Twitter Tests a Different Approach to Its Reporting Process

Twitter is testing a new approach to its reporting process with a small group of users in the U.S., with the aim of simply asking users what happened, rather than putting the responsibility on them to determine whether or not there was a violation and what type of violation occurred. The social network said in a blog post that the method it is testing is called symptoms first, offering as an example that when a person suffers a broken leg, the doctor treating them does not ask if their leg is broken, but rather, where the pain is. Twitter explained, “If you’ve ever reported a tweet, you may have been frustrated by this process, which is a typical one online. First, you report an item, then a list of violations pops up—which one is it? Is it suspicious? Abusive? Both? You tick one of the boxes. Twitter receives millions of reports—everything from misinformation and spam, to harassment and hate speech. It’s their way of telling Twitter, ‘Hey this isn’t right,’ or, ‘I don’t feel safe.’ Based on user feedback, research and an understanding that today’s reporting process wasn’t making enough people feel safe or heard, the company decided to do something about it.” The social network noted that most reports come after someone experienced or witnessed something unsettling, and in many cases, the tweet being reported did not specifically break a rule, but may have “bent” it. Senior user experience manager Renna Al-Yassini wrote in the blog post, “What can be frustrating and complex about reporting is that we enforce based on terms of service violations as defined by the Twitter Rules. The vast majority of what people are reporting on fall within a much larger gray spectrum that don't meet the specific criteria of Twitter violations, but they're still reporting what they are experiencing as deeply problematic and highly upsetting.” The hope is that by refocusing on the experience of the person reporting the tweet, the quality of those reports will improve, enabling Twitter to be more precise about addressing the issue. In the new reporting flow, once a user describes what happened, the social network surfaces the terms of service violation that may have occurred and asks the user if it is correct. If the user does not believe the violation suggested by Twitter was the right one, it will help the social network close gaps in its reporting system. Twitter will gather feedback and compile learnings throughout the process of testing the new reporting process. Fay Johnson, director of product management on the health team, explained in the blog post, “This report essentially triggers a review of the content. If Twitter determines that the content is violating and our rules dictate that the content be removed, that will happen. We'll do some additional investigation to see if there are other things that we need to take down based on what was reported, whether it be the content itself or an account.” Twitter said that as it rolls out the new reporting process to a wider audience next year, it will work to improve its communication process and close the loop with people who take the time to submit reports. Johnson added, “Obviously, we want to have rules that help keep everyone safe, while balancing freedom of speech and promoting the public conversation. We also want to make sure that if there are new issues that are emerging—ones that we may not have rules for yet—there is a method for us to learn about them. The intention of these reporting flows is to empower the customer, give Twitter actionable information that we can use to improve the product and our experiences and also improve our trust and safety process overall.”

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Twitter Tests a Different Approach to Its Reporting Process

The social network is experimenting with the symptoms first method

David Cohen

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David Cohen