First modification:
Today is mid-term election day in the United States. The social networks that can be the focus of disinformation during the electoral season are carefully observed, for example Twitter, which according to experts, can be problematic now that its new owner, Elon Musk, has fired more than 3,000 employees, many of them in charge of moderating the contents that are published, with the aim of protecting users and advertisers.
Following billionaire Elon Musk’s decision to lay off more than 3,000 employees, there are fears of an increase in extremist speech on Twitter, which has 350 million users.
“Increase in violent threats”
Kenya Suarez, from the American organization Accountable Tech, which observes and studies the giants of social networks, estimates that “we should be very concerned: Twitter is one of the most powerful communication systems in the world, since social network platforms they help give information with public conversation, and due to the influence of the platform, and with Elon Musk reversing the security measures put in place to make the platforms safe for users, Twitter will quickly become hell, as he said it would it wasn’t going to be.”
“We are certain that we are going to see an increase in violent threats, especially towards women and marginalized communities, and a further elevation of conspiracy theories. What worries us a lot is that these tweets are not only going to be a means of communication on the internet, but that they are going to translate into damage in the real world. Musk’s firings intentionally leave a huge gap in the space where Twitter’s security features were supported and enforced.”
“Protect Election Integrity”
This Tuesday is the mid-term elections in the United States and Elon Musk called on Americans to vote for Republican candidates. Regardless of the convictions of each voter, can this call, through such an influential platform, be counterproductive for American democracy?
According to the expert, “that depends on the people and groups that look at their voice as something they should hear and see. Our organization is more concerned with how our information ecosystem is being screwed up. It is concerning that Elon Musk is not doing more to protect electoral integrity. Specifically as part of the radical firings of him, on Friday he fired many of the employees who were working to prevent that same election misinformation, including the people who were working on the algorithmic simplifications, which is how conspiracy theories can gain ground.”
“We are not sure what information is now on the platform and these systemic and widespread changes are deeply concerning, especially as Twitter is now run by an erratic billionaire who is completely out of touch with the concerns of most people on the platform and the community. information we want to see”, concludes Suarez.
