Micro-blogging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has responded to the European Union’s concerns about the spread of misinformation on the platform regarding the Israel-Hamas crisis.
In a stern warning issued to billionaire owner X (formerly Twitter), the EU Commissioner, Thierry Breton, addressed Elon Musk in a letter dated October 10, 2023, expressing the union’s apprehensions about X being used to disseminate false information about the crisis.
The EU cautioned Musk to maintain transparency and openness regarding the content shared on the platform, highlighting their awareness of the presence of fake and false reports on X, urging him to take measures to mitigate this issue.
Breton’s letter read in part, “Following the terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel, we have indications that your platform is being used to disseminate illegal content and disinformation in the EU. Let me remind you that the Digital Services Act sets very precise obligations regarding content moderation.”
X’s management responded to the EU by stating that they had removed “hundreds of Hamas-affiliated accounts” and taken down thousands of posts related to the crisis. Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, assured the EU that the company had reallocated resources and refocused internal teams to address the evolving situation.
Yaccarino emphasized, “There is no place on X for terrorist organizations or violent extremist groups, and we continue to remove such accounts in real-time. X is addressing identified fake and manipulated content during this constantly evolving and shifting crisis.”
She revealed that X had formed a leadership group to assess the situation shortly after the attack on Israel. Since then, the platform had taken action to remove or label tens of thousands of pieces of content that violated its rules on violent speech, manipulated media, and graphic material. X had also responded to over 80 “takedown requests” from EU authorities to remove problematic content.
