Twitter has made reporting hateful comments against disabled people easier following extensive campaigning by Muscular Dystrophy UK.
Previously, abusive tweets based on someone’s race, religion, gender or orientation were readily reportable in a dropdown menu on Twitter, but disability was not listed as an option.
The updated rules now list disability on parity with other characteristics, making it easier for disabled people to take action against the hateful language that many encounter every day on the platform.
Before the rule change, the only indication that hateful comments based on someone’s disability are unacceptable on Twitter involved clicking through several extra screens to locate the site’s 2,000-word rules, which included a single mention of it.
Muscular Dystrophy UK led the campaign after the huge amount of abusive language and behaviour that many of its supporters faced on the site. On 11 February 2018 alone, the word ‘spastic’ was used over 500 times on Twitter.
Twitter first agreed with the charity in April 2017 at a public meeting at London City Hall to look at how disabled people can report abusive comments. Muscular Dystrophy UK’s Trailblazers’ network of young people have since raised the issue at Parliament in an effort to secure today’s change.
Nic Bungay, Director of Campaigns, Care and Information at Muscular Dystrophy UK, said:
“It is fantastic news that Twitter has given disabled people this new tool to report any offensive language they may encounter. Social media is such a valuable tool for disabled people to take part in everyday conversations, and today’s change will help them to ensure they can do so in a safe way.”