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Elon Musk finds himself facing a new legal opponent – a nonprofit organization dedicated to analyzing hate speech and misinformation on social media.
On July 20, X Corp., previously known as Twitter, sent a letter to the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), threatening legal action against the British research nonprofit. X Corp. alleges that the CCDH has made “inflammatory, outrageous, and false or misleading statements about Twitter,” suggesting a conspiracy to tarnish the company and drive advertisers away.
This action follows the CCDH’s June research, which focused on the spread of hate speech on the social media platform after Musk’s acquisition. One report examined 100 Twitter Blue accounts subscribed to by the CCDH and revealed that X Corp. failed to address 99% of the hate speech posted by these accounts. The CCDH also questioned whether Twitter’s algorithm promotes “toxic tweets.”
Additional research by the CCDH discovered that Twitter neglected to take action on 89% of anti-Jewish hate speech and 97% of anti-Muslim hate speech on its platform.
X Corp.’s spokesperson has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Musk recently acknowledged that Twitter’s cash flow remains negative, with advertising revenue dropping by nearly 50%.
In response, Imran Ahmed, CEO of the CCDH, stated that Musk is attempting to silence honest criticism and independent research.
“Advertisers are leaving his platform for a clear reason: Elon Musk has enabled the spread of hate and racism on it, and he shows no interest in stopping it,” Ahmed said, adding, “This should serve as a reminder that Musk is not a ‘free speech absolutist’.”
X Corp.’s letter to the CCDH is one of several legal threats or actions taken by the company in recent months.
In May, X Corp. sent a letter to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, accusing the tech giant of misusing Twitter data for unauthorized purposes. In July, X Corp. threatened to sue Meta over its Threads app, alleging the misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets. Additionally, X Corp. filed a lawsuit against Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, the corporate law firm that prevented Musk from backing out of his $44 billion Twitter buyout.
