Tweets You Can Trust

TweetCred is a Chrome extension that ranks the credibility of tweets – a handy function for newshounds in event of a crisis. But, in a review of the product, Adrian Chen concludes that improving Twitter’s “credibility will take more than a browser plug-in; it will take a community effort to combat built-in incentives that encourage quick, thoughtless information sharing”:

A relatively small number of verified journalists set the pace for Twitter during breaking news events. Twitter, as part of its lucrative cultivation of media companies, created a two-tiered system to boost the signal of favored users. It stands to reason, then, that Twitter has the justification—some might even argue the obligation—to de-verify users if they recklessly tweet false information. This might be messy in practice, but the judicious de-verification of even one high-profile journalist would probably be enough to send a message to the rest.

There’s one other motivating factor that could ultimately outpace any algorithm: shame. As the worst of the Sandy photos were debunked, Twitter was seized by a giddy spasm of relief and a sort of collective embarrassment. Many of the same users who had just hours before breathlessly shared the photos now shared even more absurdly fake photos with good-humored chagrin. For those who passed along fake photos, the embarrassment from that one turbulent night has stayed thousands of ill-considered tweets and retweets. And, unlike Tweetcred, shame works on every browser.