Brussels issued an ultimatum to Twitter yesterday, now known as X, because of the misinformation being published on the social media platform regarding the war between Israel and Hamas. And now, Twitter has responded.
X’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino, has stated that the social media platform formerly known as Twitter has identified and removed “hundreds” of accounts affiliated with Hamas and has “taken action to remove or label tens of thousands of pieces of content” following the terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel.
Yaccarino’s letter addresses the concern expressed by European Commissioner Thierry Breton that X is being used to “spread illegal content and misinformation,” possibly violating the new and strict EU Digital Services Act (DSA).
The back-and-forth between X and the European Union comes at a time when the EU is enforcing the DSA, which mandates large online platforms to remove illegal content and mitigate risks to public security overall.
Twitter has been a factory of misinformation during the war in Palestine
Misinformation and disinformation about the war between Israel and Hamas have been spreading on X. The Guardian has compiled numerous examples of such content, some with millions of views, including videos and images shared out of context.
Furthermore, researchers claim to have discovered a propagandistic network of 67 accounts that publish false and inflammatory content about the war.
X is under particularly intense scrutiny due to the changes that have occurred in the company under the ownership of Elon Musk. These changes have seen a drastic reduction in moderation teams, previously banned accounts being reinstated, a reshaping of its verification system, dissolution of the platform’s Trust and Safety Council, and the departure of two heads of trust and safety.
Elon Musk even recommended, in a since-deleted tweet, following two accounts that have spread misinformation in the past to get real-time updates on the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Yaccarino stated that X convened a “leadership group” shortly after the news of Hamas’s attack to assess the situation and outlined the platform’s moderation policies against violent discourse and entities that incite hatred.
The CEO stated that the platform had responded to over 80 content removal requests received from the EU “within the established deadlines,” but noted that they had not received any notifications from Europol regarding illegal content on the service.
While the letter from X’s CEO had a diplomatic tone, Musk himself has been more direct in his responses to Breton, pressing the commissioner to publicly list specific violations on the platform.
