: The goal was to introduce "friction" into the sharing process, forcing users to pause and consider the content they were amplifying .
In October 2020, Twitter (now X) temporarily changed how the retweet button worked to slow the spread of misinformation ahead of the U.S. Presidential election . Instead of a one-click retweet, the platform began automatically prompting users to . How the Change Worked Changing how retweets work, Twitter seeks to sl...
: When users hit the retweet icon, they were automatically brought to the Quote Tweet composer, which encouraged them to add their own commentary before sharing . : The goal was to introduce "friction" into
: Users could still choose to retweet without adding a comment by leaving the composer blank and hitting the button again . Results and Reversal Instead of a one-click retweet, the platform began
Twitter reversed this change on December 16, 2020, after finding that it did not achieve the desired effect of "thoughtful amplification" :
: Users attempting to retweet content labeled as misleading were shown a prompt directing them to credible information before they could proceed .