Twitter Brings Back Old Retweet Function Following US Presidential Election

Twitter is reversing changes made to its retweet function intended to curb the spread of misinformation during the US presidential election, the company said.

The microblogging site had in October made it difficult for users to retweet a tweet with misinformation and promoted the use of quote tweets, which included commentary from the user.

It had also imposed curbs including labeling and removal of tweets calling for people to interfere with the election process or implementation of results.

Twitter said it will no longer prompt quote tweets from the retweet icon. “Retweet functionality will be returning to the way it was before,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The increase in Quote Tweets was also offset by an overall 20 percent decrease in sharing through both Retweets and Quote Tweets.”

Meanwhile, Facebook has in the past few days rolled back their algorithm that lifted news from authoritative outlets over hyperpartisan sources after November’s election, according to a report in the New York Times.