After taking over Twitter in 2022, Elon Musk aimed to create the platform for free speech around the world, instead the platform has seen a significant rise in misinformation, hate speech and inappropriate content.
Until a month ago, approximately one-fifth (40 million) of Brazilians logged into X at least once a month. When they open an app today, the website says, “Something went wrong, but don’t fret — let’s give it another shot.” But refreshing the page will not solve the problem, as on August 2nd, the Brazilian Supreme Court issued a ban on X (formerly known as Twitter) after the company failed to delete the posts and accounts of the extremist groups and individuals linked to the attacks on the Brazilian Supreme Court on January 8th, 2023.
Furious by the decision Mr. Musk boiled the verdict down to restriction of freedom of speech and personal feud with judge de Moraes, calling him a “dictator” and “Brazil’s Darth Vader.” He even created an account called “Alexandre files,” where he publishes “unlawful directives” issued by the judge.
However, Musk is trying to distract the public from the fact why this verdict was issued. In past two years the platform changed into heaven for extremist organisations, as the changes introduced by Musk facilitate the transmission of misinformation and hate speech. The inability or rather lack of desire to stop it from the platform management, introduces serious concerns on the regulators side.
In disgrace of the rulers
Multiple countries have already asked X to regulate its content.
It is very probable that within months, the European Union will issue fines on the platform as long as it does not make changes in line with the Digital Services Act (DSA). In June, the European Commission charged rebranded Twitter with failing to prevent misinformation and illegal content on the platform. X also had a recent hiccup with the Australian eSafety commissioner, who asked the platform to delete the video of a stabbing in Sydney’s church. Although the video was taken down, X still decided to challenge the commissioner's request, accusing him of censorship. The allegation is particularly puzzling, especially since the video is incompatible with the platform’s anti-violence policies.
In contrast, when the Pakistani government restricted access to X months before the elections, Elon Musk did not express concern about the potential violation of free speech. Similarly, following an internet shutdown in Punjab, X complied with India's request to block over 120 accounts, many of which were unrelated to Sikh separatist groups.
Yet, Elon Musk seems particularly upset about this case. It might be that given the deep political divisions in Brazil. Elon Musk is known as a great supporter of Donald Trump, (Trump even expressed interest in giving Musk role as a policy adviser after won elections) and expressed sympathy towards President Bolsonaro who is often compared as the Brazilian equivalent of the former American head of state.
Bolsonaro’s supporters recently held rallies in Rio to show their support for Musk and X, framing it as a defense of free speech and against the ruling supreme judge Moraes who is known for chasing the environment connected to January 8th attacks on Brazilian congress.
Further, Brazil is a crucial market that Elon Musk does not want to lose. X has up to 40 million of users in Brazil compared to 25 in five times more populated India.
Moreover, just within year and a half the number of clients of owned by Musk internet provider - Starlink increased from 20,000 in early 2022 to more than 250,000. Among this 70,000 are located in Amazon, which before struggled with access to fast internet.
This fact is a significant advantage for Musk when comes to his game with the Brazilian governance.
On September the 18th, for few hours Brazilian users regained the access to their accounts thinking the ban was lift. As it turned out the access was re-enabled with use of Starlink satellite and crafty IP change, which X claims was unintentional.
„Just because he has money doesn’t mean he can do whatever he wants. He should respect the laws of our country and the decision of the Supreme Court.” The words of current Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva exactly explain the concern related to Elon Musk's empire, where he can influence one of his firms by the other. The Brazilian court fined the firm with five million reals (€800,000) for the misdemeanour.
The reason why Musk likely does not want to let go due to a combination of both his political beliefs and business ambitions. However, the intensity of emotions in this particular case makes the threats that X constitutes for modern democracies more vivid.
Elon Musk often refers to himself as a "free speech absolutist." After taking over X, which he envisioned as a "platform for free speech around the globe," he reinstated accounts previously banned for spreading hate speech, including those of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and former President Donald Trump. Musk argued that the platform's previous leadership had censored certain viewpoints. However, he has also suspended accounts of journalists and non-profit organizations that have criticized him, raising questions about his commitment to free speech.
“Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.”
Before the acquisition, Twitter’s financial situation was not in the best place. Despite constant user growth, it failed to monetize that with a 23% advertising profit loss in 2020 compared to the previous year. That is why, after the takeover, Musk decided to cut costs by firing staff and closing headquarters around the world. Some of the employers even complained about the lack of toilet paper in their offices due to cuts. Since taking over Twitter in 2022, Musk fired 80% of the trust and safety team, the branch responsible for content moderation.
He also remodelled the blue tick authentication. Before, the blue tick verified influential accounts on the platform, confirming the user’s identity. “Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit, Power to the people! Blue for $8/month.” tweeted Musk at the end of 2022. Changing the form of authentication to subscription status confused many users. The new system allowed many to spread misinformation by impersonating recognizable people, including Mr. Musk himself.
However, after some recognizable people such as LeBron Jones, Stephen King or President Joe Biden refused to pay the subscription, X decided to bring back the blue tick, marking them as “a government or multilateral organization account.” The ambiguity of the new system causes a lot of disorientation, as the symbol that once helped to recognized trusted sources, now does not say anything to recipients.
The looser control and rebranding of the blue tick caused intensification of another dangerous phenomenon on the platform. “We will defeat the spam bots or die trying,” said Musk’s tweet before the purchase in 2022. Today, however, bots are estimated to produce hundreds of thousands of tweets every month. According to a European Commission study carried out last year by TrustLab, out of six major social platforms, X has the biggest proportion of disinformation, which, to a significant extent, is driven by ChatGPT-generated bots.
Where did we end up?
During the Arab Spring, social media platforms, with Twitter ahead, played a crucial role, enabling protesters to exchange information at the express pace, showing the abuse of the government and the course of protests. It was the beginning of a new digital era, as it was the first time that social media was used on such a scale in a crucial political event. Although, in many sources, social media input was exaggerated, it cannot be denied that they played crucial roles in the event.
Twelve years later, the situation looks quite different. Former president of the United States, Donald Trump, used Twitter to encourage his voters to participate in the „Stop the Steal” rally, which later evolved into the attack on the US Senate. Equivalently, after the 2022 presidential elections in Brazil and the left-wing candidate's victory, the supporters of the former president, the far-right populist Jair Bolsonaro, gathered, among others, by the extremist accounts on X stormed the Brazilian Congress in the hope of overthrowing the democratically elected president. It is distressing to see that the platform that once contributed to the fight for democracy now constitutes a threat to it.
The shield of impunity must be dismantled.
There is a lot of discussion about whether the CEOs of social media platforms can be called responsible for their users’ posts. However, Meta, X, and TikTok are not the ones publishing fake news or inappropriate content. They are simply a platform where people are free to express themselves as they please. However, quoting Uncle Ben from Spider-man: With great power comes great responsibility. Social media holds an enormous power. At its best, it combines people with common interests, helps fundraising and tells many amazing stories, but the negative aspects might be overtaking the positive ones. As this case shows, social media can even be a risk to countries’ sovereignty and, without proper control, can cause serious harm. We have already seen how misinformation can incite attacks on democracy, as demonstrated when Donald Trump's tweets fueled the assault on the U.S. Capitol. After taking over Twitter, Elon Musk created an environment that fostered the spread of such dangerous behaviour, with last January's attacks serving as a stark example. The issue of controlling social media is, therefore, not about restricting free speech but about ensuring public safety.
On 27th of September supreme court decided to lift the ban if the platform pays 10 million reals (€1.65 mil) fine for extra days of non-compliance with the court’s orders. According to Routers, as of October the 4th, the law firm representing the platform in Brazil paid the pending sum to the wrong bank, postponing the process of restoring X in the country.
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