Twitter appears to have lifted the ban on all Russian official accounts after a year. Russian accounts are now appearing in search results. The Telegraph noted the change and found that Russian embassy accounts and Vladamir Putin’s accounts are now showing up in search results.
Other important Russian authorities also have their Twitter accounts listed in the feed and recommendations sections.
Although we don’t have any information from the company regarding these developments, a former employee of Twitter shared that it is most likely due to a policy change.
A Change in Twitter Policy
Twitter’s policy determines which accounts are eligible to be classified as government-affiliated. If an account falls under this category, then its tweets and the account do not get any natural boost from Twitter in terms of reach.
The policy also states, “During emergencies such as war or armed conflict, Twitter will not assist them by increasing their reach.”
After Russia launched a full-fledged assault on Ukraine in February 2022 Twitter banned all Kremlin-affiliated Twitter accounts from showing support. This restriction was also extended to countries and states that attempted to stop the free flow information.
A severe information imbalance is created when a government blocks or restricts access to online services within their country, undermining the public’s voice, and still uses online services for their own communications.Twitter Blog Post
They stressed the armed conflict between Russia & Ukraine and added that restricting information flow or manipulating narratives during times of distress (such as an armed war) can further degrade the situation.
The Kremlin was well-known for using Twitter to create a biased view of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
It appears that the company has removed the section above from their policy. This allows Russian accounts to join Twitter, just as in the past.
Although the exact reason for this sudden change in policy is unknown, Elon Musk spoke to a user about his new approach to social media. According to Musk, Twitter will not “prompt nor limit their accounts.”
Musk acknowledged that some might use this policy change to spread extremist propaganda. He also stated that they are working towards limiting such activities, and will take strict action against those who abuse the platform for their own personal gain.
What’s More?
We are still waiting to see how people respond to this policy change. Musk already faced his first criticism when he refused to investigate a Russian official’s tweet encouraging the disappearance or Ukraine. Anonymous Operations called Musk out and he simply stated that people have the right of decision and that Twitter will not interfere in speech violations issues.
After Musk took over, Twitter’s moderation capabilities have declined. Musk fired more than half the moderation team.
Elon Musk has been taking extreme and rapid decisions one after another. Twitter recently banned links to Substack, its growing competitor. Musk incorrectly called NPR a state-affiliated organisation, which was strongly opposed by the BBC.
Twitter also removed The New York Times’ blue verification mark. The original plan was to remove all legacy verification marks by April 1, but it seems that plans have been stalled.