The agency says that after Hamas militants attacked Israel, unverified photos and videos of rocket attacks and destroyed buildings appeared on the social network. Many of the posts used old photos and videos passed off as new, and were sourced from anonymous accounts with blue ticks, which used to mean a verified profile.
Until Musk took over Twitter, a blue checkmark meant a profile was completely trusted because it was verified as a public figure, media outlet, or business. However, the blue tick can now be purchased for a monthly fee. This has led to a significant increase in the number of profiles spreading misinformation from supposedly “trusted” profiles.
According to Mike Rothschild, a researcher on the interaction between fake news and social networks, “news about the attack on Israel was the first serious test for Twitter after Musk became the owner of the platform. Needless to say, X failed the exam with flying colors”.
Even more so – Musk himself published a post on Sunday in which he recommended his followers to follow profiles that “will provide true information about what is happening in Israel”. Mask-recommended profiles were previously known to spread false, misleading and even anti-Semitic information. For these “recommendations”, Musk deleted this post on Sunday.
2023-10-11 07:20:00
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