Strengthening our approach to deliberate attempts to mislead voters

Voting is a fundamental human right and the public conversation occurring on Twitter is never more important than during elections. Any attempts to undermine the process of registering to vote or engaging in the electoral process is contrary to our company's core values.

Today, we are further expanding our enforcement capabilities in this area by creating a dedicated reporting feature within the product to allow users to more easily report this content to us. This is in addition to our existing proactive approach to tackling malicious automation and other forms of platform manipulation on the service. We will start with the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in India and the European Union Parliamentary elections and then roll out to other elections globally throughout the rest of the year.

What types of content are in violation?

You may not use Twitter’s services for the purpose of manipulating or interfering in elections. This includes but is not limited to:

• Misleading information about how to vote or register to vote (for example, that you can vote by Tweet, text message, email, or phone call);
• Misleading information about requirements for voting, including identification requirements; and
• Misleading statements or information about the official, announced date or time of an election.

How do I report?

In-app

You can report this content for review in-app as follows:

1. Select report Tweet from drop down menu
2. Select “it’s misleading about voting”
   
3. Select the option that best tells us how the Tweet is misleading about voting
   
4. Submit your report
   

Desktop

You can report this content for review on desktop as follows:

1. Select report Tweet from drop down menu
2. Select “it’s misleading about voting”
3. Select the option that best tells us how the Tweet is misleading about voting
4. Submit your report

This feature is only available in India and the EU for now. Our teams have been trained and we recently enhanced our appeals process in the event that we make the wrong call.

Next steps

This strengthened approach will be operational in India beginning 25 April and the EU from 29 April. For more on the specifics of the policy, the types of content we will be taking action on, and our enforcement approach, visit the Twitter Help Center here. Our efforts to protect the public conversation around elections are ongoing and are guided by our core company principles. 

Catch up with the latest over at @TwitterSafety and on @TwitterIndia.