Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Jul 25, 2025

Twitter Pressures Users to Self-Censor 'Offensive' Replies to Tweets

Twitter Pressures Users to Self-Censor 'Offensive' Replies to Tweets

The Twitter team behind new "prompts" to users over replies that its artificial intelligence moderator has deemed offensive said they were so effective that it caused a third of users to either edit or delete their posts.

Twitter has introduced a new feature to pressure users to self-censor their replies to posts on the social media network.

In a blog post titled: "tweeting with consideration", the Twitter product design director, Anita Butler, and a product manager, Alberto Parrella, said the new warning messages to users before tweeting their replies would be put into force beginning Wednesday — targeting English-language accounts first.

"People come to Twitter to talk about what's happening, and sometimes conversations about things we care about can get intense and people say things in the moment they might regret later," they wrote.

Twitter began testing "prompts" last year to "encourage" users to "pause and reconsider a potentially harmful or offensive reply — such as insults, strong language, or hateful remarks — before Tweeting it."

Butler and Parrella said the artificial intelligence algorithms at first flagged posts unnecessarily because they "often didn't differentiate between potentially offensive language, sarcasm, and friendly banter."

The effect on users was striking. The team found that 34 percent of users either edited their replies or didn't send them at all in response to the warning messages. And after their first warning, users afterword wrote 11 percent fewer "offensive" replies.

The Twitter employees claimed that those who self-censor were less likely to get "offensive and harmful" replies in return.

The pair said Twitter was refining its system to monitor users' relationships with each other, based on how much they interact with each other, to fine-tune the trigger threshold.

It has also added adjustments to try and recognise "situations in which language may be reclaimed by underrepresented communities and used in non-harmful ways" — possibly meaning the use by ethnic and other minorities of pejorative terms for by themselves.

Fellow Big Tech social media giant Facebook has a similar feature in place. It hauls up users when they click 'post' on a comment that its automated monitoring system flags as potentially against "community standards". The poster is given three options: "Edit Comment,” “Ignore” or “Delete Comment”.

The Former US president, Donald Trump, who was banned by both Twitter and Facebook earlier this year, threatened to remove the 'Section 230' protections enjoyed by social networking sites against being sued for libel posted by users — arguing their censorship rules made them more akin to edited publications than open-access platforms.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
Explosions Rock Doha as Iranian Missiles Target Qatar
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
Mass exodus in Tehran as millions try to flee following Trump’s evacuation order
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
×