Why tech giants limited the spread of NY Post story on Biden

OAKLAND, Calif. — When Facebook and Twitter moved quickly this week to limit the spread of an unverified political story published by the conservative-leaning New York Post, it led to predictable cries of censorship from the right. But it also illustrated the slippery hold even the largest tech companies have on the flow of information, particularly in the midst of a raucous presidential election campaign.

While Facebook and Twitter have often been slow to combat apparent misinformation and other violations of their rules, their response in this case shows how quickly they can move when they want to. Misinformation frequently outpaces the truth on social networks, academic studies have found. But if social media titans aren’t careful, their attempts to clamp down on a story can amplify it further. And even when they exercise caution, they risk generating their own headlines with every move.

For the first time in recent memory, the two social media platforms enforced rules against misinformation on a story from a mainstream media publication. The story in question, which has not been confirmed by other publications, cited unverified emails from Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s son that were reportedly discovered by President Donald Trump’s allies.

Trump’s campaign seized on the report, although it raised more questions than answers, including whether emails at the center of the story were hacked or fabricated. Neither company responded when asked if they have previously taken similar action against a mainstream news article, although Facebook said demoting material while it awaits a fact check is common practice.