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38% of “abusive” Twitter content is flagged by algorithms, not users

Users can still expect more changes in the platform aimed at regulating "offensive" tweets.

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Jack Dorsey, co-founder, and CEO of Twitter has developed new tools to fight abusive content on the platform. During a TED interview on Tuesday, April 16, the CEO gave a status update on the latest tools employed which has flagged 38% of the abusive content.

“Our purpose is to serve the public conversation, and we have seen several attacks on it,” the CEO said. “We’ve seen abuse, we’ve seen harassment, we’ve seen manipulation, automatic and human coordination, misinformation. What worries me most is our ability to address it in a systemic way that is scalable.”

At the Ted talk, Twitter users were allowed to send questions to Dorsey using the hashtag #AskJackAtTED, and the questions were displayed live on screens behind the stage.

In the interview, Jack mentioned that Twitter has new tools in place to remove content, adding that 38 percent of the abusive content was taken down by the new tool and not reported by users.

However, 38 percent of the abusive content taken down was still subjected to human review before the final decision.

After the Tuesday’s TED talk, Twitter Vice President Donald Hicks wrote that the social media platform has made meaningful progress in reducing abusive content and actually boasting that more abusive accounts are automatically getting suspended compared to last year.

Twitter also claims that repeat offenders of such abusive content are restricted from opening new accounts. The company reported that a massive 100,000 accounts were suspended between January and March 2019.

Users can still expect more changes in the platform aimed at regulating “offensive” tweets.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net.

Tired of censorship and surveillance?

Defend free speech and individual liberty online. Push back against Big Tech and media gatekeepers. Subscribe to Reclaim The Net.

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