Elon Musk’s Fervent Support for Donald Trump
Elon Musk, a billionaire and fervent supporter of Donald Trump in the race for the US presidency, has recently launched multiple attacks against the Democratic camp led by Kamala Harris. Using his renamed social media platform X, which he acquired for $44 billion in 2022, the American tech entrepreneur has shared numerous false or misleading information that has garnered over 1.2 billion views this year, as revealed by an NGO on August 9th.
Dissemination of False Information
Since January, the Center for Countering Hate Online (CCDH) has documented 50 posts by Tesla’s CEO discussing the elections and identified by disinformation experts as false or misleading. Among his 193 million subscribers on X, Elon Musk claims, for instance, that Democrats promote illegal immigration to “import voters” and has been criticized for sharing a manipulated video in which Kamala Harris appears to say Joe Biden is “senile.”
Impact on Social Media and Public Discourse
Critics argue that Musk is misusing his influential position on the social media platform to spread misinformation that fuels discord and mistrust. The absence of community ratings on his posts, which are typically used to provide context to dubious or erroneous messages, highlights the failure of X to curb algorithm-driven incitations that could lead to real-world violence.
Accusations of Spreading False Information
Following the reduction in content moderation teams at X and the relaxation of its regulations, concerns have been raised about the dissemination of false information on the platform. The introduction of an AI chatbot, Grok, developed by another company owned by Elon Musk, has also been accused of spreading inaccurate details about the elections.
Leave a Reply