Social media platforms move to limit spread of New York Post story amid questions over its veracity

Facebook and Twitter took steps on Wednesday to limit the spread of a controversial New York Post article critical of Joe Biden, sparking outrage among conservatives and stoking debate over how social media platforms should tackle misinformation ahead of the US election.
In an unprecedented step against a major news publication, Twitter blocked users from posting links to the Post story or photographs from the unconfirmed report.
Users attempting to share the story were shown a notice saying: We cant complete this request because this link has been identified by Twitter or our partners as being potentially harmful. Users clicking or retweeting a link already posted to Twitter are shown a warning the link may be unsafe.
Twitter said it was limiting the articles spread due to questions about the origins of the materials included in the article, which contained material supposedly pulled from a computer that had been left by Hunter Biden at a Delaware computer repair shop in April 2019. Twitter policies prohibit directly distribut[ing] content obtained through hacking that contains private information.
The company further explained the decision in a series of tweets on Wednesday, saying some of the images in the article contained personal and private information. Twitters policy against posting hacked material was established in 2018. Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey said the companys communication about the decision to limit the articles spread was not great, saying the team should have shared more context publicly.
Facebook, meanwhile, placed restrictions on linking to the article, saying there were questions about its validity. This is part of our standard process to reduce the spread of misinformation, said a Facebook spokesman, Andy Stone.
The move is the first time Twitter has directly limited the spread of information from a news website, as it continues to implement stricter rules around misinformation ahead of the 2020 US elections. On Wednesday evening Twitter also reportedly locked the personal account of the White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany for sharing the article.
In recent weeks Twitter announced it would warn users who attempt to retweet a link without first clicking on it for more context. It has also started to take action against misinformation and calls to violence posted by Donald Trump and other public figures.
Congratulations to the @nypost for having exposed the massive corruption surrounding Sleepy Joe Biden and our Country. Hes always been a corrupt politician. Disgraceful!
Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
October 15, 2020
Our communication around our actions on the @nypost article was not great. And blocking URL sharing via tweet or DM with zero context as to why were blocking: unacceptable. https://t.co/v55vDVVlgt
jack (@jack)
October 14, 2020
Censorship should be condemned!
cc: @Twitter & Facebook
NOT the American way
Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec)
October 14, 2020