Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Jun 25, 2025

Twitter Pressures Users to Self-Censor 'Offensive' Replies to Tweets

Twitter Pressures Users to Self-Censor 'Offensive' Replies to Tweets

The Twitter team behind new "prompts" to users over replies that its artificial intelligence moderator has deemed offensive said they were so effective that it caused a third of users to either edit or delete their posts.

Twitter has introduced a new feature to pressure users to self-censor their replies to posts on the social media network.

In a blog post titled: "tweeting with consideration", the Twitter product design director, Anita Butler, and a product manager, Alberto Parrella, said the new warning messages to users before tweeting their replies would be put into force beginning Wednesday — targeting English-language accounts first.

"People come to Twitter to talk about what's happening, and sometimes conversations about things we care about can get intense and people say things in the moment they might regret later," they wrote.

Twitter began testing "prompts" last year to "encourage" users to "pause and reconsider a potentially harmful or offensive reply — such as insults, strong language, or hateful remarks — before Tweeting it."

Butler and Parrella said the artificial intelligence algorithms at first flagged posts unnecessarily because they "often didn't differentiate between potentially offensive language, sarcasm, and friendly banter."

The effect on users was striking. The team found that 34 percent of users either edited their replies or didn't send them at all in response to the warning messages. And after their first warning, users afterword wrote 11 percent fewer "offensive" replies.

The Twitter employees claimed that those who self-censor were less likely to get "offensive and harmful" replies in return.

The pair said Twitter was refining its system to monitor users' relationships with each other, based on how much they interact with each other, to fine-tune the trigger threshold.

It has also added adjustments to try and recognise "situations in which language may be reclaimed by underrepresented communities and used in non-harmful ways" — possibly meaning the use by ethnic and other minorities of pejorative terms for by themselves.

Fellow Big Tech social media giant Facebook has a similar feature in place. It hauls up users when they click 'post' on a comment that its automated monitoring system flags as potentially against "community standards". The poster is given three options: "Edit Comment,” “Ignore” or “Delete Comment”.

The Former US president, Donald Trump, who was banned by both Twitter and Facebook earlier this year, threatened to remove the 'Section 230' protections enjoyed by social networking sites against being sued for libel posted by users — arguing their censorship rules made them more akin to edited publications than open-access platforms.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
×