Right this moment, Twitter tweeted out a brand new declare that ‘greater than 99.99% of Tweet impressions are from wholesome content material, or content material that doesn’t violate our guidelines’.

As per Twitter:

“On Twitter individuals are free to be their true selves. On a regular basis, we work to protect free speech on Twitter, whereas equally sustaining the well being of our platform. Because the launch of ‘Freedom of Speech Not Attain’, we’ve seen encouraging outcomes. That is why within the coming weeks, we’re increasing the appliance of this enforcement motion from our Hateful Conduct coverage to now embrace our insurance policies on Abusive Conduct and Violent Speech.”

Twitter’s ‘Freedom of Speech Not Attain’ method, which it outlined again in April, primarily explains that Twitter’s now seeking to scale back the attain of some much less violative content material within the app, regardless of it technically breaking its guidelines, versus eradicating such outright. Twitter has additionally added labels to those tweets, to make clear when such motion has been initiated.

As Twitter notes, initially, this method was solely utilized to tweets that will beforehand have been deemed in violation of its Hateful Conduct coverage, nevertheless it’s now seeking to develop this identical systematic enforcement motion to abusive and violent tweets as properly.

To be clear, Twitter’s guidelines round such content material haven’t modified, however its enforcement method is totally different, in that earlier Twitter administration would have eliminated extra of some of these feedback outright – however now, Twitter’s taking a extra lenient method, by lowering their attain as a substitute.

And Twitter says that that is working – with a staggeringly low 0.01% of tweets that violate its guidelines now being seen by any customers in any respect.

Which appears most unlikely, primarily based on total trade tendencies, and exterior reporting on Twitter particularly.

For instance, the prevalence of comparable violations on Fb on Instagram sits at round 0.05% – and Meta has way more employees, and way more superior techniques working to handle such throughout its apps. The suggestion that Twitter has someway been capable of greatest this, after culling 80% of its employees, together with lots of the individuals who have been engaged on addressing these components, appears questionable at greatest.

There have additionally, as famous, been a variety of third-party evaluation studies which recommend, for instance, that antisemitic tweets have turn out to be extra widespread since Elon Musk took over on the app, that slurs towards Black and transgender folks have additionally elevated, whereas hate speech, generally, has additionally turn out to be extra prevalent amid the app’s broader modifications in method. Twitter’s additionally going through authorized motion in each Australia and Germany for failing to take away hate speech in a well timed method.

As we’ve reported beforehand, a number of the conflicting figures right here appear to return right down to various definitions of what truly qualifies as hate speech, and the way Twitter itself is measuring such. However we don’t know the way Twitter has come to this new 99.99% determine, as a result of there’s no proof – the Twitter crew hasn’t supplied any precise knowledge or perception to again this quantity up.

So it’s simply ‘take out phrase for it’, that someway, Twitter has achieved record-setting ends in moderation efficiency, regardless of chopping nearly all of its employees, and in distinction to exterior educational evaluation, which factors to the other.

I’m not saying that it’s not proper, however I don’t know, and also you don’t know both, as a result of Twitter hasn’t defined itself in any approach.

So what meaning, ultimately, I don’t know.

However certain, it’s a formidable determine, I suppose.