
We consume so much information through social media every single second, itโs almost impossible to keep up with all the drama that happens across the world. Even though we all love a juicy bit of gossip, some content just doesnโt make sense and is rather disappointing.
If youโre tired of being surrounded by the same negativity on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, youโve just gained another app to make your day more toxic.
As a part of its vision to give people โthe power to create and share ideas without barriersโ, Twitter can be a dark place sometimes, where the ugliest are the loudest.ย
Although we do our best to attribute this toxic facete to an โorganized modus operandi, regular Twitter users are also equally blamable.
A study incorporating machine learning tools to analyze tweets mentioning legislators even revealed that casual users often use uncivil language on the platform when interacting with political leaders.ย
And thatโs just scratching the surface of the big picture, though. In case youโre thinking itโs time to sign off from the platform and never revisit ever again, hold on just a second. Here are ways we filter sensitive content on Twitter that might help you, too.ย
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The state of Twitterโs sensitive media policy
People, across the globe, use Twitter to share whatโs going on in the world, which often includes embedding videos and images being part of the conversation. Itโs no wonder that sometimes the shared media may contain sensitive topics, including either adult or violent content.
While Twitter itself doesnโt screen or delete potentially sensitive content, it understands that certain people like you may not want to be exposed to such content and allow you to avoid such media effectively on your feed.
Some evidently visible areas on Twitter are often impeded from highlighting hateful, violent, or adult content, such as your profile, live video, and banner images. Alternatively, if a user chooses to share such media, theyโre required to mark their account โSensitiveโ first.
This masks the videos or images behind a warning message that a user needs to acknowledge before viewing the media. It allows you to make an informed decision before you choose to view the sensitive content, or just completely avoid it.
Twitterโs sensitive media policy also filters some sorts of sensitive media that arenโt allowed to be published on the platform at all, as theyโre very likely to trigger violence and simulate distress to those who view them.
This includes graphic violence, adult content, violent sexual conduct, gore, and hateful imagery.ย
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Control The Content You See on Twitterย (Turn Off Sensitive Content on Twitter)
To tweak your content preferences on Twitter, you should follow the steps given below:
- Login to your account and click on the โMoreโ iconย
- Go to the ‘Privacy and safety‘ settings optionย
- Navigate to the โContent you seeโ check or uncheck the box next to the โDisplay media that may contain sensitive contentโ option as per your preferencesย
Since the changes are automatically saved, you can feel free to head back to your feed and enjoy personalized content.
Reporting Sensitive Media on Twitter
Even after preventing sensitive content from appearing on your feed, if you still encounter Tweets or media that you consider sensitive as per Twitterโs media policy, you may choose to report it by reproducing the steps below:
- Access the tweet or media you want to report and tap on the โThree-dotโ iconย
- Tap or click on the โReport Tweetโ optionย
- On the next page, select the โIt displays a sensitive imageโ optionย
The Twitter algorithm also suggests recommendations to improve your experience on the platform after reporting specific content.
However, the platform may or may not remove the content you reported, as if a warning label isnโt available, itโs very likely that the content may not meet Twitterโs threshold for media warning.ย
Whatโs Not Considered Sensitive by Twitter?
Twitter generously allows consensually produced adult content and graphical violence on their platform with a condition that you intentionally mark it as sensitive prior to publishing it.
Even hateful imagery is allowed to a small extent, provided that the media doesnโt promote an extremist or terrorist organization.ย
The Takeaway
We hope the information shared above helps you make your Twitter experience more manageable.
If you see something on Twitter you disagree with, make sure you understand the context and consider healthy conversation as a shared responsibility before putting all the blame on the platform, as itโs โusโ who make the platform the way it is.ย
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