Elon Musk's Twitter is now banking on automation to moderate content instead of conducting manual checks and choosing distribution limits over outright banning of specific tweets, according to a report by Reuters.
Twitter Vice President of Trust and Safety Product Ella Irwin claims that the platform is more actively limiting abusive hashtags and search results in areas like child exploitation, regardless of any effects on those terms.
This illustration photo taken May 13, 2022, displays Elon Musks Twitter account with a Twitter logo in the background in Los Angeles. - Elon Musk sent mixed messages Friday about his proposed Twitter acquisition, pressuring shares of the microblogging platform amid skepticism on whether the deal will close. In an early morning tweet, Musk said the $44 billion takeover was "temporarily on hold," pending questions over the social media company's estimates of the number of fake accounts or "bots." That sent Twitter's stock plunging 25 percent
Amnesty for Banned Accounts
This information was released after Musk announced an amnesty for accounts that had been suspended under the previous administration of the company that supposedly violated rules against hate speech and information.
Researchers also claimed that hate speech has been on the rise ever since Musk took over the Bluebird app. However, the tech CEO said that this was "utterly false."
Musk's free speech absolutist stance did not do well with some of Twitter's advertisers, which prompted them to pull out from advertising on the platform, such as Tesla rival GM.
Twitter's former head of safety and security even went as far as to say that the app is unsafe under Musk's leadership.
However, Musk pledged on Friday that there would be a "reinforcement of content moderation and protection of freedom of speech" during his discussion with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Read also: Elon Musk Suspends Kanye from Twitter After Controversial Tweet, Rapper Trolls the Chief Twit
Twitter's New Approach
Irwin claimed that Musk told the team that safety was the company's primary priority and advised them to worry less about how their decisions would impact user growth or revenue.
According to Reuters, Irwin's approach to safety partly reflects an escalation of changes planned since last year regarding Twitter's treatment of hate speech and other policy breaches.
One strategy is to leave up some tweets against the company's rules while preventing them from appearing in the home timeline and search.
Irwin joined the company in June and held safety positions at companies such as Google and Amazon.com. She refuted claims that Twitter lacked the tools or the will to safeguard the platform.
She added that layoffs had little to no effect on full-time staff or independent contractors operating in the company's content moderation.
Related Article: EU Official Warns Elon Musk of Enabling Russian Propaganda on Twitter if He Doesn't Fight Disinformation
