Experts claim that Elon Musk’s X platform was responsible for inciting violent riots in Ireland among far-right groups.
Elon Musk’s is a popular website for connecting with friends and sharing updates.
X is a well-liked social networking site used for staying in touch with friends and posting updates.
Experts informed CBS News that the dissemination of false information by the far-right has contributed to riots in Dublin, Ireland last month. The country’s capital was disrupted on November 23rd due to these violent clashes. clashed
Approximately 200 people, including both civilians and riot police, engaged in a confrontation in the heart of Dublin.
As protesters expressed anger following a stabbing that injured several individuals earlier in the day, including a 5-year-old girl who was hospitalized with severe wounds.
Misinformation spread on social media claimed that an undocumented immigrant was responsible for the stabbings. However, according to the Irish Times, the accused attacker is a naturalized Irish citizen who was born in Algeria.
The riot, which resulted in the burning of a tram and bus and the looting of stores, was instigated in part by popular far-right individuals on a social media platform formerly known as Twitter, before it was purchased by Musk.
“At the start of the riot, there appeared to be a protest occurring, potentially led by the far-right. If it wasn’t officially organized by the far-right, they were still heavily involved,” stated Matthew Donoghue, an assistant professor specializing in social policy at University College Dublin, in an interview with CBS News.
Recently, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a nonprofit organization that researches and provides guidance on extremism and false information, conducted a study. The study, which took place shortly before the riots in Ireland, discovered that Twitter is heavily utilized by the main figures in the Irish ecosystem of false and misleading information.
The researchers examined the increasing impact of the far-right in Ireland through a study of online activity over the last three years. They analyzed a total of 13,180,820 posts from 1,640 accounts on 12 different online platforms. Among the platforms studied, X had the most far-right accounts.
Following his
The platform will be taken over in October 2022.
Musk, a billionaire in the tech industry, has removed important aspects of the platform such as its verification process and Trust and Safety advisory committee. He has also made changes to how content is moderated and hate speech is addressed.
As the 2019 that “The US State Department has approved a potential $314 million sale of missiles to South Korea.”
In October 2019, the Associated Press stated that the United States State Department has given the go-ahead for a possible sale of missiles to South Korea, with a total value of $314 million.
According to disinformation researchers, X’s performance has declined under Musk’s leadership. It is no longer just ineffective at identifying and deleting false information, but it also prioritizes posts from accounts that pay for the platform’s blue-check subscription service, regardless of the account owner.
According to Culloty, it is important to note that the far-right accounts believed to be responsible for inciting violence in Dublin had previously been banned from the platform for breaking safety rules. However, they were allowed back on the platform after Musk’s acquisition of the company.
Many individuals who had previously been banned have been able to return.
“She mentioned that it’s interesting to see how after Musk’s acquisition, there are a higher number of individuals who are not attempting to hide their true selves. As a result, they feel more at ease expressing controversial opinions.”
After the riots, influential individuals with right-wing views in American politics have promoted a conspiratorial and anti-immigration storyline on X in efforts to justify the unrest in Ireland.
Tucker Carlson, a previous anchor for Fox News who currently hosts his own show on X, informed his large following last week that the Irish government is attempting to substitute the population of Ireland with individuals from developing countries.
The guest on Carlson’s show was a former White House advisor and close associate of Trump.Steve Bannon
Rephrasing: Ireland was referred to as “a powder keg” by the individual.
Elon Musk personally commented on the recent violence in Ireland and criticized the Irish government in a post last month.
Following the events in Dublin, Musk posted on social media the next day accusing Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar of “disliking the Irish people.” This came after the Irish government announced plans to implement new legislation targeting hate crimes and hate speech in light of the riots.
Last week, Irish Justice Minister Helen McEntee addressed the parliament and stated that X had declined to follow the Garda Síochána’s requests to remove provocative posts immediately while violence erupted in Dublin.
According to Irish state broadcaster RTÉ, McEntee stated that she had communicated with a detective who was heavily involved with the social media companies during the riots.
According to McEntee, various social media platforms such as TikTok and Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) were actively addressing and removing offensive posts as they were reported to the police. However, X (company name) did not respond or adhere to their own community guidelines.
Michael M Santiago/Getty
Musk and X are experiencing a significant decrease in advertising due to companies such as Disney, Apple, Coca Cola, CBS News parent company Paramount Global, and other major corporations pulling their paid ads from the platform.
Elon Musk showed support for a post that contained hateful or discriminatory content towards Jewish people.
Elon Musk commented on a post on X, stating that the Jewish community was responsible for fueling animosity towards White individuals. He referred to this statement as the “real truth.”
Although the billionaire in question has since expressed regret for his statement, he has also condemned the companies that have halted their advertising on X.
At the DealBook Summit in New York on Wednesday, Musk responded to a question about potential blackmail by saying, “Anyone who tries to blackmail me with advertising or money can go f— themselves. Is that understood?”
According to a report from The New York Times, X could lose up to $75 million in revenue due to a decrease in advertising.
In response to Musk’s statements, Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, posted on X last week, stating that Musk’s comments clearly expressed his opinion about our company. She also added that X is a platform that empowers individuals to make their own choices. Yaccarino shared her viewpoint on advertising, emphasizing that X sits at the intersection of Free Speech and Main Street, and the X community is strong and open to embracing you.
CBS News has made contact with X for a comment but has not yet received a response as of the time of publication.
Source: cbsnews.com