Photo: Pixy, John Pupkin, CC0 Public Domain

 

 

TWITTER SAYS IT WILL REMOVE ANY TWEETS ‘CLAIMING VICTORY BEFORE ELECTION RESULTS HAVE BEEN CERTIFIED’

“Starting next week, we will label or remove false or misleading information intended to undermine public confidence.”

Steve Watson

 

Twitter further extended its censorship policy Thursday, announcing that it will label as ‘false information’ or remove any posts claiming an election victory before results have been officially certified.

 

In a blog post, Twitter wrote:

 

In recognition of the changing circumstances of how people will vote in 2020, and in line with our commitment to protecting the integrity of the election conversation, we’re expanding this existing framework. The goal is to further protect against content that could suppress the vote and help stop the spread of harmful misinformation that could compromise the integrity of an election or other civic process.

 

The post continued:

 

Starting next week, we will label or remove false or misleading information intended to undermine public confidence in an election or other civic process. This includes but is not limited to:

 

False or misleading information that causes confusion about the laws and regulations of a civic process, or officials and institutions executing those civic processes.

Disputed claims that could undermine faith in the process itself, e.g. unverified information about election rigging, ballot tampering, vote tallying, or certification of election results.

Misleading claims about the results or outcome of a civic process which calls for or could lead to interference with the implementation of the results of the process, e.g. claiming victory before election results have been certified, inciting unlawful conduct to prevent a peaceful transfer of power or orderly succession.

 

The move is seemingly part of the ongoing narrative that Americans will have to wait weeks for the results of the election to be announced, as mail in ballots, which are speculated to be open to corruption, are tallied.

 

The move also means that any post by President Trump hinting that he has garnered enough votes to secure a second term could be removed by Twitter, which has censored Trump several times over the past few months.