A lawyer for Elon Musk’s X Corp has threatened independent researchers who have studied disinformation and hate speech on Twitter.
Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has threatened to sue independent researchers who reported an increase in hate speech and disinformation on the site since it was taken over by Elon Musk last year. .
A lawyer for the billionaire sent a letter on July 20 accusing the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) of making “a series of disturbing and unfounded claims” that target Twitter in general and its digital advertising business in particular. appear to be designed to cause harm.
Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, argued that research into the platform’s failure to monitor hate speech posted by Twitter Blue customers was misleading. Screenshots of the letter were uploaded on the CCDH website.
Spiro sent the letter two days ago, Musk tweeted The non-profit organization lashed out at the censorship, calling it “really bad”.
An Advocate for CCDH replied on monday Musk called the threat “ridiculous” and said it was “a disturbing attempt to intimidate those who have the courage to advocate against online incitement, hate speech and harmful content”.
The CCDH has strongly criticized Twitter in a series of reports, saying the company made millions off anti-LGBTQ+ content and bringing back banned accounts.
Musk, a self-proclaimed free speech supporter, has made major changes to the platform since its acquisition last October.
They include reducing content moderation, replacing the existing Twitter verification system with a paid subscription service, firing most of the staff, and most recently rebranding the platform as X.
Online hate speech is on the rise
CCDH researchers aren’t the only ones who have documented a sharp increase in hate speech on the platform following Musk’s takeover.
a computer scientist in University of Southern CaliforniaAnd his team also found that hate speech on the platform increased significantly after Musk took over. A study by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and CASM Technology also found that anti-Semitism remains “higher than ever” on Twitter.
Imran Ahmed, chief executive officer of the Center for Countering Digital, said “Elon Musk’s actions represent a brazen attempt to silence honest criticism and independent research, in the hopes that he can stem the tide of negative stories and attract advertisers.” We can rebuild our relationship together.” A statement posted on the nonprofit’s website spoke of the hate.
“Advertisers are fleeing his platform for one obvious reason: Elon Musk supports the spread of hate and racism on it, and he doesn’t care to stop it.
in a statementAx said it rejected the claims made by the CCDH and accused the organization of “actively working to stifle free expression”.
This is not the first time that Musk has hit back at his critics.
last year he was suspended Accounts of some prominent journalists Which reported its takeover and also suspended a user for using publicly available data to track his private aircraft.
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