Twitter has stopped enforcing its policy on misleading information about the coronavirus.
According to the company’s website, it stopped taking action against tweets breaking its Covid rules on Wednesday, November 23.
Twitter previously reported suspending more than 11,000 accounts for Covid misinformation in September this year.
BBC News has approached Twitter for comment.
Its other misinformation policies remain on Twitter’s website without a similar notice that they will no longer be enforced.
As part of its Covid-specific policy, Twitter has implemented a ‘five-shot system’ for accounts posting ‘false or misleading content that may cause a significant risk of harm’ – such as exposure to Covid or damage to public health systems.
No action would be taken against accounts tweeting misinformation once. But repeat offenders could be suspended for a few hours, days – or even indefinitely if they received five warnings against their account.
Although he says the Covid reporting system on Twitter has never been perfect, Dr Stephen Griffin from the University of Leeds Medical School says it was reassuring to know that several thousand accounts broadcasting misinformation had been removed since 2020.
Millions of users voted to restore suspended accounts in a Twitter poll, prompting boss Elon Musk to tweet: “The people have spoken… amnesty starts next week.”
Tesla’s chief executive has pledged to make Twitter a hub for online free speech after its $ 44 billion (£ 37 billion) purchase.