Twitter Health
Problem
In the late summer of 2021, after the US left Afghanistan, the Twitter Health Team became aware that the Taliban was using the platform to collect information on the Afghani people. Much of this information was used to see who was speaking out against the Taliban, and as such these people were greatly at risk of physical harm.
Solution
As a Content Designer on the Health Team, I was asked to write a prompt that we would surface in the feed of users that might be in danger. The timeline was obviously critical, and I had a few hours to work on this copy.
Collaborators
Human Rights Lawyer
Product Counsel
Trust and Safety
Project Management
Engineer
Product Marketing Manager
Process
I started with a couple of Help Center articles referencing digital security. We decided that the prompt would need 2 CTAs to link to these guides on how to increase security on personal accounts.
I made sure to work the copy into our Style Guide — sentence case headers and CTAs, short sentences at a 8th grade reading level, 3 word CTAs.
After working with both lawyers on several iterations, we landed on this version that everyone agreed upon. Product Counsel felt very strongly that we needed to qualify the 2nd CTA with “help” as we wouldn’t be able to guarantee protection, which is how it reads without it.
Result
In addition to the English version above, the prompt was modified for a multi-language version with 2 extra headers and rows of body copy. I shortened the body copy for space, and it was translated into Dari and Pashto.
We changed the CTAs again as the greatest concern was over-promising that the accounts would be secure. It was a pretty heart-breaking realization, but I agreed with the need to be as clear as possible.
Interestingly, I did get some critical feedback from my manager who believed I should have pushed back on legal more because the 2nd CTA was now out of alignment with our style guide rule of 3 word CTAs. I appreciated her comments, and understood the concern. But in the end, I do feel that because of the nature of the assignment, the speed at which we were working, the limited amount of time it would be in the app, the relative low number of users who would see this, and the legal concerns — we made the right call.
I sincerely love working with lawyers and feel that I always learn a lot about writing and policy.