Twitter is going to introduce a ‘strike system in its bid to clamp down on the spread of COVID-19-related misinformation.

The first violation of Twitter’s policies will result in a label being applied to tweets including false information and the possibility of engagements being limited on said tweets, but no account-level action will be taken. The label will read something along the lines of “this tweet is misleading. Find out why health officials consider COVID-19 vaccines safe for most people” and contain a link to official public health information. At first, this labelling will only be applied to English-language content that is in breach.

If an account violates Twitter’s policies for a second and third time, the account will be locked for a 12-hour period on each occasion. The fourth strike will result in a one-week account lock. And the fifth (or more) will mean a permanent suspension.

Twitter hopes that the introduction of the system will help educate its users on its policies and on the truth about COVID-19 vaccines.