Elon Musk's X Restructuring Leads to Over 100 Canceled Studies on Disinformation, Sparks Fear of Legal Action Among Researchers

Musk's Policies Threaten Global Research on Disinformation Ahead of Key Election Year, Amid Advertisers And Revenue Decline at X, Formerly Twitter.

Elon Musk's restructuring of X, formerly Twitter, has resulted in over 100 canceled, suspended, or changed studies on disinformation.
Musk's limitations on data access have compromised researchers' ability to track the origin and spread of false information in real-time events.
The company's decision to end free academic access to an API tool, which provided data on approximately 10 million tweets per month, has led to notable losses in research capabilities.
More than 50% of surveyed researchers fear legal action from X due to their findings or use of data, following a lawsuit filed by X against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).
Restrained research abilities and fear of legal repercussions have sparked concerns for global research on disinformation ahead of a major election year.