Are you aware that when a tweet with a questionable opinion is posted and a bit oddly worded, you can search for the exact words and find a million replicants of the same message, spreading through the Twittersphere like a virus?

In a recent announcement by Twitter, we found out that it is now rolling out a new ‘Copypasta and Duplicate Content‘ policy. It will help clarify the platform’s functioning to duplicative content and combat spam. For context, copypasta refers to an attempt by multiple individuals for content duplications from the source and sharing it widely.

The social media giant revealed first in August 2020 that it would limit the visibility of copypasta tweets and is now highlighting what it considers to be the violation and the action taken to limit the visibility of these violations.

An example of a violation is near-identical or identical content tweeted by several accounts or just by an individual account. Another example is the copy-pasted or duplication tweet that Twitter thinks may “disrupt the experience of others.

Twitter also notes that it won’t limit the visibility of tweets or retweets, which include the existing content alongside unique commentary or content.

We’ve been continuously working to combat spammy &
duplicative content on Twitter at scale and our new Copypasta and Duplicate Content policy clarifies what constitutes a violation along with what happens when it is violated. https://t.co/qA7uhMlgRD https://t.co/W9IyKRXFcQ

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) May 10, 2022

If Twitter finds a violation, it will make the tweet ineligible to be featured in the Trends or Top search results. It also won’t recommend the tweets in the user’s timelines who do not follow the account which sends the tweet. The tweet may also be down-ranked in replies and excluded in the email recommendations.

Twitter also informs that the duplicate content or copypasta Tweets remain visible to users who follow the Tweet author.

“On Twitter, copypasta or duplicative content can be a block of text, image or a combination of content that has been copied and pasted, or duplicated by any means across the platform,” Twitter outlines on a support page for the new policy. “While copypasta or duplicate content is a tactic for propagating a message, and is used for a wide range of purposes, it can be repetitive, spammy and disruptive to people’s experience on Twitter.”

Twitter notes that there’s a possibility of using duplicative content, which may artificially amplify content and manipulate the platform’s Top Search Results and trends.

While the duplicative or copypasta Tweets do not lead to account suspensions or tweet removals on their own, they are subject to enforcement and review under Twitter’s spam policy and platform manipulation. Twitter may move towards permanent suspicion or removal when the accounts use scripting or automation to post duplicative content. Another instance can be when Twitter may take action when most of the account’s content consists mainly of duplicative content.

For Twitter users, it is to note that anyone can report the potential violation policy on Twitter by selecting the ‘Report Tweet’ option.

For more updates like these, subscribe our newsletter.