X, a platform owned by Elon Musk and formerly known as Twitter, has been accused of being susceptible to misinformation and propaganda and is now being formally investigated over the content regarding the Israel-Hamas war. X has been allegedly full of graphic images, hate speech, and terrorist and violent content, causing misinformation about Hamas’ attack on Israel. The European Commission services sent Musk’s platform a request for information under the new EU technology regulation, the Digital Services Act (DSA). EU officials are due to determine whether X has failed to comply with the new framework that seeks to make the online space safer and ensure accountability and transparency of online platforms. Misinformation on such a large scale can have prominent consequences, shaping people’s political opinions and affiliations.
Furthermore, according to Reuters, in his letter to Musk, EU commissioner Thierry Breton expressed: “Given that your platform is extensively used by children and teenagers, you have a particular obligation to protect them from violent content depicting hostage-taking and other graphic videos which are reportedly widely circulating on your platform without appropriate safeguards.”
X, a platform owned by Elon Musk has been accused of being susceptible to minsformation.”
After acquiring X, Musk dissolved the previously existing Trust and Safety Council, responsible for, among others, controlling hate speech. He is also said to have cut the number of employees from 7,500 to approximately 1,500, worsening the efficiency of content moderation. Following the warning given to Musk, EU industry chief Thierry Breton has cautioned Mark Zuckerberg (Meta) and TikTok for not sufficiently controlling the spread of misinformation on their platforms. Major social media companies have been reminded of their need to comply with regulations on the spread of harmful content. EU services requested X to provide information on the activation and functioning of X’s crisis response protocol by 18 October, and other issues by 31 October. Based on the EU’s assessment, the following measures could involve formal proceedings and imposition of penalty payment of up to 6% of the company’s global revenue if found guilty.