JRL NEWSWATCH: “Musk’s new Twitter policies helped spread Russian propaganda, E.U. says” – Washington Post
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“X’s failure to slow the spread of disinformation on the Internet would have violated E.U. social media law, had it been in effect.”
“… The E.U. has taken a far more aggressive regulatory approach to government-backed disinformation than the United States …. The Digital Services Act … requires [so-called social media companies] to assess the risk of false information, stop the worst from being boosted by algorithms and subject their performance to auditing. … European sanctions on Russian state media have prompted YouTube and other platforms to ban the likes of RT …. Without full access to [company] data … that must be made more available under the new law[, a European Commission study by nonprofit entity]
Reset relied on public information, such as the number of interactions that problematic content drew from [non-followers] …. Musk’s X was not alone in having failed to stop the spread of Russian propaganda, [charged] the study …. Instagram, Telegram and Facebook, owned by Meta, also drew criticism. …”
Musk has eased twitter/X content rules and cut enforcement staff, and has withdrawn X from participation in a voluntary code of conduct promoted in June 2022. Meanwhile, X has stopped using labels for state-affiliated media, and allows propagandists to participate in X’s blue check verification program.