Twitter pulled into fight over virus disinformation
Twitter is being pulled into the middle of a fight between the Trump administration and China over the coronavirus.
Republican lawmakers and Trump allies have been stepping up pressure on the social media platform to crack down on disinformation from Chinese government officials and agencies about the virus and its spread.
While Twitter has sought to curb posts including fake medical advice or recommendations, critics say the company is not going far enough to address government propaganda from China.
The most high-profile case of disinformation being spread by Chinese officials comes from the deputy director-general of the Information Department of China’s Foreign Ministry, Lijian Zhao.
Earlier this month, he tweeted a link to an article from conspiracy site Global Research claiming that the novel coronavirus originated in the United States, sharing it with his nearly half-million followers. Zhao has also suggested on Twitter that the U.S. military brought the coronavirus to his country. The World Health Organization has concluded that the disease first appeared in the Chinese province of Hubei.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week that the government has determined that China, along with Russia and Iran, are actively engaged in coronavirus misinformation campaigns on social media to sow discord and confusion in the U.S.
Twitter has so far chosen to keep the misleading content from Chinese government officials up on its platform, despite a policy change earlier this month banning posts that deny expert recommendations, promote fake treatments and prevention techniques, or misleadingly claim to be from authorities.
The social media giant said Tuesday that “official government accounts engaging in conversation about the origins of the virus and global public conversation about potential emergent treatments will be permitted, unless the content contains clear incitement to take a harmful physical action” after lawmakers raised concerns about Zhao’s tweets.
