A recent report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate reveals that billionaire Elon Musk’s social media posts containing misleading claims about the U.S. election have garnered over 2 billion views on X in 2024.
This surge in misinformation on X, which Musk owns, has raised alarm among government officials and voting rights advocates who are urging social media platforms to take decisive action against election-related falsehoods.
Warnings From U.S. Officials and Advocacy Groups
In response to Musk’s high-profile posts, officials and voting rights groups have issued warnings about the spread of election-related misinformation. They stress the need for social media companies, particularly X, to actively counter such misinformation to protect public confidence in the electoral process. Musk’s high engagement on the platform, combined with his backing of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, has amplified the reach of his posts significantly.
Fact-Checked Claims On The U.S. Election
According to the report, Musk has shared at least 87 posts this year that fact-checkers have labeled as false or misleading. The reach of these posts has been staggering, amassing 17.1 billion views since Musk publicly endorsed Trump in July—a figure more than double the combined views of all U.S. political campaign ads on X in the same timeframe. Despite multiple reports on these figures, X has yet to comment on the matter or outline specific actions to counteract the misleading content.
Content Fueling Misinformation Concerns
Among the contentious posts were claims about “voter importation,” suggesting a “triple-digit increase” in undocumented immigrants within key battleground states over the past four years, and assertions questioning the “integrity of voting.” Both claims have been flagged by fact-checkers as misleading. Furthermore, the report highlights the role of X’s Community Notes feature, a crowd-sourced fact-checking tool that has so far been insufficient in curbing election-related misinformation on the platform.
As Musk’s content reaches a vast audience, pressure mounts on social media companies to establish and enforce robust fact-checking protocols. Voting rights groups and government entities underscore that unchecked misinformation has serious consequences, potentially affecting election outcomes and eroding public trust in democratic processes.
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