Bold red and orange labels highlighting misinformation shared by politicians and other public figures is one way Twitter is considering to tackle fake news.

A design mock-up obtained by NBC News shows how verified fact-checkers and journalists can highlight incorrect tweets directly below the original post. There also appears to be a way for others to add their feedback, with a Participate button.

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Misinformation was under the spotlight during the 2019 general election and continues to be a concern as the US prepares for the presidential election later this year.

Offending material is described as harmfully misleading in a tab underneath, which reads: “Twitter community reports have identified this tweet as violating the community policy on harmfully misleading information. This tweet’s visibility will be reduced.”

The mock-up examples include a tweet by US presidential hopeful Senator Bernie Sanders about gun background checks and another by house minority leader Kevin McCarthy regarding whistleblowers.

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Twitter confirmed it is currently in the very early stages of considering the feature, so early that the project is not even staffed yet, the tech giant claims. “We’re exploring a number of ways to address misinformation and provide more context for tweets on Twitter,” a spokeswoman said. “This is a design mock-up for one option that would involve community feedback. Misinformation is a critical issue and we will be testing many different ways to address it.”

Tech Central

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