False and misleading information disseminated just as the news unfolded of a shooting at YouTube’s headquarters on Tuesday, but Twitter tried to stay ahead of the trolls.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted the social media platform was “tracking, learning, and taking action” as misinformation trailed reports that a shooter had opened fire on YouTube employees in San Bruno, California. Dorsey added the company is “working diligently on product solutions to help.”
We’re also aware of the misinformation being spread on Twitter. We’re tracking, learning, and taking action. We‘re working diligently on product solutions to help. https://t.co/V8vmxgFkmR
— jack (@jack) April 3, 2018
In a series of updates posted to @TwitterSafety, the platform warned it “may require someone to delete a Tweet if it could place someone in imminent danger” because the YouTube shooting was considered an “emergency situation.”
https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/981298174793887744
Twitter Safety did not specifically state what, if any, misinformation was deleted, but the social platform emphasized it would take action on harmful content as defined in its “rules on hateful conduct or abusive behavior.”
In its policies, Twitter states it does not allow users to “promote violence against or directly attack or threaten other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease.”
Among other conspiracy theories, speculation, and misinformation touted in the wake of the shooting in San Bruno, California, trolls falsely claimed that comedian Sam Hyde was the YouTube shooter.
We reached out to Twitter for more information and will update this story if we hear back.
Update 10:19am CT, April 4: The shooting suspect has been ID’ed as 39-year-old San Diego resident Nasim Aghdam. Authorities have backpedaled on initial reports that she was a spurned lover, and have yet to designate a clear motive. However, Aghdam was angry at YouTube and actively wrote against it on social media.