Twitter works against politically-themed fake news during the 2019 European elections. Here's how it will ensure voter safety
On the occasion of the 2019 European Elections, Twitter announces a new initiative against politically-themed fake news. The aim is to ensure the legality of posts and ads in the period close to the vote. This will ensure voters a serene climate, cleared of interference and inaccuracies.
In Twitter's crosshairs are especially the fake news coming from Russia, already active during the 2016 American elections. The platform guarantees that for users in the European Union, it will be easier to check the validity of ads linked to the vote during the elections. In order to ensure the security of the process, ads that want to buy advertising space on Twitter will first have to pass a rigorous authentication phase. The service designed for users will be called Ads Transparency Center and will provide lots of information about advertisers. Here's how it will work.
Twitter creates a Transparency Center to fight political fake news
The Ads Transparency Center will collect all the data on political sponsorships published during the 2019 European elections. In particular, you will be able to read information about the advertisers: who finances an ad campaign, when they spend on political Ads, what is the target, the objective and so on.
The existence of the Transparency Center will be communicated on the main screen of the social network: not only will there be the specific icon, but also a purpose-built disclosure. These will be visible for the entire period leading up to the political elections. Individual candidates, parties, bodies and companies that want to buy advertising space on Twitter will also have to pass tests to certify their identity. The new policy will start on March 11 throughout Europe and will last until election day.
After the United States, where it was tested for the first time, the Transparency Center is preparing to land in Europe. If the maneuver is successful, India and Australia will also be involved. With this idea, Twitter wants to align itself with Facebook, which has already previously adopted important rules against political fake news in America, on the occasion of Russiagate.
Also Facebook is working against political fake news
Mark Zuckerberg's social network has already announced that, in view of the 2019 European political elections, a registry of Ads will be published in which all users will be able to make specific searches. These rules will affect, not only the ads in favor of a politician or a party, but also the so-called "issue ads" or sponsorships that address issues related in some way to politics, such as immigration. In short, the most famous social networks are moving to ensure users a climate free from fake news. We just have to wait a few months to understand the results of the initiatives.