Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO

Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO has doubled down on why the company fact-checked President Donald Trump’s tweets on mail-in-ballots.

He also responded to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s comment that Twitter should not be “an arbiter of truth”.

Dorsey rejected Zuckerberg’s tag, and explained Twitter’s position, citing the company’s Civic Integrity Policy.

Twitter, he said, will continue to flag incorrect tweets, such as Trump’s.


“We’ll continue to point out incorrect or disputed information about elections globally.

“And we will admit to and own any mistakes we make”, he wrote.

“This does not make us an “arbiter of truth.”

“Our intention is to connect the dots of conflicting statements and show the information in dispute so people can judge for themselves.

“More transparency from us is critical so folks can clearly see the why behind our actions.”

Dorsey said Trump’s tweets may mislead people into thinking they don’t need to register to get a ballot as only registered voters receive ballots.

He said Twitter will update “the link on @realDonaldTrump’s tweet to make this more clear”.

Dorsey made the explanation ahead of the plan by Trump to sign an executive order on social media companies.

The details are not known yet.

Zuckerberg’s comment showed the gulf in the ethical make-up of Facebook and Twitter.

In an interview to be aired on Fox News today, Zuckerberg said it was wrong for Twitter to attach a fact check to a tweet from President Trump.

He said privately-owned digital platforms should not act as the “arbiter of truth.”

“We have a different policy than, I think, Twitter on this,” Zuckerberg said.

“I just believe strongly that Facebook shouldn’t be the arbiter of truth of everything that people say online,” he added.

“Private companies probably shouldn’t be, especially these platform companies, shouldn’t be in the position of doing that.”

In contrast, Twitter’s Civic Integrity Policy opposes the sharing of false information.

The policy says no user is allowed to share false or misleading information about how to participate in an election or other civic process.

The policy outlaws the use of the platform for the purpose of manipulating or interfering in elections or other civic processes.

“This includes posting or sharing content that may suppress participation or mislead people about when, where, or how to participate in a civic process”.