--- title: "Twitter Launches Fresh Anti-Harassment Tools" id: "37139" type: "post" slug: "twitter-launches-fresh-anti-harassment-tools" published_at: "2017-03-01T22:08:30+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T18:45:25+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/03/01/twitter-launches-fresh-anti-harassment-tools/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/03/01/twitter-launches-fresh-anti-harassment-tools.md" excerpt: "Twitter continues the fight against online abuse by launching new anti-harassment tools. Also: One news outlet improves the quality of its online discussions by using a quiz." taxonomy_category: - "Marketing / Communications" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "moderation" - "Safety" - "Social Media" - "Technology" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Director" - "Manager" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Twitter Launches Fresh Anti-Harassment Tools Twitter is taking the fight directly to trolls and accounts that engage in abusive behavior. “This week we’re introducing additional updates that leverage our technology to reduce abusive content, give you more tools to control your experience, and communicate more clearly about actions we take,” Ed Ho, Twitter’s vice president of engineering, explains in [a blog post (opens in a new tab)](http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/03/01/twitter-to-police-abuse-in-major-shift/98559482/) . In recent months, Twitter has rolled out other [features to make the platform safer](http://associationsnow.com/2016/11/online-abuse-twitter-takes-trolls/) , including expanding its mute function, boosting its reporting mechanisms, and collapsing abusive tweets in feeds. But some critics say that while those features may be helpful, they pass off too much responsibility to the user to police abuse. These newly announced features, on the other hand, put Twitter on the front lines in the battle against abuse. The company will employ algorithms to flag abusive accounts, even ones that haven’t been reported; will allow users to block “eggs” or accounts without verification; and will boost its mute functionality. “Twitter has been proceeding carefully and thoughtfully in thinking through and rolling out tools designed to help harassment victims,” explained Danielle Citron, a University of Maryland law professor and Twitter advisor, [in comments to USA Today (opens in a new tab)](http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/03/01/twitter-to-police-abuse-in-major-shift/98559482/) . ### Quizzing Commenters > Want to comment on an article? First you’ll have to answer a quiz to make sure you’ve actually read it [https://t.co/jMHKQOlyq2 (opens in a new tab)](https://t.co/jMHKQOlyq2) > > — Joseph Lichterman (@ylichterman) [March 1, 2017 (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/ylichterman/status/836935144502099968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) **Speaking of preventing bad behavior online,** a Norwegian news site is experimenting with an unusual new way to moderate comments. *NiemanLab*reports that NRKbeta, the technology vertical of the NRK news site, requires readers to take a quiz about the article that they (supposedly) read [before they’re allowed to comment (opens in a new tab)](http://www.niemanlab.org/2017/03/this-site-is-taking-the-edge-off-rant-mode-by-making-readers-pass-a-quiz-before-commenting/) . The goal: to prevent inaccurate rants and promote constructive conversation. “We thought we should do our part to try and make sure that people are on the same page before they comment,” NRKbeta journalist Ståle Grut explained to *NiemanLab*. “If everyone can agree that this is what the article says, then they have a much better basis for commenting on it.” ### Other links of note **Love trumps like—at least on Facebook.** *The Drum*reports that the social media giant will give more [weight to newsfeed posts that receive reactions (opens in a new tab)](http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/02/28/facebook-reveals-love-triumphs-over-anger-it-tweaks-reaction-algorithm) other than a simple “like.” **Invest in success.** *CMS Wire* provides several ways to create an [“all-in” company culture (opens in a new tab)](http://www.cmswire.com/digital-workplace/how-an-all-in-culture-can-transform-your-company/) . **How are your attendees actually spending their time?** *Meetings Imagined* tells us how to [track attendees using the latest technology (opens in a new tab)](http://meetingsimagined.com/tips-trends/411-attendee-tracking) . (Reuters file photo) [Raegan Johnson](https://associationsnow.com/author/raegan-johnson/) Raegan Johnson is a contributor to Associations Now. 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