Twitter adds aliases to protect contributors to its Birdwatch fact check program

Since the start of the year, Twitter has operated a pilot program called Birdwatch that has seen it crowdsource fact checks directly from other Twitter users. It’s now introducing a way for program participants to conceal their identity when they append a note to someone’s tweet. Starting today, the company says it will automatically generate aliases for new Birdwatch users that aren’t publicly associated with their Twitter accounts.

“We want everyone to feel comfortable contributing to Birdwatch, and aliases let you write and rate notes without sharing your Twitter username,” the company said in a blog post. Its hope is that the feature will reduce bias by putting an emphasis on what people write in notes they leave instead of their identity. Citing recent research, it says aliases may also make people feel comfortable with “crossing partisan lines, or criticizing their own side without the prospect of peer pressure or retribution.”

Alongside aliases, Twitter is also rolling out profile pages that will make it …read more