Researchers have jumped to blame Elon Musk’s new rules for his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, for allowing misleading videos and posts on the Israel-Palestine conflict to proliferate, reported Bloomberg on Tuesday.
The “researchers” in question included Mike Rothschild, a journalist and self-proclaimed “conspiracy theory expert” who said the conflict that broke out over the weekend was “the first real test of Elon Musk’s version of Twitter, and it failed spectacularly.” As he writes on the cover of his book Jewish Space Lasers, he has no relation to the infamous Rothschild banking dynasty. Rothschild is a vocal support of the anti-misinformation movement, and has testified before U.S. Congress about the dangers of conspiracy theories.
“It’s now almost impossible to tell what’s a fact, what’s a rumor, what’s a conspiracy theory, and what’s trolling,” Rothschild said. “Musk’s changes haven’t just made X useless during a time of crisis. They’ve made it actively worse.”
Videos, photos, and written posts flooded X feeds on Saturday, showing missile strikes, explosions, kidnappings, and children in cages. Many of these posts were later revealed to have misidentified the perpetrators—figures described as Hamas militants were actually Israelis, and vice versa—and some were outright fabrications, clips taken from previous conflicts and events.
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News of the attack on Israel was “the first real test of Elon Musk’s version of Twitter, and it failed spectacularly," a researcher says. https://t.co/kJHWgAUMux
— Bloomberg (@business) October 10, 2023
Accounts with blue checkmarks (formerly a badge of prestige bestowed only to those deemed important persons by Twitter’s content moderation team but are now available for a price of $8 or $11 for iOS users under Musk) are accused by critics of having shared the incorrect clips widely.
On Monday, an X corporate account addressed the situation, writing that “a cross-company leadership group has assessed this moment as a crisis requiring the highest level of response” but it “believes that, while difficult, it’s in the public’s interest to understand what’s happening in real time.” It told users to adjust their settings to control what posts they see.
In a different post, X also drew attention to its Community Notes feature, which attempts to clarify content and flags misleading information. “@CommunityNotes is a way for people on X to add context to posts, helping the others understand more about what they are seeing. We add new contributors regularly and just added more today.”
When critical moments happen, people on X share their perspective in real time. @CommunityNotes is a way for people on X to add context to posts, helping the others understand more about what they are seeing. We add new contributors regularly and just added more today.…
— Safety (@Safety) October 9, 2023
CEO of X Linda Yaccarino, who was appointed in the Spring to increase ad revenue on the platform, encouraged users to become part of the Community Notes program and help the app verify content.
Community Notes now appear more quickly on X. They’re a vital tool for adding context and combating potential misinformation. Become part of this important community. https://t.co/VJIUCQe1ks
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) October 9, 2023
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