Twitter confirms that its "Project Guardian" watches today's main character

According to a Bloomberg report, Twitter's secretive "Project Guardian" aims to protect controversial characters and users with a large following from an onslaught of trolls and enemies. The platform reportedly maintains a list of thousands of users that Twitter considers to be at high risk of harassment, including musicians, professional athletes, journalists, and other particularly prominent users, if only for the time being.

Bloomberg notes that when Twitter receives a report of an abusive post related to an account on the list, Twitter's content moderation team will respond to that report faster than everyone else it has lined up. The idea behind the program is that Twitter can prevent the spread of harmful content and keep the content featured by tweeters, and they are less likely to talk about bullying on the platform.

Yoel Roth, head of integrity for the Twitter site, told Bloomberg that various users make up his Project Guardian list, and they don't have to be celebrities. Users who get caught up in Twitter's viral drama can also be included, but usually only temporarily. Once the 15 seconds of fame is up, Twitter will remove that user from Project Guardian, while others will have a more permanent spot on the list. As Bloomberg claims, a user can be added to the program when a Twitter employee notices that she sees high volumes of hateful messages, even if that user is unaware. On the other hand, a high-profile user may even have her manager personally ask Twitter for more protection.

According to Bloomberg, some users signed up to Project Guardian in the past include makeup artist James Charles, Egyptian activist Wael Ghonim, and former US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. Twitter has also used the program to protect journalists covering controversial topics, such as the January riots or 8chan.

In addition to Project Guardian, Bloomberg found that Twitter uses several other factors to prioritize its responses to user reports. This includes the impression of a post, how many followers the user in question has, and whether or not the reported tweet is actually harmful. There appears to be no indication that a particular incident prompted the show's creation, but Bloomberg says it could have been around for two years or more.

As Bloomberg points out, Project Guardian doesn't just protect users; it also protects Twitter from bad public relations. In March, Twitter came under fire for its inability to tame the bullies who bombed former model Chrissy Teigen. The trolls attacked Teigen, making unsubstantiated claims that she was part of a conspiracy theory involving a network of famous paedophiles. She left Twitter due to the bullying (although she has since returned). Critics argue that Twitter could have done more to protect Teigen, although Teigen herself said she did not blame the platform for the barrage of abuse.

Before this reveal, Twitter has been making rapid changes to the platform. In a single day, Twitter acquired the Quill messaging platform, implemented a trial to change the reporting process, began testing individual content warnings, and began experimenting with a TikTok-style "For You" tab. This series of announcements came about during the first week after former Twitter CTO Parag Agrawal replaced Jack Dorsey as CEO. In an interview shortly after Agrawal took office, he said he hopes to speed up the "execution" of Twitter and streamline its operations.