Though Twitter's new owner and CEO Elon Musk has pledged that the social media platform will not become a "free-for-all hellscape," mass layoffs at the company have sparked fears of misinformation just when US midterm elections are around the corner. Twitter is reported to have&nbsp;fired half of its 7500-strong workforce. This has added to concerns about spike in fake content already expected across social media as midterm elections approach.

The layoffs have followed USD 44 million buyout of the social media platform by billionaire Elon Musk. The firings have hit multipole divisions of the company, including trust and safety teams which looks after content moderation.

"I would be real careful on this platform in the coming days... about what you retweet, who you follow, and even your own sense of what's going on," said Kate Starbird, a disinformation researcher and assistant professor at the University of Washington.

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Starbird warned in her own Twitter post of an increased risk of "impersonation" attempts, "coordinated disinformation by manipulators" and "hoaxes that attempt to get you to spread falsehoods."

Twitter was recently acquired by billionaire Elon Musk after a long-drawn process in which the latter had withdrawn his initial offer only to be taken to court by the social media platform to compel him to buy the company.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Though Twitter's new owner and CEO Elon Musk has pledged that the social media platform will not become a "free-for-all hellscape," mass layoffs at the company have sparked fears of misinformation just when US midterm elections are around the corner.

Though Twitter's new owner and CEO Elon Musk has pledged that the social media platform will not become a "free-for-all hellscape," mass layoffs at the company have sparked fears of misinformation just when US midterm elections are around the corner. Twitter is reported to have fired half of its 7500-strong workforce. This has added to concerns about spike in fake content already expected across social media as midterm elections approach. The layoffs have followed USD 44 million buyout of the social media platform by billionaire Elon Musk. The firings have hit multipole divisions of the company, including trust and safety teams which looks after content moderation. "I would be real careful on this platform in the coming days... about what you retweet, who you follow, and even your own sense of what's going on," said Kate Starbird, a disinformation researcher and assistant professor at the University of Washington. Click here for latest news Starbird warned in her own Twitter post of an increased risk of "impersonation" attempts, "coordinated disinformation by manipulators" and "hoaxes that attempt to get you to spread falsehoods." Twitter was recently acquired by billionaire Elon Musk after a long-drawn process in which the latter had withdrawn his initial offer only to be taken to court by the social media platform to compel him to buy the company. (With inputs from agencies) You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

Layoffs at Twitter raise fears of misinformation just before US midterm elections

Twitter recently launched "Birdwatch", a community-based programme aimed at battling misinformation.

As part of this move, people can now identify information in Tweets which they believe could be misleading, and then offer notes that provide context.

In the pilot phase of this project, notes may be accessed on a separate website - Birdwatch. 
 
Envisaged as a forum, participants may rate how helpful notes added by other contributors are.

Twitter claims that so far, Birdwatch is being kept separate from Twitter.

"These notes are being intentionally kept separate from Twitter for now, while we build Birdwatch and gain confidence that it produces context people find helpful and appropriate," Twitter said in a statement on Monday.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/twitter-suspends-account-linked-to-khameneis-website-clarifies-its-fake-and-not-his-358646" hreflang="en">Twitter suspends account linked to Khamenei's website, clarifies it's fake and not his</a>

To kick off the Birdwatch programme, 1,000 users in the US will participate.

"Eventually we aim to make notes visible directly on Tweets for the global Twitter audience when there is consensus from a broad and diverse set of contributors," Twitter said.

"We believe this approach has the potential to respond quickly when misleading information spreads, adding context that people trust and find valuable'', Twitter added.

All data on Birdwatch will be available publicly, and will also be downloadable.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/elon-musk-offers-100-million-to-develop-a-technology-on-twitter-358446" hreflang="en">Elon Musk offers $100 million to develop a technology on Twitter</a>

So far, Twitter has undertaken 100 interviews across users to understand how much support Birdwatch has.

"As we develop algorithms that power Birdwatch such as reputation and consensus systems we aim to publish that code publicly in the Birdwatch Guide," the company claimed. 
&nbsp;

Twitter recently launched "Birdwatch", a community-based programme aimed at battling misinformation. As part of this move, people can now identify information in Tweets which they believe could be misleading, and then offer notes that provide context.

Twitter recently launched "Birdwatch", a community-based programme aimed at battling misinformation. As part of this move, people can now identify information in Tweets which they believe could be misleading, and then offer notes that provide context. In the pilot phase of this project, notes may be accessed on a separate website - Birdwatch. Envisaged as a forum, participants may rate how helpful notes added by other contributors are. Twitter claims that so far, Birdwatch is being kept separate from Twitter. "These notes are being intentionally kept separate from Twitter for now, while we build Birdwatch and gain confidence that it produces context people find helpful and appropriate," Twitter said in a statement on Monday. Also read: Twitter suspends account linked to Khamenei's website, clarifies it's fake and not his To kick off the Birdwatch programme, 1,000 users in the US will participate. "Eventually we aim to make notes visible directly on Tweets for the global Twitter audience when there is consensus from a broad and diverse set of contributors," Twitter said. "We believe this approach has the potential to respond quickly when misleading information spreads, adding context that people trust and find valuable'', Twitter added. All data on Birdwatch will be available publicly, and will also be downloadable. Also read: Elon Musk offers $100 million to develop a technology on Twitter So far, Twitter has undertaken 100 interviews across users to understand how much support Birdwatch has. "As we develop algorithms that power Birdwatch such as reputation and consensus systems we aim to publish that code publicly in the Birdwatch Guide," the company claimed.

Twitter launches 'Birdwatch' - a forum to battle misinformation

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Layoffs at Twitter raise fears of misinformation just before US midterm elections

Twitter launches 'Birdwatch' - a forum to battle misinformation