Twitter will now label government and state-affiliated media accounts

To help its users identify state-affiliated media accounts, Twitter said it is now adding a label that will appear on the profile page of the government and state-affiliated and on the Tweets sent by and shared from these accounts. Twitter said it is already using the labels for China, France, Russia, UK, and US state-affiliated accounts and intends to expand the labels to other countries over time.

The goal for the label is provide people with context so they can make informed decisions about what they see and how they engage, Twitter said. Twitter said the labels will show which country the account is affiliated with and whether the account is operated by a government representative or state-affiliated media entity. Twitter will use a small icon of a flag to signal  a government account and of a podium for state-affiliated media.

Among those who will get government label are foreign ministers, ambassadors, official spokespeople, and key diplomatic leaders. state-affiliated media entities, their editors-in-chief, and their senior staff will display a podium icon. As part of the effort, Twitter said it will not amplify state-affiliated media accounts or their Tweets through its recommendation systems, including on its home timeline and through notifications and search.

The labels are the latest move by Twitter to corral misinformation. The company largely banned political ads last year, heading into this year’s November elections. Facebook earlier this summer also took the step of labeling posts by state-controlled media.