Is this (finally) the end for X? Delicate Musk-Trump relationship and growing rivals spell trouble for platform; The Guardian, November 17, 2024

Siân Boyle , The Guardian; Is this (finally) the end for X? Delicate Musk-Trump relationship and growing rivals spell trouble for platform

"As recently as 2022, Musk tweeted that “for Twitter to deserve public trust, it must be politically neutral, which effectively means upsetting the far right and the far left equally.” He tweeted that “Trump would be 82 at end of his term, which is too old to be chief executive of anything, let alone the United States of America.”

Months later, when Musk bought Twitter for $44bn, he fired content moderators and charged for account verification, which meant people could buy influence. Twitter was rebranded to X, shed millions of users and reinstated Trumps’s account, suspended after the White House insurrection in January 2021.

The proliferation on X of alt-right diatribe, hate speech and bots, as well as Musk’s own clash with the UK government during the riots in August, have led to mounting disquiet among X users. The Guardian and Observer announced last week that their presence on the site was now untenable and they would no longer post. Stephen King, the author, left, saying it had become “too toxic”. Oscar-winners Barbra Streisand and Jamie Lee Curtis have departed the platform.

“X has become effectively Truth Social premium,” said Mark Carrigan, author of Social Media for Academics, referring to Trump’s hard-right social media platform. And the talk in technology circles is that Trump’s Truth Social could be folded into X.

If that happens, whose interests take priority? Would Musk suppress criticism of the authoritarian governments he does business with, or promote it? In the Donald and Elon media show, who is the puppet or paymaster?

“If that happens, it will be the ultimate amplification machine for Trump’s ideas – a political super-app masquerading as social media,” said James Kirkham of Iconic, which advises brands including Uber and EA Sports on digital strategies. “Forget Facebook or Fox News; the true heart of the GOP’s digital strategy could be X.”"

The exodus from X to Bluesky has happened – the era of mass social media platforms is over; The Guardian, November 15, 2024

Gaby Hinsliff, The Guardian; The exodus from X to Bluesky has happened – the era of mass social media platforms is over

"Platforms come and go, but this feels different: the final death of the idea that social media could ever be the internet’s town square, a global meeting place for ideas that would broaden all our horizons. Now, the future of social media looks increasingly segregated for users’ safety, like rival fans at football."

BLUESKY SURGES WITH 700,000 NEW MEMBERS AS USERS FLEE X AFTER US ELECTION; CEO Today, November 12, 2024

CEO Today; BLUESKY SURGES WITH 700,000 NEW MEMBERS AS USERS FLEE X AFTER US ELECTION

"Bluesky Surges with 700,000 New Members as Users Flee X After US Election: A Social Media Revolution in the Making

In the wake of the US election, a quiet revolution has been unfolding in the world of social media. The platform Bluesky has seen a dramatic increase in user growth, with over 700,000 new members joining in just one week following the election results. This surge has propelled Bluesky’s user base to 14.5 million globally, up from 9 million in September. The platform’s meteoric rise is largely attributed to disillusioned social media users seeking a safer, more regulated alternative to X (formerly Twitter), especially after the platform underwent a radical transformation under Elon Musk's ownership and his association with US president-elect Donald Trump.

Bluesky, which originated as a project within Twitter before becoming an independent platform in 2022, has quickly become a refuge for those seeking a break from the rising tide of far-right activism, misinformation, and offensive content that has overtaken X in recent months. As X grapples with growing controversy and user dissatisfaction, Bluesky is capitalizing on the opportunity to position itself as a civil and balanced alternative...

The Growing Backlash Against X and Musk’s Vision

The rise of Bluesky is part of a broader trend of backlash against X since Elon Musk's acquisition of the platform. Under Musk’s leadership, X has shifted its focus, alienating a significant portion of its user base. In the aftermath of the US election, many have expressed concerns about the platform's increasing alignment with far-right political groups and its potential transformation into a propaganda tool for Trump and his supporters.

For example, a prominent critic of X, historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat, who had 250,000 followers on X, noted that she picked up 21,000 followers within her first day on Bluesky after moving to the platform. She shared her concerns about X's potential evolution into a far-right radicalization machine under Musk’s stewardship. Ben-Ghiat said, "After January, when X could be owned by a de facto member of the Trump administration, its functions as a Trump propaganda outlet and far-right radicalization machine could be accelerated."

This sentiment reflects the growing sense of unease among users about the political direction of X. As Musk’s political ties become clearer and his rhetoric becomes more controversial, users who once considered X a neutral platform for conversation now see it as a space increasingly hostile to their values. For many, Bluesky is emerging as the antidote to this growing disillusionment."

A deepfake showed MLK Jr. backing Trump. His daughter calls it ‘vile.’; The Washington Post, November 4, 2024

 Pranshu Verma, The Washington Post; A deepfake showed MLK Jr. backing Trump. His daughter calls it ‘vile.’

"The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter Bernice on Monday condemned an artificially generated video of the Civil Rights leader praising former president Donald Trump, as both parties court Black voters ahead of Election Day.

The video, posted Sunday night on the social network X by a pro-Trump account called MAGA Resource, falsely depicted King urging Black people to vote for Trump, claiming he did “more for the Black community than any other president.” By late Monday it had garnered over 10 million views...

During the 2024 election, AI-generated misinformation has repeatedly gone viral, drawing attention from regulators and observers watching for the effect AI may have on the democratic process. AI experts are unsure how much impact this content has had on changing people’s opinions of the candidates or their choices at the ballot box.

In March, the BBC unearthed dozens of AI-generated false images portraying Black people supporting Trump. X owner Elon Musk, who supports Trump, in July targeted Biden’s replacement in the race, sharing on X an AI-generated audio deepfake of Vice President Kamala Harris falsely celebrating the president’s decision to drop out. The clip was viewed over 100 million times."

'Targeted disinformation' warning: Beware of social media posts, Georgia Secretary of State says; Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB), November 1, 2024

• GPB News Staff, Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB); 'Targeted disinformation' warning: Beware of social media posts, Georgia Secretary of State say

"Halloween night, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger released a warning to voters: Social media posts may include disinformation from foreign sources.

This came after he announced that Georgia exceeded 50% statewide turnout among active voters, with 3,653,333 Georgians having cast ballots, 3,426,851 of those voting early as of Thursday.

“Earlier today, our office became aware of a video purporting to show a Haitian immigrant with multiple Georgia ID’s claiming to have voted multiple times," he wrote.

"This is false and is an example of targeted disinformation we’ve seen in this and other elections. It is likely foreign interference attempting to sow discord and chaos on the eve of the 2024 Presidential election," he said.

The viral video alleging voting fraud in Georgia, claiming a Haitian immigrant has voted multiple times in the sate, had spread widely across social media sites, including X, by Thursday evening.

"This is obviously fake and part of a disinformation effort," Raffensperger wrote. He made the assumption that the post could be the product of "Russian troll farms.""

Raffensperger asks X to take down ‘false’ video purporting to show voter fraud; The Hill, October 31, 2024

JULIANN VENTURA  , The Hill; Raffensperger asks X to take down ‘false’ video purporting to show voter fraud

"Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) said that his office asked Elon Musk, the owner of X, and the leadership of other social platforms to take down a video purporting to show a Haitian immigrant with multiple Georgia IDs who claimed to have voted multiple times.

The secretary’s office said that the video is false and it is working to identify where the video originated. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is also investigating the matter, according to a press release."

Elon Musk says X users fight falsehoods. The falsehoods are winning.; The Washington Post, October 30, 2024

Will Oremus

, 

Trisha Thadani

 and 

Jeremy B. Merrill

, The Washington Post; Elon Musk says X users fight falsehoods. The falsehoods are winning.

"When Elon Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, he laid off swaths of workers tasked with moderating the platform and embraced an experimental approach: asking users to fact-check one another.

Musk has touted the crowdsourcing program, called Community Notes, as “the best source of truth on the internet.” But the majority of accurate fact checks proposed by users on political posts are never shown to the public, according to research from the nonprofit Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) and a separate data analysis by The Washington Post — suggesting that the feature is failing to provide a meaningful check on misinformation."

2 years in, Trump surrogate Elon Musk has remade X as a conservative megaphone; NPR, October 25, 2024

Shannon Bond, Bobby Allyn , NPR; 2 years in, Trump surrogate Elon Musk has remade X as a conservative megaphone

"For the owner of one of the internet’s most influential public squares to openly endorse one political party shocked many observers — especially since only six months earlier, as Musk agreed to buy the company, he declared that "For Twitter to deserve public trust, it must be politically neutral, which effectively means upsetting the far right and the far left equally."

Now, as both the 2024 election and the second anniversary of Musk's takeover of Twitter loom, the billionaire has completely evaporated any notion of political neutrality on the platform he's renamed X because his influence on it remains outsized.

Musk has put his money and mouth behind returning Donald Trump to the White House, pouring $75 million into a super PAC he created to turn out voters in battleground states and using X to cheerlead for Trump, smear Vice President Kamala Harris, and amplify rumors and conspiracy theories to his 202 million followers."

Is X a threat to American democracy?; The Tufts Daily, October 16, 2024

 Olivia Bye, The Tufts Daily; Is X a threat to American democracy?

"Park’s experience on the site mirrors that of X’s roughly 550 million monthly users and can largely be attributed to X’s acquisition by multi-billionaire businessman and investor Elon Musk in October 2022. In the two years following Musk’s purchase of X, the site has seen unprecedented levels of misinformation and disinformation clouding its user base, a trend that has only been exacerbated in recent months by the 2024 presidential election. The combination of growing artificial intelligence capabilities and a social media platform that has, in nearly every sense, exonerated its regulations of what can or cannot be shared to the site has raised the question: Is X a threat to American democracy?...

However, Associate Professor of Political Science Michael Beckley is skeptical that the increase in political misinformation sets this year’s presidential election apart, citing comparable patterns that have occurred throughout history. “We’ve seen similar things when radio first came out. [People wondered], was this going to allow strong men to rally people behind their cause? We saw the same thing with TV,” he said. “So [the misinformation] is jarring, but I don’t see it as a unique factor. It is rather a pretty chronic factor in a democratic system.”

Kelly Greenhill, an associate professor of Political Science, identifies the normalization of false information spread by notable figures as a key reason behind increased disinformation in the media... 

Greenhill suggests that possibly the best solution to avoid X’s abundance of misinformation is, simply, to leave. “People don’t have to use X. They can leave. They can delete their accounts. They can also leave social media. They may not want to, and they may not choose to, but they can,” she wrote. Some users are choosing to do just that; social media sites that have advertised themselves as alternatives to X, such as Bluesky and Mastodon, have amassed popularity in recent years."

On X, the Definition of ‘Blocking’ Is About to Change; The New York Times, October 21, 2024

Sandra E. Garcia , The New York Times; On X, the Definition of ‘Blocking’ Is About to Change

"A lot has changed on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter since Elon Musk bought it two years ago. The company, renamed X, is on the verge of yet another major shift, with changes coming for what happens when one user blocks another.

The block function, a powerful tool which makes your account effectively invisible to anyone of your choosing, will soon let those people see what you are posting. The difference, according to a thread posted by X’s engineering account, is that blocked users will not be able to engage with the post in any way...

The overall sentiment from users, however, is that the impending change to the block feature will allow for more abuse."

Twitter Barred Them.: What Happened When Elon Musk Brought Them Back?; The New York Times, October 12, 2024

Kate CongerTiffany Hsu and Aaron Krolik, The New York Times;  Twitter Barred Them.: What Happened When Elon Musk Brought Them Back?

"After Hurricane Helene, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the hard-right conservative from Georgia, shared on X the widely debunked claim that government scientists could control the weather. “It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done,” she wrote in one post.

The conspiracy theorist Alex Jones repeatedly posted on X erroneous claims about Hurricanes Helene and Milton, including that the Pentagon had somehow engineered the storms.

“Treason Alert,” Mr. Jones wrote in one post. “America is the target,” he warned in another.

In just those three posts, Ms. Greene and Mr. Jones racked up a combined 72,000 likes, and over 34,000 shares. They are only a handful of the many misleading diatribes and conspiracy theories that regularly appear on X.

Not long ago, those two would not have been able to publish those posts through their accounts.

Ms. Greene and Mr. Jones are among a large set of users who were barred from the site for spreading misinformation, inciting violence or otherwise violating its rules — and were reinstated after Elon Musk bought the platform, then known as Twitter, two years ago.

Many of these people picked up where they left off, according to a New York Times analysis of 50,000 posts by more than 100 high-profile reinstated users. They include Laura Loomer, a right-wing influencer who has campaigned with Mr. Trump; Mike Lindell, the chief executive of MyPillow; and Rogan O’Handley, a right-wing political commentator. All have a broad reach — at least 100,000 followers — and were identified by researchers who study disinformation or extremism on X."

Russia shares AI images of Hurricane Milton as disinformation abounds in US; The Guardian, October 10, 2024

 Ben Makuch, The Guardian; Russia shares AI images of Hurricane Milton as disinformation abounds in US

"On Thursday morning, pictures were circulating on X, formerly Twitter, showing a flooded promenade at Disney World in Orlando with the Cinderella castle at its center.

“Hurricane Milton has flooded Disney World in Orlando,” wrote one known vector of disinformation on X, with the photos, which X users immediately noted was probably created using an automated AI image creator. The post has already been viewed over 300,000 times.

Other versions of the same, allegedly deceptive post were also translated into Spanish and other languages then spread across X. The platform has added a warning indicating the images are AI-generated fakes.

Still, that didn’t stop RIA Novosti, one of Russia’s top state-owned news agencies from reposting the images to its official Telegram channel."

'Enraging': Republicans ‘suddenly’ see disinformation problem amid hurricane crisis; MSNBC, October 9, 2024

 MSNBC; 'Enraging': Republicans ‘suddenly’ see disinformation problem amid hurricane crisis

"Republicans "suddenly see a conflict between the welfare of their constituents and the toxic effect of their party's propaganda," says Chris Hayes on GOP officials debunking hurricane disinformation spread by members of their own party."

Elon Musk is piling onto all the hurricane disinformation, hampering relief efforts; Politico, October 8, 2024

ADAM ATON and SCOTT WALDMAN, Politico; Elon Musk is piling onto all the hurricane disinformation, hampering relief efforts

"Elon Musk is using his social media network to spread election conspiracy theories about U.S. disasters — just as online falsehoods are complicating the federal response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton...

Falsehoods about natural disasters complicate the logistics of disaster response, which can hinge on survivors cooperating with a patchwork of authorities, the FEMA leaders said this week. They warned that conspiracy theories have already hampered the work of rescue and recovery...

Republicans, Democrats and nonpartisan officials have pushed back on the claims from Musk — as well those from Trump, who has gone even further and falsely accused Democrats of blocking aid to Republican-leaning areas. GOP officials in those areas say federal agencies and officials have been in close contact...

Musk’s amplification of conspiracies comes as he prepares to hit the campaign trail for Trump in the next month before November’s election, with a focus on Pennsylvania...

After their conversation Friday, Musk thanked Buttigieg on X: “Just wanted to note that Sec Buttigieg is on the ball.” And in a Monday interview with Tucker Carlson on X, Musk credited Buttigieg with waiving “insane” flight planning requirements.

“I want to give Buttigieg some credit here,” Musk said. “When I complained about it, he reacted in a very levelheaded way. And he reached out to me, and he called me. And we discussed the issue, got to the bottom of it, and he fixed it.”...

Internationally, Musk and his social media company have faced penalties for what other governments have described as disinformation and hate speech." 

Helene recovery is more political online than on the ground; NPR, October 7, 2024

Jeff Brady, Liz Baker , NPR; Helene recovery is more political online than on the ground

"Elon Musk’s social media platform X has been an especially fertile place for politically charged rumors and conspiracies. Sometimes they have been fueled by the billionaire himself.

On Friday Musk fed into a common complaint online that governments are preventing private citizens from offering help to people in need. Musk wrotethat his “blood is boiling” after engineers from his company SpaceX tried to offer help via helicopter but “@FEMA wouldn’t let them land to deliver critical supplies.”

Actually the Federal Aviation Administration regulates airspace and the FAA said in a statement that following Helene the skies have been crowded and it's trying to maintain safety. A federal official confirmed to NPR that there have been more than 30 cases where two aircraft almost collided, as air traffic in the region increased 300% after the storm. There are no restrictions to aerial recovery operations.

Perhaps no area in North Carolina has been the subject of more blatant false online rumors than Chimney Rock — including the persistent untrue claim that FEMA abandoned the village so that the Biden administration can mine lithium there.

“Anything that you see, that you hear that sounds like that is not true,” says village mayor Peter O’Leary."

“Elon Musk’s Mother Under Fire For Urging Trump Supporters to Vote Illegally En Masse: ‘We Should Work The System’”; Election Law Blog, October 6, 2024

RICK HASEN , Election Law Blog; “Elon Musk’s Mother Under Fire For Urging Trump Supporters to Vote Illegally En Masse: ‘We Should Work The System’”

"About Election Law Blog

Professor Richard L. Hasen is an internationally recognized expert in election law and campaign finance regulation, writing as well in the areas of legislation and statutory interpretation, remedies, and torts. He is co-author of leading casebooks in election law and remedies. Hasen served in 2020 as a CNN Election Law Analyst. He directs UCLA Law’s Safeguarding Democracy Project…. Read full bio on the UCLA Law website."

Elon Musk Costarred in Trump’s Disinformation Fest in Butler; Mother Jones, October 6, 2024

Julianne McShane, Mother Jones; Elon Musk Costarred in Trump’s Disinformation Fest in Butler

"On Saturday, Elon Musk furthered an ongoing effort in support of Donald Trump: He went onstage to sow misinformation about the integrity of American elections...

Musk’s stated concerns about free speech and truth seem especially strange given that the CCDH report found that Musk’s own social media platform is an engine of disinformation. In August, five secretaries of state warned Musk about Grok, the AI-powered search assistant available to premium X subscribers, after it disseminated false information about Harris being ineligible to appear on the ballots in multiple states."

Judge blocks California’s new AI law in case over Kamala Harris deepfake; TechCrunch, October 2, 2024

Maxwell Zeff, Tech Crunch ; Judge blocks California’s new AI law in case over Kamala Harris deepfake

"A federal judge blocked one of California’s new AI laws on Wednesday, less than two weeks after it was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. Shortly after signing AB 2839, Newsom suggested it could be used to force Elon Musk to take down an AI deepfake of Vice President Kamala Harris he had reposted (sparking a petty online battle between the two). However, a California judge just ruled the state can’t force people to take down election deepfakes – not yet, at least.

AB 2839 targets the distributors of AI deepfakes on social media, specifically if their post resembles a political candidate and the poster knows it’s a fake that may confuse voters. The law is unique because it does not go after the platforms on which AI deepfakes appear, but rather those who spread them. AB 2839 empowers California judges to order the posters of AI deepfakes to take them down or potentially face monetary penalties.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the original poster of that AI deepfake – an X user named Christopher Kohls – filed a lawsuit to block California’s new law as unconstitutional just a day after it was signed. Kohls’ lawyer wrote in a complaint that the deepfake of Kamala Harris is satire that should be protected by the First Amendment.

On Wednesday, United States district judge John Mendez sided with Kohls. Mendez ordered a preliminary injunction to temporarily block California’s attorney general from enforcing the new law against Kohls or anyone else, with the exception of audio messages that fall under AB 2839.

Read for yourself what Judge Mendez said in his decision:..

It’s nevertheless a big win for Elon Musk’s camp of free speech posters on X. In the days following Newsom signing AB 2839 into law, Musk and his usual allies posted a series of AI deepfakes that tested California’s new law."

New book ‘Character Limit’ explores Musk’s impact on social media after buying Twitter; PBS News Hour, October 2, 2024

Ali Rogin , PBS News Hour; New book ‘Character Limit’ explores Musk’s impact on social media after buying Twitter

"He’s the richest person in the world, but also one of the most controversial and increasingly engaged in polarizing political debates. A new book details the tumultuous leadership of Elon Musk and his approach to owning X. Ali Rogin spoke with Kate Conger and Ryan Mac, authors of "Character Limit.""

How Elon Musk and X Became the Biggest Purveyors of Online Misinformation; Rolling Stone, August 9, 2024

Miles Klee , Rolling Stone; How Elon Musk and X Became the Biggest Purveyors of Online Misinformation

"Elon Musk has trouble telling the truth. Whether he’s overpromising on what his companies can accomplish or twisting the facts about his own children, it’s clear he doesn’t feel constrained by reality, which is no doubt what made him into the mogul of misinformation he is today. 

Almost two years after Musk completed his $44 billion takeover of Twitter (now X), he and the platform — where he reigns not just as owner but the most-followed user — have become essential to the life cycle of incendiary falsehoods and conspiracy theories. While mainstream social media companies have long tried to prevent such content from gaining traction, leaving extremists to ply their lies on smaller, obscure, unmoderated networks, Musk fired the Twitter teams tasked with battling deceptive material. He also reinstated thousands of accounts that had received permanent bans, including neo-Nazis and conspiracy kingpin Alex Jones, often engaging with these people himself. On top of that, he changed the verification system into a pay-to-play scheme in which subscribers enjoy boosted visibility; at the same time, it became harder to tell which accounts belonged to genuine public figures.

The removal of Twitter’s (imperfect) guardrails meant that suddenly, for the first time, a major online resource many relied on for news and information was overrun by the manipulative trolls formerly relegated to the fringes of the social web. Misinformation about wars, health, climate change, elections and more flourished alongside violent rhetoric and hate speech, in a digital forum that has actual influence on the course of human events.         

At the center of it all is Musk, whose turn to hard-right ideology has led him to spout and amplify untruths with abandon, algorithmically forcing them onto an audience of millions. But he wasn’t always so deep into the reservoir of easily debunked rumors and bogus claims. In this timeline, we trace how he turned X into a misinformation machine."