Default Quote Reshare

Goal: Reduce the spread of misinformation Evidence rating (PDN): Mixed Civic signal: Understand — Show reliable information When to use: Interactive

What it is

When attempting to reshare a post, people are directed to "quote share" by default, prompting them to add their own comments. Simple resharing is still available, but requires an additional click.

Intended impact

By creating friction in content resharing, the Default Quote Reshare is intended to increase deliberation and encourage more thoughtful content sharing. Ideally, more thoughtful content sharing would reduce the unintentional spread of misinformation.

Evidence that it works

Ershov & Morales (2024) analyzed a large Twitter dataset in which Default Quote Reshare - or Default Quote Retweet in that context - was implemented for a two-week window in 2020. They found that the policy reduced content sharing overall, but not specifically misinformation sharing.

Analyzing over 160,000 tweets from 130 left-leaning and right-leaning news accounts, the authors found that redirecting users to quote tweet when they tried to reshare a post reduced the total number of retweets. (Note: all results are statistically significant unless otherwise noted.) The total number of retweets then increased when the policy was reversed (i.e., when retweeting was available again without the redirect). The effects were not uniform, however: there was a greater reduction of retweets from left-leaning outlets than from right-leaning outlets due to the change. At the same time, the authors find that the factuality of the outlet played no role in the extent to which retweets were reduced.

In sum, the authors conclude that increasing friction in reshares is a “blunt tool” and does not specifically target the spread of misinformation.

Why it matters

Friction is a tool that is often discussed as a way to encourage more intentional sharing. However, it is important to consider potential backlash or unintended consequences - such as reducing the overall spread of information on a platform - when implementing such policies at scale.

Special considerations

Examples

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This intervention entry currently lacks photographic evidence (screencaps, &c.)

Citations

• *Sharing news left and right: Frictions and misinformation on Twitter.* — Ershov, Daniel, and Juan S. Morales. (The Economic Journal, April 9, 2024)

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From the Prosocial Design Network's Digital Intervention Library (https://www.prosocialdesign.org/library/default-quote-reshare), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Reformatted for the RT Commons; text otherwise as published. Library citation: Prosocial Design Network (2024), Digital Intervention Library, https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/Q4RMB. Anything built from this pattern should credit the Prosocial Design Network and the researchers cited above.

Details

• goal: Reduce the spread of misinformation
• citations: [object Object]
• image alt: A graphic of a double quotation mark in a box.
• image url: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/647f696dc653a97c26f42a0b/68445643a37eff1cf4248199_Highlighted%20copy.svg
• pdn rating: Mixed
• when to use: Interactive
• civic signal: Understand
• pdn library doi: 10.17605/OSF.IO/Q4RMB
• civic signal goal: Show reliable information