Musk’s X disabled feature for reporting electoral misinformation – researcher
SYDNEY听–听Elon听惭耻蝉办’蝉听X, formerly called Twitter,听诲颈蝉补产濒别诲听a听蹿别补迟耻谤别听that let users report听尘颈蝉颈苍蹿辞谤尘补迟颈辞苍听about elections, a research organisation said on Wednesday, throwing fresh concern about false claims spreading just before major US and Australian votes.
After introducing a听蹿别补迟耻谤别听in 2022 for users to report a post they considered misleading about politics, X in the past week removed the “politics” category from its drop-down menu in every jurisdiction but the European Union, said the听谤别蝉别补谤肠丑别谤听Reset.Tech Australia.
Users could still report posts to X globally for a host of other complaints such as promoting violence or hate speech, the听谤别蝉别补谤肠丑别谤听added.
X was not immediately available for comment.
Removing a way for people to report suspected political听尘颈蝉颈苍蹿辞谤尘补迟颈辞苍听may limit intervention at a time when social media platforms are under pressure to curtail falsehoods about听别濒别肠迟辞谤补濒听integrity, which have grown rapidly in recent years.
It comes less than three weeks before Australia holds a referendum, its first in a quarter century, on whether to change the constitution to establish an Indigenous advisory body to parliament and 14 months before a US presidential election.
“It would be helpful to understand why X have seemingly gone backwards on their commitments to mitigating the kind of serious听尘颈蝉颈苍蹿辞谤尘补迟颈辞苍听that has translated into real political instability in the US, especially on the eve of the ‘bumper year’ of elections globally,” said Alice Dawkins, executive director of Reset.Tech Australia.
In a letter to X’s managing director for Australia, Angus Keene, Reset.Tech聽础耻蝉迟谤补濒颈补听said the change may leave content that violates X’s own policy banning听别濒别肠迟辞谤补濒听尘颈蝉颈苍蹿辞谤尘补迟颈辞苍听online without an appropriate review process.
“It is extremely concerning that Australians would lose the ability to report serious听尘颈蝉颈苍蹿辞谤尘补迟颈辞苍听weeks away from a major referendum,” said the letter which was published online.
Since Mr. Musk took Twitter, as it was then known, private in late 2022, the company, which cut most of its workforce, has been accused of allowing the proliferation of antisemitism, hate speech and听尘颈蝉颈苍蹿辞谤尘补迟颈辞苍.
As previously reported by Reuters, Reset.Tech Australia found聽聽to remove or label a single post containing听尘颈蝉颈苍蹿辞谤尘补迟颈辞苍听about the Australian referendum over a three-week period, including after it was reported using the now-诲颈蝉补产濒别诲听feature.
Mr. Musk has said X’s “Community Notes”听蹿别补迟耻谤别, which allows users to comment on posts to flag false or misleading content, is a better way of fact checking. But those notes are only made public when they are rated as helpful by a range of contributors with varying points of view, according to X’s website.
Australia’s internet safety regulator聽聽demanding an explanation for an explosion in hate speech on the platform, noting it had reinstated some 62,000 high profile accounts of individuals who espouse Nazi rhetoric.
The Australian听贰濒别肠迟辞谤补濒听Commission (AEC), which will oversee the Oct. 14 referendum, has said the spread of听别濒别肠迟辞谤补濒听尘颈蝉颈苍蹿辞谤尘补迟颈辞苍听is the worst it has seen.
The commission said it was still able to report posts containing political听尘颈蝉颈苍蹿辞谤尘补迟颈辞苍听directly to X, even after the听蹿别补迟耻谤别听was听诲颈蝉补产濒别诲. For other users, the AEC was “available for people to ask questions or seek information”. – Reuters
