Twitter expands election misinformation policies

Twitter announced Thursday that it is expanding its policies targeted at limiting election misinformation.

The platform will now label or remove posts that prematurely call an election winner.

In the rules, set to go into effect Sept. 17, Twitter will either label or remove content “claiming victory before election results have been certified” or seeking to “prevent a peaceful transfer of power.”

Twitter spokesperson Trenton Kennedy told The Hill that the policy will be applied in a case-by-case basis, meaning an established news outlet calling an election before every vote is counted will be treated differently than a politician seeking to take advantage of delays or confusion.

The new rule change comes amid rising fears that President Trump may try to delegitimize election results if he is not the winner this November.

The president has already sought to discredit mail-in voting, despite all evidence pointing toward it being a safe and effective alternative to visiting the polls in person.

He also told supporters last month that “the only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election.”

Twitter also announced it will label or remove posts containing disputed claims that undermine faith in the election process, like baseless allegations about “election rigging, ballot tampering, vote tallying, or certification of election results.”