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Twitter To Label Altered Media, Remove If It May Cause Harm

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - This April 26, 2017, file photo shows the Twitter app icon on a mobile phone in Philadelphia. Twitter will begin to label and in some cases remove doctored or manipulated photos, audio and videos that are designed to mislead people.

Twitter will begin to label and in some cases remove doctored or manipulated photos, audio and videos that are designed to mislead people. 

The company said Tuesday that the new rules prohibit sharing synthetic or manipulated material that's likely to cause harm. Material that is manipulated but isn't necessarily harmful may get a warning label. Deciding what might cause harm could be difficult to define, though. The new guidelines go into effect March 5. Twitter and other technology services are under intense pressure to prevent interference in the 2020 U.S. elections after they were manipulated in four years ago by Russia-connected actors. 

 
 
 
 
 

Imran Ali Malik was a fellow in KALW's Audio Academy class of 2020. His reporting interests are design, economy, and telling stories of invisible structures and forgotten histories.