Twitter on Tuesday unveiled its plan aimed at minimizing the spread of misinformation about the 2020 census.
"We’ve partnered with the US Census Bureau to launch a new tool so when someone searches for certain keywords associated with the Census, a prompt will direct individuals to the official Census site: https://2020Census.gov," the company said in a blog post.
The #2020Census is a vital, participatory process. We’re working w/ @uscensusbureau to ensure the conversation around this civic event remains healthy, including the launch of a search prompt to point people to the authoritative source of information. https://t.co/dvUIRqUnfA
— Twitter Public Policy (@Policy) February 11, 2020
Twitter said the importance of the census necessitated a dedicated plan for it, pointing out that the decennial count is "used to determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives and inform how state, local, and federal lawmakers will allocate billions of dollars in funds to local communities each year for the next decade."
In the U.S., the initiative will be available on all of the site's platforms, including Android and iOS.
The plan represents an expansion of Twitter's existing election integrity policy. The site already allows users to report suspected misinformation regarding the 2020 presidential election.
Both Facebook and Pinterest have already announced partnerships with the U.S. Census Bureau to ban posts and advertisements that contain misinformation.
