X is allegedly allowing misinformation super-spreaders on its ads revenue sharing program. This was revealed by a new report released by NewsGuard; a non-profit misinformation watchdog.
The organization said that it identified advertisements appearing on the posts of these misinformation super-spreaders between Nov. 13 and Nov. 22.
A photo illustration of the new Twitter logo on July 24, 2023, in London, England. Elon Musk has revealed today a new logo for Twitter, which constitutes the letter 'X' as part of a rebrand of the company.
NewsGuard added that these fake news spreaders posted numerous false content, especially those about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Here are other details revealed by the watchdog's new report.
X Allows Misinformation Super-Spreaders on Its Ads Revenue Sharing Program
The Verge reported that many Premium subscribers on X are actually misinformation super-spreaders. NewsGuard analyzed 10 of these fake news accounts and found out that each of them had over 100,000 followers.
NewsGuard Communications Vice President Veena McCoole said that around 30 of the posts they studied advanced some of the most misleading or "egregiously false" claims regarding the war between Israel and Hamas terrorists.
Since these alarming fake news spreaders are allowed to have ads on their posts, Veena said that it is just "fair to assume" that other misinformation super-spreaders also qualify for the platform's revenue ads-sharing program.
The findings shared by the non-profit misinformation watchdog arrive as concerns about X putting ads on false claims and hate speech rise. Previously, Elon Musk's social media company was even accused by Media Matters of displaying advertisements on pro-Nazi posts.
Because of this, Apple, Disney, and other large companies decided to pull out their advertisements and stop sending funds to X. Another issue that led to more criticisms is when Elon Musk agreed on an antisemitic X post.
After that, X CEO Linda Yaccarino had to share a statement to reassure advertisers and users that the social media platform is against any hate speech and other content that is harmful to any group of people.
Related Article: Elon Musk Plans to Visit Israel Next Week-But Why?
X Loses More Advertisers
A photo taken on November 17, 2023, shows the logo of US online social media and social networking service X - formerly Twitter - on a smartphone screen in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany.
Recently, Mashable reported that X is losing more and more advertisers; the latest one to pull its advertisements was Disney.
Aside from Disney, here are other giant companies and organizations that decided to leave the social media platform:
- European Union
- Lionsgate Entertainment
- Apple
- Paramount Global
- Warner Bros. Discovery
- Comcast/NBCUniversal
- Disney
- IBM
Most of them decided to pull out their advertisements because of the antisemitic post issue of Elon Musk. Although he received criticism for just agreeing to the post, the billionaire didn't apologize.
Instead, he explained why he considers that antisemitic post the "actual truth."
"The ADL unjustly attacks the majority of the West, despite the majority of the West supporting the Jewish people and Israel," said the tech executive.
As of writing, Elon Musk is still supporting his stance regarding Jewish people. He argues that there's nothing wrong with what he said, especially when he is trying to make X the true free-speech platform.
Related Article: Elon Musk Agrees to Antisemitic X Post, Claiming It's 'Actual Truth'; Netizens Debate If Billionaire is Correct
