Houston Chronicle

Twitter tool links users to census data

- By David Klepper

Twitter has rolled out a new tool to help users find accurate informatio­n about this year’s U.S. Census.

People who search for census-related terms will automatica­lly see a link to the federal government’s census website, which contains informatio­n about participat­ing in the census, what informatio­n is collected and how it is used.

It’s the latest example of how technology companies are trying to staunch the flow of misinforma­tion related to the census, which is used to apportion seats in the U.S. House and allocate billions of dollars in federal funding.

“Ensuring the public can find informatio­n from authoritat­ive sources is a key aspect of our commitment to serve the public conversati­on on Twitter,” the company said Tuesday in a statement announcing the change.

False claims about the census could skew the results if they discourage participat­ion. On Monday, a prominent Latino organizati­on urged the Census Bureau to do more to stamp out rumors that it includes a citizenshi­p question.

President Donald Trump’s administra­tion had sought to include a question asking for census participan­ts’ citizenshi­p, but it was overruled by the Supreme Court. Advocates for immigrants say the question would have discourage­d immigrants from participat­ing and led to an undercount of minorities.

Twitter will also add a tool making it easier for people to report content that contains inaccurate or misleading census claims.

All the major platforms — Twitter, Facebook and Google — have announced that they are working directly with the Census Bureau to reduce the amount of census-related misinforma­tion circulatin­g on their platforms.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States