Elon Musk vowed to make Twitter the “most correct supply of information about the world,” but he has repeatedly used his personal account to amplify false claims from a few of the internet’s most infamous disinformers, as demonstrated by an AFP analysis of his online activity.
Musk’s posts display a penchant for drawing consideration to misinformation on topics ranging from the warfare in Ukraine to the attack on US Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s husband. Just final week, the billionaire gave credence to a tweet suggesting that medical doctors misdiagnosed flu circumstances as Covid-19 deaths.
“One of the greatest mysteries of Covid-19: Where did the flu go in 2020 and 2021?” an account called “KanekoaTheGreat” requested, prompting Musk to reply: “Good question.”
Since snapping up Twitter for a cool $44 billion practically six months ago, the outspoken entrepreneur has replied to this particular account, identified for promoting the QAnon conspiracy theory, no much less than 40 instances. In comparison, he has only responded to a couple other accounts extra during the identical period.
Using information from PolitiTweet, a website that tracked public figures’ posts till Twitter reduce off its entry, AFP reviewed 1000’s of replies Musk published between late October and March.
Among the billionaire’s doubtful shares have been a fabricated CNN segment, a phony quote he dubbed “wise phrases,” and a false declare that police escorted a rioter through the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. He also drew consideration to a publish blaming mass shootings on LGBTQ individuals and endorsed a fake casualty depend from Ukraine.
Musk hasn’t shied away from downplaying Covid-19 both, actively promoting spurious claims about vaccines causing blood clots, miscarriages, and coronary heart issues.
“We are running out of ‘conspiracies’ that turned out to be true!” the Twitter proprietor quipped in March, replying to a tweet that listed Covid-19 and vaccine safety among the “biggest media lies.”
Just days later, he stated that the “best way to struggle misinformation is to respond with correct info.”
Experts argue that Musk’s activity is troubling, due not only to his vast online influence, but in addition as a end result of it reveals his thought course of as somebody who determines the policies of a major social media platform.
“Musk has virtually one hundred thirty five million Twitter followers and forced his engineers to extend the attain of his tweets, so we should always fear when he spreads misinformation,” noted Brendan Nyhan, a Dartmouth College professor who studies misperceptions in politics. “I’m most worried, although, about what these tweets reveal concerning the judgment of the one who determines the policies of a major social media platform.”
– Musk’s feed –
Nest egg have linked recent changes in Twitter’s policy, together with Musk’s reinstatement of suspended accounts and its revamp of verification practices, to surges in misinformation.
NewsGuard, an organization that assesses websites’ credibility, discovered that accounts paying for Twitter’s subscription service are flooding the location with false claims.
Musk himself is shining a highlight on a few of these accounts.
“Got the Elon Musk stamp of approval,” boasted “KanekoaTheGreat” on Telegram after one such reply.
A January research from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a London-based assume tank, documented a “staggering” rise in Musk’s interactions with right-wing accounts since acquiring Twitter, including profiles other research flagged as spreaders of US election misinformation.
Musk has repeatedly retweeted content from sources such because the pro-Donald Trump web page “Catturd,” the anti-LGBTQ account “Libs of TikTok,” and the conspiratorial web site ZeroHedge.
Ian Miles Cheong, a far-right blogger, has received at least 60 replies from Musk, placing him amongst only a few different users who can claim related interaction levels, based on AFP’s analysis. In one case, Musk drew attention to a tweet blaming Joe Biden for an immigration program that started underneath Trump.
“Musk is elevating some of the worst voices on Twitter,” remarked Nyhan. “These interactions are more probably to improve the attain and prominence of the accounts.”
In certain situations, the Twitter boss has played a role in mainstreaming false narratives.
After an intruder broke into Pelosi’s California home and struck her husband with a hammer in October, Musk tweeted a hyperlink to an article alleging he was drunk and combating with a male prostitute. The hashtag #Pelosigaylover quickly became a trending matter on Twitter.
The combination of courtroom filings and safety footage from the incident debunked these claims, which originated from a website with a history of publishing misinformation. By then, nevertheless, the injury was already accomplished.
“It’s actually sad for the country that folks of that prime visibility would separate themselves from the information and the reality in such a blatant way,” Nancy Pelosi lamented. “It is traumatizing to these affected by it. They don’t care about that, clearly.”