Social media giants crack down on Election Day misinformation

Social media giants Facebook and Twitter taking new steps to crack down on anyone who may publish misleading information about the election.

On Monday, both posted a warning label to President Trump’s tweet about the Supreme Court ruling regarding vote-by-mail ballot counting in Pennsylvania.He called the decision “dangerous,” saying it will induce violence on the streets and something must be done.

Tom’s Guide Editor Henry Casey says Twitter and Facebook are doing the right thing by cracking down on false information on social media.

“Twitter and Facebook have been slowly taking more responsibility for what people with extreme amounts of power have been saying on their networks,” Casey said. “When he says something must be done it’s almost like he’s calling for somebody to help him and how different people take that message could be incredibly dangerous for the public.”

Kara Alaimo, associate professor of public relations at Hofstra University says Twitter and Facebook’s move to censor content comes after the 2016 election when she says their platforms were used to manipulate voters.

“I think they don’t want to be left with the perception that their inactions or their platform somehow contributed to violence or a disputed election,” said Alaimo.

Look for labels like this one which reads  “Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process.”

“Its algorithms isn’t promoting this tweet so that fewer people will see it, it also made it impossible to reply to the tweet,” Alaimo said.

Twitter also said it will flag posts of people who try to claim an election winner before the networks call a race officially - another move to prevent the spread of misinformation.