In a detailed response to European Union officials, Linda Yaccarino, CEO of the social media platform X/Twitter, explained the comprehensive measures undertaken by the platform to combat rampant disinformation and illegal content related to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict circulating on social media.
Engadget reports that the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict has brought to light the reality of social media, where disinformation can proliferate just as rapidly as accurate news. Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X/Twitter has found herself thrust into the spotlight, addressing concerns and implementing stringent measures in an attempt to stem the tide of “disinformation.”
Elon Musk looks puzzled (Anadolu Agency/Getty)
As Breitbart News previously reported, Elon Musk’s X/Twitter was sent a warning letter by EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton:
The European Commission has raised alarms about the spread of disinformation on X, especially concerning the terrorist attacks and their aftermath. The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) imposes an obligation on X/Twitter, as a very large online platform, to mitigate risks associated with harmful falsehoods and to act diligently on reports of illegal content. An “urgent” letter to Musk from the EU’s internal market commissioner Thierry Breton, which was also shared on Musk’s platform, sends a clear message that the EU believes X/Twitter may be in breach of the DSA. Breton wrote, “When you receive notices of illegal content in the EU, you must be timely, diligent, and objective in taking action and removing the relevant content when warranted.”
In a detailed response, Yaccarino outlined the multifaceted approach adopted by X/Twitter to tackle disinformation. Yaccarino stated that the company has reallocated resources and refocused internal teams to address platform needs during the Israel-Hamas conflict. The CEO detailed the removal or labeling of “tens of thousands of pieces of content” since the onset of the attack on Israel and the deletion of hundreds of Hamas-affiliated accounts from the platform. Furthermore, Yaccarino highlighted the platform’s collaboration with counter-terrorism organizations to prevent further distribution of terrorist content on the website.
Everyday we’re reminded of our global responsibility to protect the public conversation by ensuring everyone has access to real-time information and safeguarding the platform for all our users. In response to the recent terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas, we’ve redistributed… https://t.co/VR2rsK0J9K
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) October 12, 2023
Yaccarino also shed light on the platform’s utilization of Community Notes, a crowd-sourced fact-checking tool, which has been applied to over 700 notes related to the attack. Approximately 5,000 posts containing images and videos have been marked with these crowd-sourced messages. The CEO emphasized the platform’s commitment to ensuring that notes appear for media and image posts within minutes of creation and for text posts within a median time of five hours, with ongoing efforts to expedite this process.
Read more at Engadget here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.