It’s not always easy to do the right thing in technology, and it can lead to some embarrassing (and fun) mistakes. Just ask Twitter.
As everyone probably knows, Twitter has been trying to stop disinformation on covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, which spreads wildly on its platform. One way to do this is by pasting misinformation labels into tweets with false information about covid-19, such as posts that talk about a cure for the disease (unfortunately there is still no cure, although scientists around the world are working on a vaccine)
In recent weeks, Twitter has started to add these tags to tweets linking the launch of 5G to the spread of covid-19, a topic that has sparked multiple conspiracy theories. Some conspiracy theorists, for example, claim that radiation from 5G towers weakens the immune system and makes people more susceptible to contracting covid-19. There is no scientific evidence to support this. However, misinformation about 5G towers has led people to burn cell phone towers in the United Kingdom.
Marking tweets spitting 5G coronavirus conspiracy theories sounds like a good thing, right? There is no doubt about it, except when the filtering system you use is confused.
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Many Twitter users noticed on Friday that Twitter was apparently pasting any tweet that mentioned “5G”, “oxygen” and “frequency” for some strange reason, even if those tweets were not about harmful 5G conspiracy theories. The tag links to a Twitter moment titled “No, 5G is not causing coronavirus” and includes information from reputable sources that discredit claims.
The end result, of course, was that Twitter users posted endless combinations with the words to see if their tweets would be flagged. Obviously, these types of tweets were not meant to be harmful and were just an attempt to have fun, but the Twitter filter had no way of knowing.
When it comes to why Twitter highlighted “oxygen” and “frequency,” people in Week Theorize that it is probably due to a conspiracy theory that 5G is a dangerous frequency that absorbs oxygen from the atmosphere, disrupting the normal functions of our bodies. This is, of course, untrue. Twitter has not confirmed that this is the reason why their system started flagging tweets.
However, it is important to note that this type of “algorithmic moderation” can lead to other problems.
“One of the shortcomings of trying moderation at scale using an algorithm, a problem unrelated to 5G, is that it allows tech companies to absorb oxygen from reform and regulatory efforts, while shrugging and rejecting” we tried one thing with code and it didn’t work ‘in’ cannot be done ‘”, defense technology writer Kelsey D. Atherton pointed out in a tweet, which also received a misinformation tag covid-19.
As the day progressed, Twitter finally stopped tagging tweets with the keywords we mentioned. A Twitter spokesperson he said to Motherboard This weekend, the company’s algorithm is “flawed and constantly changing” based on what’s happening on Twitter. The spokeswoman added that Twitter prioritized excessive tagging to err on the side of caution and reduce harm while providing the necessary context.
“In the past few weeks, you may have seen tweets with tags that link to additional information about covid-19. Not all of those tweets had potentially misleading content that associated covid-19 and 5G. We apologize for any confusion and are working to improve our labeling process. ” Twitter support tweeted on Saturday. “As we improve this process to be more precise, our goal is to show fewer tags on unrelated tweets.”
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