Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, has long been criticized for the misinformation problem that permeates the platform. Hate speech on the social networking service has also been on the rise under the leadership of Musk.
However, the situation at X has been particularly atrocious since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 and Israel subsequently began bombing Gaza. Disinformation, specifically of verified users Paying the company $8 a month for the algorithm to prioritize you has been rampant.
And according to a new study Just released on Tuesday by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), X does not seem to respond very well to potentially dangerous or harmful content when it is reported.
New study finds misinformation about X is out of control
CCDH researchers collected 200 posts containing intolerance against Muslims or Jews. For example, some of these posts contain anti-Semitic or Islamophobic imagery, Holocaust denial, Nazi glorification, or dehumanization of Palestinians. CCDH then reported these posts to X and gave the company a week to respond. The company eliminated only four positions; 196 of these posts, or 98 percent, remain on the platform.
“X has tried to assure advertisers and the public that they have control over hate speech, but our research indicates that these are nothing more than empty words,” said CCDH CEO and founder Imran Ahmed.
Musk has previously clashed with the CCDH, even going so far as to suing the organization for its reports. However, the CCDH has not backed down and continues to publish studies on the platform and its failures in content moderation.
X has shared a series of changes to its Community Notes program, its crowdsourced “fact-checking” solution that allows members to add context to other users’ posts. But clearly, misinformation has still spread almost unabated, regardless of these moves by the company. Please note that Community Notes do not influence the topic of hate speech; The program is not intended to deal with that type of content.
“This is the inevitable result when you cut security and moderation staff, activate the Bat-Signal to welcome previously banned hate actors, and offer greater visibility to anyone willing to pay $8 a month,” Ahmed said in a statement. created a safe space for racists and has sought to make impunity a virtue that leads them to attack, harass and threaten marginalized communities.”
