Retweet Retract's Twitter account has been suspended for violating the social network's terms of service (TOS).
Termed Retwact for short, the application helps users correct retweeted messages. The service was created by software developer, Stonly Baptiste, in an attempt to solve the social network's problem with misinformation. The aim of Retwact is to prevent any possible damage that could result from spreading information that later turns out to be untrue.
The process is simple. The application will aggregate the user's last five tweets that have garnered the most retweets, giving the user the option to issue out an apology or send a correction should any of the information be incorrect. Once published, the notice will to sent to all the user's followers and Retwact's own Twitter account will send the amendment to the first 100 people who retweeted the erroneous tweet.
This is where the Twitter terms of service issues come in. In an interview with The National Journal, Baptiste noted that Twitter's TOS prohibits sending similar messages to too many people and as Retwact sends a direct tweet to the first 100 retweeters, it violates that stipulation. According to Baptiste, a @retwact2 account has been set up to keep the app running but it will not direct tweet until he hears back from Twitter about the suspended @retwact account.
Social media coverage of the recent Boston bombings highlighted the need for this kind of service, according to Wired. Inaccurate reports of suspects being killed or apprehended abounded and many innocent people had their reputations tarnished by tens of thousands of well-intentioned people who simply retweeted information they believed to be true. While a user may issue a correction after realising they have made an error, and their original followers will see the update, those who follow the users who retweeted the information will be none the wiser.
Just last week, a phony tweet from the Associated Press' hacked Twitter account, stating that president Barack Obama was injured in two explosions at the White House, was retweeted by thousands and sparked panic in the stock market.
"In short, while the automatic retweet button on Twitter lets people spread information far and wide beyond your followers, there's no way to makes sure those same people see your attempts to correct it," Wired notes.
Baptiste's concept became a reality after he posted the idea to social news aggregator, Hacker News, where over 1 500 requests where made for the application to be built. And he plans to improve on the idea. He is considering the addition of a feature that will delete the original tweet altogether, while preserving the text on a correction page. This will mean that a record of the mistake will still exist, but other users will no longer be able to spread the false information around.
Share