this hate speech -including racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic attacks- shot twitter since it was bought by the social network Elon MuskAccording to several studies conducted by researchers and compiled by The New York Times this Friday.
For example, an average of 1,282 racist insults against blacks appear on Twitter daily, since the richest man in the world controls the platform that controls this figure. tripled, up to 3,876. Something similar happens with homophobic terms or anti-Semitic messages, which average 2,506 to 3,964 per day. It grew 61 percent in two weeks after the change of ownership in the social network.
The figures were compiled by experts from US organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League or the Center Against Digital Hate and Contradicts the claims of Musk and his team, those who help reduce hate speech on Twitter. On the contrary, researchers consulted by the Times say they’ve never seen such a rapid rise in problematic content on one of the major social networks.
The billionaire businessman took to Twitter with these words: promise to expand Freedom of expression and offered “amnesty” to thousands of accounts suspended for their posts, including that of former US President Donald Trump, and was banned for tweeting about the attack on the Capitol. platform may incite violence.
Also, Musk has laid off thousands of employees The company’s, among which many are dedicated to moderation and content control tasks. Despite this, he tried many times to reassure advertisers, assuring Twitter that it wouldn’t be the Wild West, it didn’t have much of an impact as many companies prefer. stop getting ads on the social network or significantly reduced their presence.
In addition to the rise in hate speech, a few experts point out: It didn’t take long for the social network to see Twitter accounts resurfaced, usually disappearing.for example those defined as part of terrorist organization Islamic State (IS). According to data from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a group that studies extremism and disinformation, 450 ISIS-linked profiles were created in the first twelve days of Musk’s social networking, compared to 69 in the previous twelve days. Internet.
They also point out that the payment verification promoted by Musk allows accounts linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory to equip themselves with the well-known blue flag and acquire a certain veneer of legitimacy in the eyes of many users.