TWITTER said it has stopped enforcing a policy intended to prevent the spread of COVID misinformation, as new owner Elon Musk -- who has clashed previously with US officials over pandemic safety rules -- continues to remake its content moderation policies.
The move comes after the mercurial billionaire reinstated a slew of accounts on the social media network that had previously been banned for violating its content rules, such as that of former president Donald Trump.
"Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter is no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy," read a message posted at a Twitter transparency web page.
During the pandemic, Twitter took to labeling misleading tweets about COVID and booting users who persisted in spreading such misinformation.
Banned content included statements intended to influence people to violate health authority guidelines, along with bogus cures or denial of scientific facts, according to a Twitter blog.
As of September of this year, Twitter had suspended 11,230 accounts under the policy, the blog stated.
Musk, who also runs Tesla, clashed with officials in 2020 over pandemic safety orders which temporarily shut down the electric car giant's plant in California, calling shelter in place orders "fascist" and "an outrage" that infringed on personal freedom.
Under Musk, who calls himself a "free speech absolutist," Twitter has begun reinstating roughly 62,000 accounts in what is being referred to internally as "the Big Bang," according to Platformer news blog.
Since taking over the platform last month, Musk has cut around half of Twitter's workforce, including many employees tasked with fighting disinformation, while an unknown number of others have voluntarily quit.
Yoel Roth, the former head of trust and safety at Twitter who left after Musk took over, said during an interview Tuesday at a Knight Foundation conference that he was not certain how many employees were left at the company to moderate content.
"I couldn't tell you, because our corporate directory had been turned off since the acquisition and it was nearly impossible to actually know conclusively who was still left at Twitter," Roth said when asked by interviewer Kara Swisher.
"It was that chaotic."
Musk believes that all content permitted by law should be allowed on Twitter, and on Monday described his actions as a "revolution against online censorship in America."
Though Musk says Twitter is seeing record high engagement with him at the helm, his approach has startled the company's major moneymaker -- advertisers.
In recent weeks, half of Twitter's top 100 advertisers have announced they are suspending or have otherwise "seemingly stopped advertising on Twitter," an analysis conducted by nonprofit watchdog group Media Matters found.
ETX Studio
Wed Nov 30 2022
Twitter's Elon Musk who has clashed previously with US officials over pandemic safety rules continues to remake its content moderation policies. - REUTERS/Filepic
24 orang terbunuh selepas Israel serang masjid, sekolah di Gaza
Sekurang-kurangnya 24 orang terbunuh manakala 93 lagi cedera akibat serangan udara Israel di sebuah masjid dan sebuah sekolah yang menempatkan penduduk Gaza pada Ahad.
Israel tingkat serangan udara di timur Lubnan
Hampir semua bangunan di bandar lama Baalbek di Timur Lubnan musnah selepas rejim zionis meningkatkan serangan udaranya pada Ahad.
Jokowi seru sentiasa berwaspada di tengah-tengah cabaran global
Presiden Joko Widodo menyeru Tentera Nasional Indonesia (TNI) untuk sentiasa berwaspada dan bersiap sedia ketika negara berdepan dengan cabaran global yang semakin meningkat.
Pesawat Frontier Airlines terbakar ketika mendarat
Pesawat penerbangan 1326 Frontier Airlines terbakar ketika mendarat di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Harry Reid di Las Vegas, Nevada.
7 maut termasuk dua kanak-kanak di Maharashtra
Sekurang-kurangnya tujuh orang termasuk dua kanak-kanak maut dan beberapa lagi cedera selepas kebakaran besar berlaku di sebuah bangunan di Maharashtra, Mumbai.
Kejadian tembak di Selama, polis tahan pemilik kebun
Polis menahan seorang lelaki tempatan kerana disyaki terlibat kes tembakan sehingga menyebabkan seorang individu cedera di Kampung Sumpit Beras, Rantau Panjang dekat Selama Jumaat lepas.
Kedai runcit simpan, cuci sayuran dalam tandas sebelum dijual
Sebuah kedai runcit diusahakan seorang warga asing dikesan melakukan pelbagai kesalahan kepenggunaan termasuk menyimpan sayur-sayuran di dalam tandas premis itu.
8,500 premis diberi amaran susulan pelaksanaan Akta 852 - Dzulkefly
Sejumlah 8,500 premis di seluruh negara diberi amaran kerana melanggar Akta Kawalan Produk Merokok Demi Kesihatan Awam 2024 (Akta 852) yang berkuat kuasa pada 1 Okt lepas.
JDT raih kejuaraan berganda, julang Piala Futsal Malaysia 2024
Skuad futsal Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) meraih kejuaraan berganda musim ini apabila muncul juara Piala Futsal Malaysia 2024 selepas menewaskan Selangor 3-2.
AWANI Ringkas: 21 warga Bangladesh ditahan cuba masuk Malaysia
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Elon Musk sertai kempen Trump di Butler
Calon presiden Parti Republikan Donald Trump pada Sabtu membawa bilionair teknologi Elon Musk ke pentas kempen pilihan raya ketika bekas presiden itu kembali ke Butler.
Nilai X dilapor susut hampir 80% sejak dibeli Elon Musk
X dihantui pelbagai isu besar sejak Musk mengatakan ia adalah platform sebenar untuk kebebasan bersuara.
Mark Zukerberg catat nilai bersih pendapatan tertinggi
Mark Zuckerberg berpotensi menjadi orang terkaya di dunia selepas mencatat nilai bersih pendapatan paling tinggi tahun ini.
SpaceX kawal 62% satelit aktif di angkasa
Perkhidmatan internet Starlink ditawarkan di lebih 100 negara, termasuk Malaysia. Bergerak ke hadapan, lebih banyak satelit Starlink dijangka dilepaskan ke angkasa.
Brazil gantung X, akaun Starlink dibeku
Platform X diarah digantung sepenuhnya sehingga semua arahan mahkamah dipatuhi.
Mahkamah tertinggi Brazil ancam gantung operasi X di negara itu
Elon Musk diarah namakan seorang wakil undang-undang X di Brazil atau berhadapan tindakan digantung operasi media sosial itu.
Pengasas Telegram ditahan: Musk secara sinis ramal hukuman berat menjelang 2030 di Eropah
Musk dengan nada sinis meramalkan bahawa menjelang 2030, Eropah mungkin akan mula melaksanakan hukuman berat terhadap individu yang menyukai imej humor (meme) di internet.
Elon Musk, X disaman culas bayar syarikat pembekal mesin pelayan
Menurut Wiwynn, kontrak pembelian mesin pelayan dengan Twitter telah bermula sejak 2014 dan bernilai sekitar $120 juta dari segi komponen mesin pelayan yang dibeli.
Elon Musk sedia berkhidmat dalam kerajaan AS jika ditawarkan
Usahawan Amerika Syarikat (AS) Elon Musk pada Selasa menyatakan kesediaannya untuk berkhidmat dalam Kerajaan AS jika ditawarkan peranan sedemikian.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.