Twitter is rolling out a feature that prompts user to be more considerate, with iOS and Android English-speaking accounts first to see it.
One of the biggest challenges social media grapples with is discouraging bullying, vitriol and hateful content. Since the early days, social media has struggled with the best way to moderate such content, while still encouraging open, free-flowing discussion.
Twitter believes it has found a solution, using prompts to warn people of potentially harmful content, and give them the opportunity to change it before posting.
Based on feedback and learnings from those tests, we’ve made improvements to the systems that decide when and how these reminders are sent. Starting today, we’re rolling these improved prompts out across iOS and Android, starting with accounts that have enabled English-language settings.
Based on an initial test period, Twitter was able to improve their algorithm for accuracy and consistency. The tests ultimately resulted in 34% of people revising their tweets once they were prompted, or deciding not to send the tweet at all. In addition, once prompted, individuals sent 11% fewer offensive replies in the future.
Twitter says this is just the beginning, with more improvements yet to come.
We’ll continue to explore how prompts — such as reply prompts and article prompts — and other forms of intervention can encourage healthier conversations on Twitter. Our teams will also collect feedback from people on Twitter who have received reply prompts as we expand this feature to other languages. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to learn and make new improvements to encourage more meaningful conversations on Twitter.