From the outset of this weekend’s Israel-Hamas conflict, there has been an explosion of graphic footage depicting abductions and military operations on social media platforms, including X (formerly known as Twitter). However, the prevalence of disinformation on the platform has made it increasingly difficult for users to discern the true events unfolding in the region.
During the weekend, X identified and flagged several posts as misleading or false, including a video that allegedly showed Israeli airstrikes against Hamas in Gaza. Despite this, numerous posts with the same video and caption managed to evade the platform’s flagging system, as reported by CNBC.
This patchwork enforcement comes after reports of X making cuts to its disinformation and election integrity team. Just before Hamas launched its surprise attack, X removed the headlines from external links on the platform, making it challenging to distinguish them from standard photos shared on X.
Prior to Elon Musk acquiring Twitter and renaming it X, the company had dedicated significant resources to combatting manipulated or misleading information. However, since Musk took over, he has reduced the size of teams focused on fighting misinformation and criticized the company’s previous collaboration with the U.S. government on Covid-19 disinformation.
Under Musk’s leadership, X has shifted its focus to user-driven content tagging with Community Notes (formerly known as Birdwatch). However, a study conducted by the EU in September found that disinformation was more prevalent and received greater engagement on X than any other social media platform, despite the implementation of this feature.
Alex Goldenberg, an analyst at the Network Contagion Research Institute, specializes in studying hate and right-wing extremism online and offline. Goldenberg noted that Twitter had previously struggled to handle non-English disinformation and prioritized addressing misinformation and incitement to violence in the English language while often overlooking similar issues in Arabic. He also observed an increase in recycled videos and photos from previous conflicts being intentionally associated with the current Israel-Hamas conflict.
Users have begun to notice the impact of X’s content moderation changes, leading some to unknowingly share disinformation on the platform. A notable example is IT law professor Paul Bernal from the University of East Anglia, who lamented how Elon Musk has compromised Twitter’s ability to provide accurate and reliable real-time information during crises.
On Sunday, a British politician shared a video claiming it was from a BBC correspondent. However, it was later revealed that the video did not originate from a BBC journalist. Despite the British government’s efforts to verify certain accounts with a silver checkmark, verification for notable individuals and reporters has been phased out in favor of paid Twitter Blue verification, further complicating efforts to determine the authenticity of messages and their content.
Additionally, some Hamas-created propaganda videos continue to circulate on X. Despite being prohibited from most social media platforms, including X, the terrorist organization shares videos on Telegram, which are then often reshared on X. These videos, including those depicting the recent assault on Israel, can have real-world consequences, such as an increase in hate crimes against the Jewish community outside of the region.
Paid verification supposedly enhances a user’s posts and comments on X, but some misleading posts have come from these verified users. Elon Musk himself has amplified such posts on multiple occasions, relating to both the Ukraine conflict and the recent events in Israel. Although Musk later deleted a post promoting an account with a history of anti-Semitic remarks, he has encouraged his 160 million followers to follow accounts that he believed shared “good” content about the conflict.
Correction: This article has been updated to accurately reflect Alex Goldenberg’s comment on English-language disinformation on X and Twitter. The previous version contained a transcription error.
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