Elon Musk responds after Twitter fact-checks the White House

Elon Musk praised a Twitter feature that provides context on tweets, after a note was attached to a tweet from the White House indicating their statement was misleading.

On Tuesday, the White House told followers that, "Seniors are getting the biggest increase in their Social Security checks in 10 years through President Biden's leadership."

Shortly after, a little box popped up underneath the tweet informing people that seniors are receiving the increase due to "the annual cost of living adjustment which is based on the inflation rate" which was signed into law by Richard Nixon in 1972.

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The information box is part of Birdwatch, a program Twitter introduced last year to help curtail misinformation.

Musk responded to the fact-check, "the community notes feature is awesome. Our goal is to make Twitter the most accurate source of information on Earth, without regard to political affiliation."

Shortly after Donald Trump was banned from Twitter in 2021, the company launched Birdwatch. The initiative aims to give context to tweets by allowing users to provide accurate background information.

Any Twitter user can apply to be a Birdwatch contributor to help give context to tweets but have to meet eligibility requirements first. After submitting factual information behind a tweet, other Twitter users can rate how helpful the background information was.

Initially, all Birdwatch notes were only available on a separate tab within Twitter but earlier this month Birdwatch notes became visible on a tweet directly.

Although the program began before Musk acquired Twitter it seems he's more than happy to keep it rolling.

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