Twitter has stated that it intends to hide erroneous messages regarding the Ukraine war from official accounts behind caution notifications.

The adjustment is the result of increased monitoring of the social media site following the conflict, which released a fresh wave of disinformation, often from official sources.

However, it is equally concerned about free speech.

Twitter’s new “crisis” standards prioritize labeling false messages from accounts with broad reaches, such as state media or official government accounts, but retaining them for “accountability” reasons.

To read the post, users will need to click past the warning message, and Twitter will limit the ability to like, retweet, or share the information.

Twitter said it would also change its search and explore features to avoid amplifying false tweets.

“While this first iteration is focused on international armed conflict, starting with the war in Ukraine, we plan to update and expand the policy to include additional forms of crisis,” Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of security and safety wrote in a blog post announcing the changes.

Twitter said examples of problematic posts included false or misleading allegations of war crimes, false information regarding the international response, and false allegations regarding the use of force.

The company said it would rely on multiple sources to determine when claims are misleading. Strong commentary and first-person accounts are among the types of tweets that would not be challenged by the police, it said.

The new policies come just weeks after Twitter’s board agreed to a $44bn (£34.5bn) takeover offer from billionaire businessman Elon Musk, who has called for less moderated speech on the platform.

He has said he would revoke Twitter’s controversial ban of former US President Donald Trump, whom Twitter suspended citing the risk that he would incite further violence.

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