are reviewing our team\u2019s protocol to safeguard against such mistakes in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Carswell is no longer employed at Twitter, according to her <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/celestecarswell?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor\">profile bio<\/a>, presumably as part of the large-scale layoffs at the company since Musk took over. Twitter\u2019s official communications account has been dormant since Oct. 30.<\/p>\n<h2>Musk to Reveal Details of Twitter\u2019s \u2018Free Speech Suppression\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Musk\u00a0has vowed to dial back Twitter\u2019s censorship policies that many conservatives have alleged are discriminatory and amount to suppression of free speech.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, he pledged in an open letter that he would not to allow the platform to become a \u201cfree-for-all hellscape\u201d where anything could be said \u201cwith no consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn addition to adhering to the laws of the land, our platform must be warm and welcoming to all,\u201d Musk wrote.<\/p>\n<p>He also announced\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1593673339826212864\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">earlier in November<\/a>\u00a0that Twitter\u2019s new policy is \u201cfreedom of speech, but not freedom of reach,\u201d adding that Twitter would demonetize and not promote \u201chate\/negative tweets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou won\u2019t find the tweet unless you specifically seek it out, which is no different from rest of Internet,\u201d Musk said.<\/p>\n<p>Musk said on Nov. 29 that Twitter\u2019s internal files on the company\u2019s \u201cfree speech suppression\u201d will be revealed \u201csoon,\u201d raising expectations that light will be shed on the firm\u2019s opaque actions in blocking content and banning accounts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Twitter Files on free speech suppression soon to be published on Twitter itself. The public deserves to know what really happened,\u201d Musk <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1597336812732575744\">said in a post<\/a>\u00a0late Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Critics have long held that Twitter has used vague standards to censor or suspend accounts and that the ones targeted are predominantly those expressing conservative views.<\/p>\n<p>Twitter has denied any bias in its actions, repeatedly insisting it is simply following its content moderation policies.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-tom-ozimek\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/WEB_TomOzimek-_1.jpg\" alt=\"Tom Ozimek\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Tom Ozimek is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times. He has a broad background in journalism, deposit insurance, marketing and communications, and adult education.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Twitter has stopped enforcing its COVID-19 \u201cmisleading information\u201d policy that had resulted in nearly 100,000 pieces of content being cut from the platform and led to more than 11,000 account<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1696806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1756071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1756071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1756071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1756071\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1696806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1756071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1756071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1756071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}