Distribution of false information, including Hamas airstrike and injury to Israeli Prime Minister
Musk recommends “following” accounts with a history of spreading fake news
As the conflict intensifies due to the surprise attack on Israel by the Palestinian armed faction Hamas, it is being pointed out that Elon Musk’s X (old Twitter) is amplifying fake news related to the war between Israel and Israel.
According to CNBC in the US on the 9th (local time), fake photos and videos related to the conflict between Israel and Palestine are being spread indiscriminately on X.
After the surprise attack by Hamas on the 7th, fake content showing Israel airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and videos of the Syrian conflict manipulated to look like they were filmed in the Gaza Strip were posted on X.
Fake news was also posted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was taken to the hospital. The user who posted the article is an account imitating the Israeli media outlet ‘Jerusalem Post’, and its operation has now been suspended.
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On the 8th, Musk himself recommended following two accounts on his account, saying, “They have good content (related to the Israel-Palestine conflict).” These are all users who helped spread fake news that an explosion occurred at the U.S. Pentagon last May.
One of them had a history of posting anti-Semitic posts in the past, and even described members of the Gaza Strip as “martyrs.”
Afterwards, Musk withdrew his recommendation for the account, saying, “It is fair to report both sides of the story, but please use the most accurate words possible.”
Before Musk took over, Twitter devoted significant resources to countering manipulated or misleading information.
However, after acquiring Musk, X reduced the number of disinformation and election response teams. It has been pointed out that when posting a link to an external article, only the photo is visible without the title, making it difficult to distinguish it from a regular photo.
Analysis suggests that allowing the general public to use ‘blue check’ accounts, which were previously given to people or organizations with great social influence, for a fee, also contributed to the spread of false information. It is known that some of the fake videos distributed related to this dispute were also created by paid authenticated users.
“Disinformation in English is prioritized, but information in Arabic is often overlooked,” Alex Goldenberg, senior intelligence analyst at the Network Pollution Institute, a U.S. non-profit organization, told CNBC. “Photos and videos have been recycled from previous conflicts.” “It is happening,” he said.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.