X in Hot Waters Again After EU Officials Revelation

Since Elon Musk’s takeover of X (formerly Twitter), the platform has been subjected to different controversies. Recently, European Union officials cautioned against X and declared it one of the main propagators of fake news and disinformation. The officials urged Elon Musk to boost efforts to curb the spread of such content.

However, the EU’s concerns weren’t limited to X. They also urged other tech giants, which include Google, TikTok, Microsoft, and Meta, to take more stringent measures to curb disinformation, a significant portion of which originates from Russia. This call to action is specifically relevant in the lead-up to upcoming elections in some countries around the globe.

The Vice President of the European Commission, Jourova, voiced in prepared remarks that X showed the “largest ratio of misinformation posts” among the platforms that submitted reports to the EU. Of particular concern is the rapidity with which propagandists of fake news organize to reach their target audience.

Jourova further said,

Disinformation actors were found to have significantly more followers. And tend to have joined the platform more recently than non-disinformation users. I expect the platforms to do more efforts with better results. Russian propaganda and disinformation is still very present on online platforms. This is not business as usual; the Kremlin fights with bombs in Ukraine, but with words everywhere else, including in the EU.

The European Commission (executive branch of the EU) published a study analyzing six online platforms in Poland, Slovakia, and Spain. There are concerns related to the surge in disinformation, specifically in the context of the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Slovakia, which are scheduled for this Saturday, along with next month’s elections in Poland. In addition, the European Parliament elections are on the horizon for 2023.

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