Twitch will block users who share false information

Twitch announced that it will block all those users who share false information or ‘fake news’ regularly through the platform in order to protect other users from dangerous content. This was reported by the company through a statement in which it indicated that it had updated the rules of use in its section referring to the Policies of ‘spam’, scams and malicious conduct.

The information refers to the rule related to the limitation of false news that its content can “cause significant damage if allowed on the service.” In addition, the platform reported that it made alliances with “more than a dozen researchers and experts to understand and appreciate how misinformation spreads, as well as the user profiles responsible for it.”

The result of this alliance has made it possible to determine the characteristics and profiles of users who share this type of information on the network, identifying three main criteria.

The first is related to the frequency of sharing information, verifying that they persistently share erroneous information. The second criterion is linked to topics, noting that they do so on “widely refuted disinformation” topics, while the third criterion is linked to the distribution of “harmful information, such as conspiracies that promote violence.”

Twitch: Focused on user health

The company, in its statement, stated that it will use these criteria to especially analyze misinformation about health and conspiracies related “to dangerous treatments or Covid-19, as well as disinformation promoted by conspiracy networks linked to violence, among other recurrent topics.”

“We have selected these criteria because, taken together, they create the greatest risk of harm, including inciting harm in the real world,” and said it would only block users who meet those three criteria.

Twitch also indicated that it will continue to take action on misinformation targeting specific communities in accordance with the “Harassment and Hateful Conduct Policy” and will continue to adjust security conditions according to misinformation trends and misbehavior.

On the other hand, the platform urges the members of its community to report users who engage in the activity of placing in danger to the rest of the community members through an email indicating the name of the account and any evidence that supports the complaint.

M. Rodríguez

Source: europapress.es