Elon Musk's X Platform Accused of Spreading Israel-Hamas Misinformation, Strips New York Times of Verification Badge
NewsGuard study finds 74% of top viral posts spreading falsehoods on Musk's platform are from paid "verified" accounts; X strips New York Times of recently-introduced gold verification badge without explanation amidst escalating tensions.
- Elon Musk's social media platform, X, has been accused of spreading misinformation about the Israel-Hamas conflict, with a study by NewsGuard finding that 74% of the top viral posts promoting false narratives were from paid 'verified' accounts.
- Since Musk overhauled Twitter and introduced X, any user who pays $8 a month can be 'verified', leading to an increase in the spread of misinformation from these accounts.
- The New York Times had its recently-introduced gold verification badge removed from the X platform without explanation, amidst escalating tensions and claims against the news publication from Musk.
- X has been found to be reducing traffic to news publications, removing headlines from news articles and making it difficult for users to distinguish between a news link and an image.
- The European Commission is warning of penalties under the new Digital Services Act if action is not taken to halt the spread of misinformation on X, leading to an investigation into the platform's compliance with the new law.
Ars Technica 