Investigation reveals that Elon Musk spread false information 50 times on X without applying fact-checking by Community Notes

By Daniel Oberhaus

Elon Musk has expressed his support for former President Donald Trump in the 2024 US presidential election and posts his opinions related to the election on X (formerly Twitter). However, a survey by the Digital Hate Countermeasures Center, a non-profit organization that aims to prevent the spread of online misinformation and hate speech, pointed out that although many of Musk's posts contain falsehoods, the ' Community Notes ' system that corrects or supplements erroneous posts is not functioning.

Elon Musk's misleading election claims have accrued 1.2 billion views on X, new analysis says
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Elon Musk deletes post spreading fake news about UK 'detainment camps' - Politics.co.uk
https://www.politics.co.uk/news/2024/08/08/elon-musk-deletes-post-spreading-fake-news-about-uk-detainment-camps/

Anti-hate group says Elon Musk continues to peddle election falsehoods on X unchecked
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Community Notes is a feature that began in 2021 under the name 'Birdwatch.' The main purpose of the feature is to warn against posts that spread propaganda and misinformation, and information that corrects different opinions and errors through fact-checking is added. Birdwatch was initially only available in the United States, but as a result of attracting attention for misinformation about Russia's invasion of Ukraine in March 2022 and misinformation about the new coronavirus in the same year, the name was changed to Community Notes in November 2022 and it has been rolled out outside the United States. In an interview with Wired, Musk said, 'Community Notes is a 'game changer for fighting misinformation' and 'a great possibility for improving the accuracy of information.''

'Community Note,' a service that allows Twitter users to fact-check tweets, is now available worldwide, including in Japan - GIGAZINE

The Digital Hate Prevention Center pointed out that among Musk's posts in 2024, there were 50 instances of 'X spreading content that was proven false by fact checkers.' In particular, Musk's frequent claim is that 'the Democratic Party is 'importing' votes from illegal immigrants,' and according to the Digital Hate Prevention Center, he mentioned this issue at least 42 times in 2024 alone, with a total of more than 747 million views. However, fact-checks by NBC News and other media outlets have found that the claim that immigrants and other foreigners have gained the right to vote is false.

In addition, on August 8, 2024, Musk spread the false news that 'British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is creating emergency detention centers in the Falkland Islands.' However, this news was a fake article shared by a representative of a far-right party opposed to Prime Minister Starmer, and although Musk deleted the post 35 minutes later, it had been viewed more than 1.8 million times at that time.

Elon Musk reposted a fake message shared by a far-right political party that 'detention camps will be built in the UK' and deleted it within 30 minutes - GIGAZINE

None of Musk's 50 false posts displayed Community Notes, and Digital Hate Center CEO Imran Ahmed said, 'This calls into question the effectiveness of X's user-driven fact-checking system. Musk has told advertisers, governments and others that Community Notes is X's solution to the disinformation problem, but if no rebuttals to Musk's lies are being displayed, it's clear that it's an ineffective feature. It's unclear why Musk's claims aren't being fact-checked, and we need more clarity on what the rules are and whether special rules apply to Musk.'

Ahmed argues that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides immunity for providers, should be amended to include the spread of false information by Musk and other false posts on X, so that 'social media companies should be held liable, just as newspapers, broadcasters, and other companies across the United States are when they spread false information.'

On the other hand, Musk filed a lawsuit against the Digital Hate Prevention Center in August 2023, claiming that 'X is illegally scraping its servers and making them a source of hateful posts as part of a campaign to drive away advertisers.' In an official blog post, X said, 'We have a great responsibility to protect freedom of expression. We will continue to work with all partners who want to protect people's right to free expression and strive to create a safe and healthy space for all.'