Twitter unveils ‘quality filter’

Source: News Corp Australia Network:

August 22, 2016 at 10:27

TWITTER has long been criticised for its lack of action against online abuse, but this week the social media company announced it is now in the process of rolling out a new feature that will allow users to filter unwanted tweets or content.

While Twitter has not specifically said the feature can be used to combat harassment and abuse, the “quality filter” may just be a step in the right direction.

The company said that, “When turned on, the filter can improve the quality of Tweets you see by using a variety of signals, such as account origin and behaviour.”

Once the feature is switched on (it can be activated in your notification settings), it will filter out “low-quality content like duplicate Tweets or content that appears to be automated”. The filter will not block content from people you follow or accounts you’ve interacted with.

Twitter began testing the feature last year, primarily with verified users, reports Vice News.

However, according to Wired.com, the announcement has received criticism by some users who believe the filter doesn’t go far enough, and others who believe it will affect the Twitter experience by preventing them from seeing posts by people they don’t follow.

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