Elon Musk's X Unveils Shocking Truth About Israel-Hamas Misinformation - Revealing Report
Premium verified accounts on Elon Musk's X platform are capitalizing on the spread of Israel-Hamas misinformation, reveals a report These influential accounts pay the social media company to boost visibility, amplifying their false narratives about the conflict
A recent report has revealed that premium, "verified" accounts on Elon Musk's X platform are among the main sources of misinformation about the Israel-Hamas war. These accounts pay the social media company, formerly known as Twitter, to promote their posts and increase their visibility. This has led to the spread of objectively false claims that are going viral and reaching millions of users on X. NewsGuard, an information analysis company, attributes this phenomenon partly to the changes made to the platform by Musk, making it more susceptible to the dissemination of misinformation.
NewsGuard has identified seven accounts that it categorizes as "misinformation superspreaders." These accounts have been involved in spreading false claims about the conflict, despite the fact that such claims have been widely debunked. NewsGuard pointed out that all of these accounts are taking advantage of X's verification policy, which favors posts from users who pay a monthly fee of $8. Additionally, verified users are offered financial incentives, further encouraging the dissemination of misinformation.
According to NewsGuard, some of the most widely circulated falsehoods on X regarding the war include the use of videos from previous conflicts that have no connection to the current situation. These recycled videos are being utilized to make deceptive assertions about both Israel and Hamas (CNN has also debunked some of these videos).
NewsGuard conducted an analysis on 250 highly popular posts from the first week of the conflict that propagated false or baseless claims about the situation. According to NewsGuard's report on Thursday, these posts received a total of 1,349,979 engagements and were viewed over 100 million times worldwide in just one week. Out of the 250 posts, 186 were posted by premium X accounts. CNN has requested supporting information from NewsGuard to independently verify the data.
After the release of NewsGuard's report on Thursday, Musk took to X to express his view that the company should be disbanded immediately. CNN has contacted X and Musk for additional comments.
Following the European Union's recent actions, an investigation has been initiated into X regarding the dissemination of disinformation and illegal content pertaining to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In a recent letter to the EU, X CEO Linda Yaccarino revealed that the company has taken proactive measures to address the ever-changing landscape of the industry. Yaccarino highlighted that resources have been reallocated, and internal teams have been redirected to effectively tackle this pressing issue.
Following the implementation of new legislation pertaining to illegal content and disinformation on popular social media platforms, the EU has officially requested additional details from X competitors Meta and TikTok regarding their efforts in eliminating potentially offensive content. However, it is worth noting that the EU has not initiated an investigation against either company.
Previously, blue verified check marks were used to signify that X had verified the identity of individuals or organizations behind an account. However, Musk modified the policy earlier this year, eliminating the verification process and making the blue badge accessible to almost anyone who is willing to pay a $8 monthly subscription fee for X Premium. As a result, posts from paying users are given higher priority, increasing their chances of being viewed by a larger audience.
In May, the stock market experienced a temporary decline due to the dissemination of fake images of an alleged "explosion" near the Pentagon by verified accounts on X.
