Twitter has called on the public to participate in a survey that helps them define what they consider manipulated photos and videos and under what circumstances, users should be notified that the images have been tampered with.
Twitter is calling on the public to help it formulate a new rule to address “synthetic and manipulated media”. A survey released by Twitter will be open until November 28 after which a few rules will be enforced based on feedback from the public.
A statement from Twitter said: “When people come to Twitter to see what’s happening in the world, Twitter wants them to have context about the content they’re seeing and engaging with. Deliberate attempts to mislead or confuse people through manipulated media undermine the integrity of the conversation.”
The statement went on to add that “Twitter Rules, the service, and its features are always evolving, based on new behaviour online”.
“Twitter’s team routinely consults with experts and researchers to help them understand new issues like synthetic and manipulated media. Based on these conversations, Twitter has proposed defining synthetic and manipulated media as any photo, audio, or video that has been significantly altered or fabricated in a way that intends to mislead people or changes its original meaning. These are sometimes referred to as deepfakes or shallowfakes.”
Twitter has also released notes on what it intends to do when it sees synthetic and manipulated media that “tries to mislead or confuse people”.
It will place a notice next to Tweets that share synthetic or manipulated media; warn people before they share or like Tweets with synthetic or manipulated media; or add a link – for example, to a news article or Twitter Moment – so that people can read more about why various sources believe the media is synthetic or manipulated.
In addition, if a Tweet including synthetic or manipulated media is misleading and could threaten someone’s physical safety or lead to other serious harm, Twitter may remove it.
The survey is available in Arabic, English, Hindi, Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese. For languages not represented, Twitter’s team is working closely with local non-governmental organizations and policymakers to ensure their perspectives are represented.
Twitter will be listening to Tweets that use the hashtag #TwitterPolicyFeedback. The company is also willing to work with organisations that would like to partner with Twitter to develop solutions to detect synthetic and manipulated media.
