A recent study conducted by the European Commission has revealed that Twitter, under the ownership of Elon Musk, has played a significant role in allowing Russian propaganda about Ukraine to reach a larger audience than ever before. The study, which was released this week, found that despite the voluntary commitments made by major social media companies, including Meta, Russian disinformation against Ukraine has thrived. The study concluded that allowing the spread of disinformation and hate speech without limits would have violated the Digital Services Act, the European Union’s social media law, if it had been in force last year.
The research discovered that throughout 2022, the audience and reach of Kremlin-aligned social media accounts increased substantially across Europe. Preliminary analysis suggests that the reach and influence of Kremlin-backed accounts have continued to grow in the first half of 2023, particularly due to the dismantling of Twitter’s safety standards. The study also highlighted that Instagram and Facebook, both owned by Meta, have also failed to stop the spread of Russian propaganda.
The European Union has taken a more aggressive regulatory approach to government-backed disinformation compared to the United States. The Digital Services Act, which came into effect for the largest social media companies on August 25, requires them to assess the risk of false information, prevent the amplification of the worst content through algorithms, and audit their performance. Additionally, European sanctions on Russian state media have led platforms like YouTube to ban channels such as RT (formerly known as Russia Today), which was once one of the most-followed channels.
The study’s findings indicate that the current legal and voluntary measures are not effectively addressing the issue of Russian propaganda. In June, E.U. Commissioner Thierry Breton warned Twitter, now called X, that it needed to take action to avoid potentially massive fines under the Digital Services Act. The research was conducted by Reset, a nonprofit analysis group that advocates for greater oversight of digital platforms.
Reset relied on public information, such as the number of interactions problematic content received from people who were not following the account that posted it, as it did not have full access to data held by the social media companies. The study revealed that pro-Kremlin accounts continue to reach the largest audiences on Meta’s platforms, and the audience size for Kremlin-backed accounts on Telegram has more than tripled since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The researchers also found that no platform consistently applied its terms of service in tests of user notification systems in several Central and Eastern European languages.
Felix Karttre, a senior adviser at Reset, warned that the propaganda campaigns used hate speech, boosted extremists, and threatened national security, potentially influencing European elections next year. The researchers argued that the law and social media companies are ill-equipped to handle the full-scale information war that Russia has been waging across various accounts. Russian interests have coordinated actions by volunteers on Telegram channels, manipulating algorithms to boost popular content and mass-reporting pro-Ukraine voices to get them banned.
The study highlighted that no social media platform has introduced policies addressing all or even most Kremlin-operated accounts, and platforms have fundamentally ignored cross-platform coordinated campaigns. Both X and Meta did not respond to requests for comment.
Although the main period of study was 2022, the reach of pro-Kremlin accounts has continued to increase between January and May 2023, with average engagement rising by 22 percent across online platforms. This increased reach was largely driven by X, where engagement grew by 36 percent after Elon Musk decided to lift mitigation measures on Kremlin-backed accounts, arguing that “all news is to some degree propaganda.” Musk withdrew his social media platform from the voluntary code of conduct for combating disinformation in June 2022 and has since eased content rules and reduced enforcement staff.
Under Musk’s ownership, Twitter has dropped the state-affiliated media labels it previously attached to RT and other Kremlin-controlled accounts. Propagandists have also paid for the platform’s blue-check verification program to make their posts more prominent.
How has the spread of disinformation and hate speech on social media platforms, including Twitter and other Meta-owned platforms, increased despite voluntary commitments made by these companies?
At the spread of disinformation and hate speech on social media platforms, including Twitter and other Meta-owned platforms, has increased despite voluntary commitments made by these companies. The study, conducted by the European Commission and released recently, suggests that Russian propaganda about Ukraine has reached a larger audience than ever before.
The study highlights that if the Digital Services Act, the European Union’s social media law, had been in force last year, allowing the spread of disinformation and hate speech without limits would have violated the law. This indicates the need for stricter regulations to combat the issue.
Throughout 2022, the study found that Kremlin-aligned social media accounts’ audience and reach significantly increased across Europe. Preliminary analysis also suggests that this trend has continued in the first half of 2023, particularly due to Twitter’s dismantling of safety standards.
The study also criticizes Facebook and Instagram, both owned by Meta, for failing to halt the spread of Russian propaganda. This suggests that the issue extends beyond a single platform.
The European Union has adopted a more aggressive regulatory approach compared to the United States in dealing with government-backed disinformation. The Digital Services Act requires social media companies to assess the risk of false information, prevent algorithmic amplification of harmful content, and conduct regular audits of their performance. European sanctions on Russian state media have also led to the banning of channels like RT on platforms such as YouTube.
However, despite these efforts, the study concludes that current legal and voluntary measures are not effectively addressing the issue of Russian propaganda. In June, the E.U. Commissioner warned Twitter, now called X, about potential fines under the Digital Services Act if action is not taken to tackle the problem.
The study’s findings indicate the need for greater oversight and regulation of digital platforms. It was conducted by Reset, a nonprofit analysis group advocating for such oversight.
Reset relied on public information and did not have full access to data held by social media companies. Nevertheless, the study revealed that pro-Kremlin accounts continue to reach the largest audiences on Meta’s platforms. The audience size for Kremlin-backed accounts on Telegram has also significantly increased since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. These findings highlight the scope and impact of Russian propaganda on social media.
