Twitter Birdwatch Feature Rolls Out To More Users, Allowing Posters To Moderate Content Themselves

A Twitter content moderation feature called Birdwatch appears to be rolling out to larger audiences this week, with many users reporting “Birdwatch notes” in their feeds for the first time.

Birdwatch works by allowing accredited users to point out false or misleading information in a tweet and then attach their notes in a little window at the bottom of a tweet. A note only appears after enough fellow Birdwatchers agree that the note is a good note.

To begin using the feature and become a Birdwatcher, you have to first work as a voter evaluating Birdwatching notes written by others, but after you do enough of that, you can then write your own. Birdwatchers post anonymously, and choose a nickname:

Technically, Birdwatch began in 2020 — but in recent days, it’s received more attention. A September 7th blog post by Twitter promised a wider roll-out, and it seems as if that could be happening now.

Birdwatch appears aimed to address what has been a longtime problem on Twitter — the circulation of false and misleading information. Countries at war, companies trying to make a profit and trolls seeking to sow chaos routinely use the platform to joke and lie.

Information moves rapidly on Twitter, and so often it’s hard for people to know what is true and what is not. Recent hoaxes like the China Coup hoax show that a small network of determined posters can make a story trend before traditional gatekeepers like journalists are able to fact-check and verify it.

But Twitter’s new feature isn’t just about combating feral posters though. Tweets by politicians and publications like the Washington Post can also be Birdwatched, and Birdwatchers can criticize an imprecise or misleading use of language in a headline. They can also criticize a faulty citation to a statistical study.

This Twitter problem also manifests in the user experience, which is often defined by people dissing and debating each other with little regard for what the facts may be.

So far, many posters seemed excited about the new feature, largely thrilled to see Twitter doing something to combat misinformation.

On the flip side, however, few seemed to object to the feature, seeming to view it as a form of social control.

Certain posters reveled in the new power that being a Birdwatcher could bring them, while others shared the moral and methodological dilemmas of being a Birdwatcher, wondering how to determine what is true, what is ethical and what should be in the public forum.