chirping is introducing new labels for accounts and tweets related to government officials and "state affiliated media".
"Twitter offers an unmatched way to connect and speak directly with officials and public representatives," the company wrote the blog post announcing these changes. "This direct line of communication with leaders and officials has helped democratize political discourse and increase transparency and accountability."
However, Twitter has suggested that these labels are part of a greater effort "to protect that speech because we believe that political reach should be gained and not purchased".
When it comes to labeling government officials, the company said it focused on those who represent "the official voice of the state overseas", including "foreign ministers, institutional entities, ambassadors, official spokespersons and key diplomatic leaders". It is starting with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, with plans to add more countries in the future.
Twitter said that these labels will not apply to "heads of state personal accounts" because "these accounts enjoy wide recognition of the name, media attention and public awareness." For example: president The Twitter account of Donald Trump it was not labeled, but secretary of state Mike Pompeo's account has.
As for state-affiliated media, Twitter said that media organizations that maintain editorial independence despite government funding, such as the BBC and NPR, will not be labeled.
Instead, the label will be reserved for "outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressure and / or control over production and distribution", for example, RT supported by Russia. To identify these outlets, the company claims to consult external consultants, including members of its human and digital rights advisory group (part of the Twitter Trust & Safety Council).
Twitter also claimed that state-affiliated media will no longer receive promotions via service history, notifications and research. (This limitation does not apply to government officials.) The service had already blocked these groups from buying advertisements after an incident last year in which the Chinese state-run news agency purchased tweets promoted to describe violent protests against the democracy in Hong Kong.
