Advertisers Ditch X After Elon Musk Endorses Anti-Semitic Theory - Bl…

Advertisers Ditch X After Elon Musk Endorses Anti-Semitic Theory

His tweet endorsing an antisemitic theory that sent advertisers fleeing comes after years of increasing interaction with extremist content.

Twitter Is Dead, X Is Elon’s Personal Propaganda Platform, Where Grok Checks His Feed Before Answering

Last week, Elon Musk’s Grok AI started spewing extreme antisemitism, calling itself “MechaHitler” and pushing conspiracy theories about Jewish people. But that wasn’t the mo…

How Elon Musk uses his X social media platform to amplify right-wing views

As X’s owner and most followed user, Elon Musk has increasingly used it as a microphone to amplify his political views and those of the often right-wing figures he’s aligned with.

Elon Musk's X Rots Your Brain

Data indicates that Elon Musk's X algorithms indisputably drive users into right wing propaganda rabbit holes from which they may not be able to untether themselves.

Grok Becomes ‘MechaHitler,’ Twitter Becomes X: How Centralized Tech Is Prone To Fascist Manipulation

This week, Elon Musk’s Grok AI started spewing extreme antisemitism, responding with conspiracy theories about Jewish people, and for a brief period telling people to call it “MechaHitl…

Elon Musk’s X Is A Misinformation Machine—And Black Women Saw It Coming - Essence

For years, Black women have sounded the alarm about digital manipulation. X’s new policies prove how right they were.

A few weeks of X’s algorithm can make you more right-wing – and it doesn’t wear off quickly

Elon Musk’s social media platform is boosting conservative content – and it’s having long-lasting effects on how users see the world.

A few weeks of X’s algorithm can make you more right-wing – and it doesn’t wear off quickly

Elon Musk’s social media platform is boosting conservative content – and it’s having long-lasting effects on how users see the world.

Report: Tweets with racial slurs soar since Musk takeover

Instances of racial slurs have soared on Twitter since Elon Musk purchased the influential platform, despite assurances from the platform that it had reduced hateful activity, a digital civil rights group reported Thursday.

Musk’s AI Grok bot rants about ‘white genocide’ in South Africa in unrelated chats

X chatbot tells users it was ‘instructed by my creators’ to accept ‘white genocide as real and racially motivated’

Study finds persistent spike in hate speech on X - Berkeley News

The new analysis contradicts the social media platform’s claims that exposure to hate speech and bot-like activity decreased during Elon Musk’s tenure.

X under Musk’s leadership: Substantial hate and no reduction in inauthentic activity

Numerous studies have reported an increase in hate speech on X (formerly Twitter) in the months immediately following Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform on October 27th, 2022; relatedly, despite Musk’s pledge to “defeat the spam bots,” a recent study reported no substantial change in the concentration of inauthentic accounts. However, it is not known whether any of these trends endured. We address this by examining material posted on X from the beginning of 2022 through June 2023, the period that includes Musk’s full tenure as CEO. We find that the increase in hate speech just before Musk bought X persisted until at least May of 2023, with the weekly rate of hate speech being approximately 50% higher than the months preceding his purchase, although this increase cannot be directly attributed to any policy at X. The increase is seen across multiple dimensions of hate, including racism, homophobia, and transphobia. Moreover, there is a doubling of hate post “likes,” indicating increased engagement with hate posts. In addition to measuring hate speech, we also measure the presence of inauthentic accounts on the platform; these accounts are often used in spam and malicious information campaigns. We find no reduction (and a possible increase) in activity by these users after Musk purchased X, which could point to further negative outcomes, such as the potential for scams, interference in elections, or harm to public health campaigns. Overall, the long-term increase in hate speech, and the prevalence of potentially inauthentic accounts, are concerning, as these factors can undermine safe and democratic online environments, and increase the risk of offline harms.

X under Musk’s leadership: Substantial hate and no reduction in inauthentic activity

Numerous studies have reported an increase in hate speech on X (formerly Twitter) in the months immediately following Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform on October 27th, 2022; relatedly, despite Musk’s pledge to “defeat the spam bots,” a recent study reported no substantial change in the concentration of inauthentic accounts. However, it is not known whether any of these trends endured. We address this by examining material posted on X from the beginning of 2022 through June 2023, the period that includes Musk’s full tenure as CEO. We find that the increase in hate speech just before Musk bought X persisted until at least May of 2023, with the weekly rate of hate speech being approximately 50% higher than the months preceding his purchase, although this increase cannot be directly attributed to any policy at X. The increase is seen across multiple dimensions of hate, including racism, homophobia, and transphobia. Moreover, there is a doubling of hate post “likes,” indicating increased engagement with hate posts. In addition to measuring hate speech, we also measure the presence of inauthentic accounts on the platform; these accounts are often used in spam and malicious information campaigns. We find no reduction (and a possible increase) in activity by these users after Musk purchased X, which could point to further negative outcomes, such as the potential for scams, interference in elections, or harm to public health campaigns. Overall, the long-term increase in hate speech, and the prevalence of potentially inauthentic accounts, are concerning, as these factors can undermine safe and democratic online environments, and increase the risk of offline harms.