Twitter to label state-affiliated media accounts

• “For transparency and practicality, we are starting with a limited and clearly-defined group of countries before expanding to a wider range of countries in the future,” Twitter said.
• The change will also apply for the organizations' "editors-in-chief, and/or their senior staff."
• Twitter won't label "state-financed media organizations with editorial independence, like the BBC in the UK or NPR in the US," it said.

Why it matters: The move comes as social media companies face rising calls to address foreign influence campaigns and misinformation on their platforms. Facebook began labeling state-backed press accounts in June.

• Twitter in 2019 banned state-backed media ads and political ads from its site.

Worth noting: Twitter will also label the accounts of senior government officials from U.N.S.C. countries "who are the official voice of the state abroad," including foreign ministers, ambassadors, and diplomatic leaders.