X threatens to sue researchers who accused Twitter of allowing ‘hate to prosper’ on platform

Hate speech research organisation accused platform of failing to take action against harmful posters

X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, threatened this month to sue a nonprofit that tracks hate speech online, after the group posted scathing findings in June claiming Elon Musk “simply doesn’t care about the civil and human rights of black people, Jews, Muslims and LGBTQ+ people.”

The social network warned the Center for Countering Digital Hate on 20 July that legal action could be coming in response to the group’s “troubling and baseless claims that appear calculated to harm Twitter generally, and its digital advertising business specifically,” according to The New York Times, which reported the news.

X further claimed that the nonprofit may be funded by its tech industry competitors or foreign governments, as part of an “ulterior agenda” to bring down Twitter.

Elon Musk (AFP/Getty)

“Elon Musk’s actions represent a brazen attempt to silence honest criticism and independent research,” the Center’s chief executive Imran Ahmed told the paper, adding that the group doesn’t take funding from tech companies or governments.

The Independent has contacted X for comment.

In June, the Center posted a collection of research, which claimed that X moderators had failed to take action on 99 out of 100 examples of harmful content the group flagged from within the social media site’s “blue check” paid verification tier.

The posts contained examples of blatant racism, transphobia, and antisemitism.

“The Twitter blue tick used to be a sign of authority and authenticity, but it is now inextricably linked to the promotion of hate and conspiracism,” Mr Ahmed said in a statement published alongside the research. “What gives blue tick hate actors confidence to spew their bile is the knowledge that Elon Musk simply doesn’t care about the civil and human rights of black people, Jews, Muslims and LGBTQ+ people, as long as he can make his 8 bucks a month. Our society has benefited from decades of progress on tolerance, but Elon Musk is undoing those norms at an ever-accelerating rate, by allowing hate to prosper on the spaces he administers, all with the tacit approval of the advertisers who remain on his platform.”

Twitter has lost nearly half of its advertising revenue since Mr Musk took over, according to the CEO, and has laid off about half of X’s formerly 7,500-person staff.

The tech billionaire’s tenure at the site has been chaotic, and critics argue Mr Musk has allowed right-wing ideas to flourish on the influential site by tacitly and explicitly rolling back content moderation guidelines.

In June, the company’s top safety and content moderation official resigned, the second time someone in that role has resigned since Mr Musk took over in October.

In December, three members of the company’s Trust and Safety Council, a body established to help regulate issues on X, resigned as well, and the council was later disbanded.

Mr Musk has also personally championed right-wing causes to his more than 100 million followers, including declaring his intent to lobby against gender-affirming for trans youth while calling for the imprisonment of the doctors and therapists who support them.