This New Twitter Feature Aims To Tackle Trolling By Filtering Out Potentially Abusive DMs

Twitter is changing the way we deal with internet trolling by testing out a new feature that will hide messages that could be considered offensive.

The social media giant announced the new feature in a simple tweet and gif that outlined how the service will work.

The new feature is located within the “message requests” section, where messages from people you don’t follow are currently found.

The update comes two years after the platform introduced a feature that hides replies that “may contain offensive content.” Judging by the fact that the replies feature basically just hides anything that drops an f-bomb, I’m pretty sure there are going to be a bunch of messages from your friends that get auto-filtered out because they swear in your DMs.

Twitter has made a conscious effort to reduce abusiveness on the platform in recent months. Due to the platform’s minimal identification measures, it’s really easy to create an anonymous account to spread hate and abuse online. However, it appears that Twitter are taking a proactive approach to the issue wherever possible.

If you’ve ever been a victim of online hate, or been “cancelled” for a period of time, you’ll know how overwhelming it is to have your direct messages inundated with hate, especially when it’s from people who don’t know more than a few 280 character tweets about who you are.

Facebook have offered a similar service since late 2017, so the concept isn’t exactly new, but Twitter’s relative anonymity makes it a prime target for trolls, so the new update seems like it could be beneficial.

Users have shared mixed opinions on the new initiative, with a whole heap of replies asking for an “edit” button instead of this feature. But, this feature could be extremely beneficial to people who suffer from online abuse and harassment.

If nobody sends you hate, don’t worry about it, this doesn’t concern you. If you do cop the occasional nasty DM, hopefully this will help.

The filter is currently being trialled by selected users.


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