Conspiracy theories multiply on Twitter according to associations, which attribute the phenomenon to the return of conspirators and a greater tolerance towards them since Elon Musk’s takeover of the platform.
When the brand of diapers for babies Huggies had to defend itself in March against false accusations of pedophilia, the NGO Media Matters thus traced the origin of the false rumors to an influencer reinstated on the social network. Vincent Kennedy, a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy movement, had been banned from Twitter after the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol in Washington.
He posted a photo of a diaper with the ‘Lion King’ character on it, after circling certain symbols that are part of the design, triangles and spirals, in reference to a conspiracy theory that these were coded signals used by pedophiles.
The false accusation spread like wildfire on other platforms like TikTok, to the point that Kimberly-Clark, the parent company of Kleenex and Huggies, had to deal with an avalanche of hate messages and calls for boycotts.
Some 67,000 banned Twitter accounts for various violations of the regulations (incitement to violence, harassment, misinformation, etc.) have been rehabilitated, following the almost absolutist vision of freedom of expression defended by Elon Musk, according to Travis Brown, a Berliner. . developer and researcher based.
anti-vaccine propaganda
Human rights associations also criticize the head of Tesla and SpaceX for having reduced content moderation teams to a minimum by dismissing thousands of group employees (ie between 50 and 75% of the total workforce).
In a recent interview with the BBC, Elon Musk denied that the rate of toxic tweets has increased since the acquisition.
Experts consulted by AFP identified dozens of examples, from anti-vaccine propaganda to comments by white supremacists. Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of the Accountable Tech association, foresees dire consequences.
“When you reinstate the architects of the January 6 uprising in the midst of a shaky democracy, when you provide a platform for notorious neo-Nazis in the midst of rising anti-Semitism, when you let medical disinformation pass to influential politicians in the midst of a pandemic, there is damage in the real world,” he told AFP. When his account was reinstated, election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell called on his supporters to “melt down the electronic voting machines.”
The Center to Counter Digital Hate (CCDH) points out that defamation against the LGBTQ+ community is reaching new levels on the platform. “Twitter is monetizing hate at an unprecedented level,” says Imran Ahmed, director of CCHR. Five of the accounts that associate the LGBTQ+ community with pedophiles generate up to $6.4 million a year in advertising revenue, according to the NGO.
“Super spreaders of false information”
But experts say this strategy is counterproductive, as it doesn’t make up for the flight of many advertisers, who don’t want their brands supported by problematic tweets.
Twitter’s revenue will fall 28% this year, according to Insider Intelligence, because “advertisers don’t trust Musk,” according to Jasmine Enberg, an analyst at the research firm.
To generate new revenue, Elon Musk has launched a paid subscription (at $8 per month), Twitter Blue, for users who want to get the blue mark, a guarantee of authenticity.
But dozens of “fake news super-spreaders” have bought up the blue mark and are flooding the platform with disinformation, according to the NGO NewsGuard.
“Musk reinstated these accounts to make money and instill what he mistakenly believes is a ‘free speech for all’ mentality, regardless of how this policy turns Twitter into a platform that rewards violent words with more visibility,” he said. Nora Benavidez, from the Free Press Association.
Source: BFM TV
