How to Properly Tag Content/Trigger Warnings on Twitter: A Thread

First, I just want to say that all triggers are valid and deserve respect. Trauma, anxiety, and other mental illnesses are not our fault, and the last thing we need is to feel guilt, shame, or embarrassment about needing warnings for sensitive topics. We all deserve to feel safe.

The two most common types of warnings are:
1.) Content Warnings (cw): For topics that may not necessarily be specific triggers, but are still sensitive in nature (i.e. violence, discrimination, and more.)
2.) Trigger warnings (tw): For things that are also common trauma triggers.

The most common triggers are sexual assault, abuse, drugs, suicide/suicidal ideation and self-harm, as well as many of the sensitive topics listed as potential content warnings above. The differentiation between cw and tw doesn’t always matter. Sometimes they’re interchangeable.

When it comes to tagging triggers, the most important aspect is accessibility and safety. Either someone will have these terms muted through Twitter’s safety & privacy settings, or they need an ample warning before viewing the content in order to mentally prepare themselves.

So, what’s the best and safest way to tag a warning for a tweet? First, you’re going to want to type “cw” or “tw” (you can also use “//“ instead if you want) followed by writing the name of the trigger out without censoring it at all. I’ll get into why censoring is harmful later.

Next, please use the Return button on your keyboard to put at least one line of space between the warning and its related content. It should look like this example below.

cw eating disorders

I’m struggling with binge eating right now. I could really use some advice on this.

Again, the most important thing about content/trigger warnings is to make them accessible and safe, so censoring the name of the trigger can be very harmful. This is because the Muted Words feature on twitter does not recognize a censored word or phrase.

If someone has muted “eating disorders” in order to keep themselves from encountering that content, your tag written as “eating d*sorders” will NOT be hidden for them and will show up on their timeline. This can be especially dangerous for those just starting out in recovery.

(tw drug mention for the following example)

Another DON’T when it comes to censoring is not doing an initial warning at all and censoring the term in the tweet. Here’s a problematic example of this common mistake:

I’m so h*gh right now and the TV show I’m watching is so good.

As someone with substance use disorder, I can clearly read the word “high” there and now I’m triggered by the tweet. A proper execution of this content/trigger warning would be the following tweet:

cw drug mention

I’m so high right now and the TV show I’m watching is so good.

In the proper example, I can either prepare myself to read a tweet about weed, see the trigger warning and decide to scroll past it, or hide the content entirely by muting the term “drug” to aid in my substance abuse recovery process. Please DO NOT censor the trigger terms ever.

Another reason why censoring can be bad is for screen reader accessibility reasons. A screen reader can provide a content/trigger warning verbally by reading the warning itself, but having a screen reader pronounce “asterisk” in the middle of a bunch of letters can pose issues.

At the end of the day, the best we can do is to learn how to properly tag trigger/content warnings and to listen to the people who need/want them (hello! that’s me!) because we do know ourselves best and deserve to experience Twitter as safely and comfortably as possible.

If a follower asks for something to be trigger tagged, no matter how common or unique it is, honor their feelings and adhere to the request if possible. This is basic disability accessibility and a good practice in allyship and empathy. Also, always tag the most common triggers.

If their request for a warning is something you discuss frequently and they absolutely cannot see its related content, it might be appropriate to remind them of the Mute Words feature because not all users know about it. This is why it’s so important not to censor our tags.

Thank so much for reading my thread and if you ever have any questions at all about how to tag cw/tw warnings, their purpose, or anything else mental health related, my DMs are always open. Also, feel free to use and share this thread as a recourse. Stay safe and happy scrolling!