Twitter's Birdwatch Collaborative Fact-Checking Program Will Be Released Before the Election
Twitter's Birdwatch Collaborative Fact-Checking Program Will Be Released Before the Election
This is going to make Hitchcock's Attack of the Birds look like a Sunday picnic.
This tweet from Disclose TV tipped me off that Twitter is about to dive into a dystopian hell like a crow plunging straight down into a smoldering sink hole.
For those hoping “Birdwatch” on Twitter is some sort of joke — unfortunately this is as real as the sparrow outside your window.
Wait - it wouldn’t be fair to compare this to a sweet sparrow. This nightmare more closely resembles a flock of vultures.
~ Big Bird is Watching You
Twitter isn’t supposed to be using Orwell’s 1984 as a user manual — but they are.
This is straight off their website. Read and you’ll see that Twitter is about to become a frightening birdcage filled with the screeching, torn feathers, and death by a thousand pecks.
Birdwatch aims to create a better informed world by empowering people on Twitter to collaboratively add notes to potentially misleading Tweets. Pilot contributors can write notes on any Tweet and if enough other contributors rate that note as helpful, highly ranked Birdwatch notes may be publicly shown on a Tweet.
During this phase, Birdwatch notes will be publicly visible on Tweets to only a small group of US customers. However, all people in the US can see these notes on a separate Birdwatch site. We have included responses to frequently asked questions below, but you can learn more through the Birdwatch Guide as well.
Birdwatch and Twitter Rules
Birdwatch notes do not represent Twitter's viewpoint and cannot be edited or modified by our teams. A Tweet with a Birdwatch note will not be labeled, removed, or addressed by Twitter unless it is found to be violating Twitter Rules, Terms of Service, or our Privacy Policy. Failure to abide by the rules can result in one’s removal from the Birdwatch pilot, and/or other remediations.
Anyone can report notes they believe aren’t in accordance with those rules by clicking or tapping the menu on a note, and then selecting "Report," or by using this form.
Below this is where you learn where to get your bird suit (includes sharp beak):
When you click to see the eligibility requirements to be a Birdwatch Note Contributor, you see the standards are quite low - anybody, including bot accounts that flourish on the platform, appear to be able to qualify.
Click “Join Birdwatch” and you begin to see their alleged requirements ( I say “alleged” because this platform deserves zero trust at this point):
I’ll bet Rob Reiner is salivating over this potential.
Because once you click “Got it”, you are directed to your Twitter profile.
Is that it? Am I now a Birdwatch Contributor?
It’s hard to believe that someone thought this program right before an election was a good idea…until you remember that we are talking about Twitter.
Imagine a platform where anyone can attach a “note” to your post that will give it an appearance like it’s being fact checked, or will this look similar to those notes that Facebook puts on posts that talk about Covid or Ukraine or Biden negatively?
Question: why not simply let people debate and make their points in the comments below the tweet?
This sounds like a scheme to further control the official narrative without the appearance of a widescale banning that’s obviously biased.
Twitter is setting up the program to appear to be driven by Twitter users, we have no idea how much control and manipulation Twitter is doing behind the scenes.
Which accounts will get approved to tag notes on other people’s tweets?
Based on Twitter’s track record, how can you expect this to not be a one-sided hen pecking?
The whole thing sounds like an awful user experience that will only make Twitter an even more unpleasant place to spend time.
The only thing that can stop the Birdwatch cluster cluck is Elon Musk - but he must own Twitter to do it. The game of chicken he’s been playing with Twitter management needs to end soon.
Or else Twitter is going to look like this:
Excellent post! (love the images, too)
🦅Damn! Thx for sharing this.👀🔎🦅😩