Musk’s Twitter no longer bans COVID misinformation policy: What else did he say?

Twitter, under Elon Musk, has quietly ended the enforcement of its COVID misinformation policy.

New York, Nov 30: Twitter, under Elon Musk, has quietly ended the enforcement of its COVID misinformation policy, raising concerns among health and media experts over the move's effect on efforts to combat the still-spreading virus, like vaccination.

Several users had pointed that a one-sentence update had been made to Twitter's online rules stating,''Effective November 23, 2022, Twitter is no longer enforcing the COVID-19 misleading information policy."

Taking to micro-blogging platform Twitter Dr. Simone Gold, a former emergency room physician, wrote,'' Twitter has stopped enforcing its COVID-19 Misinformation Policy as of November 23rd. This policy was used to silence people across the world who questioned the media narrative surrounding the virus and treatment options. A win for free speech and medical freedom!.''

BREAKING: Twitter has stopped enforcing its COVID-19 Misinformation Policy as of November 23rd.

This policy was used to silence people across the world who questioned the media narrative surrounding the virus and treatment options.

A win for free speech and medical freedom! pic.twitter.com/Mj56R3rSsG

— Dr. Simone Gold (@drsimonegold) November 29, 2022

"Bad news," tweeted epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding, who urged people not to flee Twitter but to stay and stand up for accurate information about the virus. "Stay folks - do NOT cede the town square to them!" The virus, meanwhile, continues to spread, as reported by PTI.

Bad news—it seems @Twitter just updated its misleading info policy that #COVID19 misinformation will no longer be enforced. The 11k accounts that were suspended under the old policy will soon be restored. ➡️Stay folks—do NOT cede the town square to them! https://t.co/aBxPYyvpna pic.twitter.com/7zYnVqj0id

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) November 29, 2022

Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 coordinator, said Tuesday that the problem of COVID-19 misinformation is far larger than one platform, and that policies prohibiting COVID misinformation weren't the best solution anyway.

Speaking at a Knight Foundation forum Tuesday, Jha said misinformation about the virus spread for a number of reasons, including legitimate uncertainty about a deadly illness. Simply prohibiting certain kinds of content isn't going to help people find good information, or make them feel more confident about what they're hearing from their medical providers, he said.

"I think we all have a collective responsibility," Jha said of combating misinformation about COVID. "The consequences of not getting this right - of spreading that misinformation - is literally tens of thousands of people dying unnecessarily."

The Tesla Boss Musk has signaled an interest in rolling back many of the platform's previous rules meant to combat misinformation.

Last week, Musk said he would grant 'amnesty' to account holders who had been kicked off Twitter. He's also reinstated the accounts for several people who spread COVID misinformation, including that of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose personal account was suspended this year for repeatedly violating Twitter's COVID rules.

For the unversed, Musk had acquired Twitter last week in culmination of a USD 44 billion deal. The deal was, however, mired in controversy for several months, before the final takeover happened.