Twitter Attempts to Take on Fake Accounts With ‘Original Tweeter’ Feature
- Twitter is currently testing an Original Tweeter feature that makes it harder for fake accounts to hijack threads.
- The feature is currently in testing, and there is no official word on when it will be available for the website and apps.
- The update also comes with a toned-down interface and algorithmically sorted replies.
Twitter has been accused heavily of letting fake news and abusive behavior unchecked on the platform. The microblogging website has gone through a number of changes recently to remedy the situation including a redesign of how the ‘Like’ feature works. In an attempt to prevent fake accounts from hijacking threads, Twitter is now testing an Original Tweeter feature that will uniquely mark replies from the original poster.
There have been instances of fake accounts impersonating companies and influential people to pull off scams or mislead others on the platform. Elon Musk was impersonated last year to conduct cryptocurrency scams. While such situations can be avoided by simply reading the usernames carefully, it’s easy to skip the minute changes to account names that these fake accounts have. According to Sara Haider who is the Director of Product Management at Twitter “Twitter’s purpose is to serve the public conversation. As part of this work, we’re exploring adding more context to discussions by highlighting relevant replies – like those from the original Tweeter.”
Image Courtesy of TechCrunch
The new change adds an “original tweeter” tag below the handle of Twitter users whenever they reply to their own threads. The rollout is still ongoing and if you did not see the change yet, simply give it a few days, and it should pop up for your account soon. A number of other changes have been added with the update as well which includes the introduction of algorithmically-sorted replies. The most relevant replies that generate more interaction are now pushed up, and the user interface has been toned down as well with softer colors. The new changes to how tweets are displayed should ideally reduce the number of scams and misinformation campaigns that are seen on the microblogging platform.
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