Elon Musk posted a pondering emoji and the comment “no one is even trying to assassinate” on his social media platform X, hours after what seemed like an attempt on the life of Donald Trump over the weekend.
Amidst the fabricated anti-Muslim riots in the UK, Musk proclaimed that “civil war is inevitable” in the nation.
And when a mysterious X user exaggerated the number of suspicious voter registrations in three US states, Musk bolstered the bogus post, labeling it as “extremely concerning.”
Officials in the public sector swiftly reacted negatively to all three posts, describing Musk’s statements as careless and deceptive. During tense political times throughout the globe, his remarks have the potential to sow fear, hatred, and disinformation, as they have millions of views and thousands of shares. That’s particularly true given that Musk has the power to influence the way material reaches consumers as the owner of the social platform that was formerly known as Twitter.
Concerns about Musk’s ability to influence public trust are growing as Election Day in the US approaches, due to his 200 million followers and the absence of safeguards on his platform. A more political man than before, he has just backed Trump for president and has even promised to head a government efficiency panel after Trump’s reelection.
During an event on Monday night, Trump acknowledged Musk, calling him a “friend,” and basked in the backing of the tech tycoon. A request for comment sent to Musk’s email went unanswered.
Election authorities and specialists are concerned that Musk could sway voters to cast doubt on the results. However, they are also worried that his statements may incite violence or threats against election officials or candidates.
Worldwide Project Against Hate and Extremism co-founder Heidi Beirich stated, “X and Musk are raising the temperature of politics dangerously and irresponsibly at a critical moment.”. “It’s disgusting.”
Many conservatives applauded the 53-year-old billionaire’s 2022 acquisition and transformation of Twitter, which he envisioned as a marketplace of ideas where users could express themselves freely without fear of censorship. He frequently praised X as an alternative to the conventional media that allows people to express themselves freely and find the “truth.”
False information has disseminated almost unfettered due to the modifications Musk has implemented to the corporation over the past two years.
Following his takeover, he abolished the company’s advisory council for trust and safety and ceased enforcing the rules of hate speech and content moderation. He reinstated the accounts of conspiracy theorists, created a tool called Community Notes that occasionally leads to erroneous comments being placed on postings, and incentivized involvement on the network with rewards and content partnerships.
Numerous unfounded assertions from opposing political factions amass thousands of shares on Musk’s X. Many on the far left falsely believed that Trump had orchestrated the plot after a gunman shot him in the ear during an attempted assassination in Pennsylvania. Additionally, during Trump’s debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, far-right users propagated the false notion that Harris wore an earpiece.
According to UCLA law professor Rick Hasen, the site has been severely damaged by Musk, making it almost unrecognizable from its 2020 status as a credible information clearinghouse.
“The public’s perception of Twitter, or X, has changed significantly. Hasen explained that the platform’s sponsors and millions of users both departed for a cause. He is disseminating horrible ideas…. Hasen elaborated by saying, “The question is will the marketplace of ideas work well enough” to have people see through such messages as fraudulent.
That view is opposed by Musk and a large number of Republicans. They claim that when the facts were not readily available, the site’s prior owner arbitrarily blocked accurate information regarding the origins of COVID-19 and Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden.
The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, utilizes his platform to talk about his businesses, express his opinion that more people should have kids, and make fun of memes and other stuff he finds funny. Politicians’ baseless accusations, such as Democrats “importing” migrants to vote and Haitian migrants in Ohio killing and eating pets, have also been amplified by him on the site.
The Democratic secretary of state of Michigan, Jocelyn Benson, stated earlier this month in an interview that the “maelstrom of disinformation” caused by Musk’s election postings has made it more difficult for individuals in charge of elections to provide voters with accurate information.
According to her, most election administrators simply strive to keep their chins up and get the job done. “How can we reach the citizens, many of whom follow Musk, are members of X, or use the platform, with updates about our work?”
To try and educate Musk and his fans, some election authorities have attempted to engage with him directly. Phoenix is part of Maricopa County, Arizona, and in July, the Republican recorder in charge of elections in the county extended an invitation to Musk via an X post to an exclusive tour of the county’s election facilities.
In the summer of this year, when Musk’s artificial intelligence platform, Grok, was publishing false material regarding election regulations, Democrat Steve Simon, the Minnesota secretary of state, coordinated a letter to Musk with four other secretaries of state. Even though it was late, he still thought Musk should get credit for putting that falsehood to rest.
Regardless of his political leanings, Simon expressed his optimism that Musk can use Twitter’s ability to rectify electoral falsehoods, as the platform was useful before Musk purchased it.
Despite Simon’s assertions that “it’s one thing if you don’t like this election system or that election system in Minnesota,” the dissemination of inaccurate information on voting must be addressed.
A month ago, U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director Jen Easterly addressed a common misunderstanding by commenting on one of Musk’s articles to clarify that the majority of American elections still use paper votes. According to her, “all States w/close presidential vote counts actually used paper records, allowing votes to be counted, recounted, and audited to ensure accuracy” in the most recent 2020 presidential election. So
On occasion, the X owner has taken a step back after realizing his posts were inappropriate. When he sponsored an interview between right-wing radio presenter Tucker Carlson and a Holocaust revisionist in one of his postings earlier this month, he ignited uproar. Afterwards, he erased it.
On Sunday, Musk also removed a post in which he speculated about why Biden and Harris were spared murder attempts. Notwithstanding, White House spokesman Andrew Bates reacted by describing the article as “irresponsible” and said that violence “should only be condemned, never encouraged or joked about.”
According to University of Virginia media studies professor Siva Vaidhyanathan, most famous people watch what they say since they know some people won’t get their humor or react appropriately. He said that Musk has never used a filter of the kind.
However, Vaidhyanathan did suggest that Musk’s impact on spreading false information about politics might be exaggerated. He is just one of many public people who have long spread misinformation regarding elections, and his platform has suffered as a result.
“Musk is just another note in that symphony,” he expressed.