In a bid to reduce the dissemination of “terrorist content” online, social media platform X (previously referred to as Twitter) announced that it has taken down numerous accounts associated with Hamas, a Palestinian terror organization.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino said early Thursday that the platform has taken down accounts that violate its “Violent and Hateful Entities Policy” aimed at stemming the proliferation of terrorist content on the platform. The platform has also addressed and removed certain posts that include graphic media as well as violent and hate speech.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, was prompted by European Union Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton to provide a detailed explanation of X’s strategy for combating the dissemination of false information.
Yaccarino stated in a letter to Breton that there is absolutely no tolerance for terrorist organizations or violent extremist groups on X. He further mentioned that they are consistently taking immediate action to remove such accounts in real-time, including proactive measures.
X’s safety account had said late Monday that posts from daily active users in Israel increased after Hamas launched a surprise attack on the country over the weekend. Users have also shared more than 50 million posts related to the attack, X said. Some of the posts mischaracterized video or showed graphic footage and have driven the spread of misinformation on X and elsewhere across the internet.
In addition, X mentioned that it is actively observing the platform for any instances of antisemitic speech. Furthermore, it stated that it is collaborating with various social media platforms to curb the dissemination of terrorist content online, a joint effort facilitated by the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT).
GIFCT stated to CBS MoneyWatch that they are actively collaborating with their members to monitor and adapt to the ever-changing circumstances. Their focus is on tracking content and online activities associated with terrorist and violent extremist individuals involved in real-world violence. Furthermore, they acknowledge the potential for various terrorist networks and groups to take advantage of the situation for their own agenda, similar to previous incidents.
CBS MoneyWatch’s request for comment was not immediately responded to by a spokesperson for X.
Some of the posts under scrutiny that violate X policies include old video footage falsely alleging to show images from Hamas’ current attack. X flagged such posts as containing media being “presented out of context.”
Hate speech jumped on the service after X owner Elon Musk laid off content moderators, studies have shown.
Dina Sadek, a Middle East research fellow at Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, told CBS MoneyWatch that “there is a ton of misinformation about how this operation came to be and what parties were involved,” referring to the Hamas attack.
In addition, Sadek voiced worry about the potential for violent, hateful, and inaccurate posts to act as a catalyst for hate speech and further fuel violence.
According to health officials in the region, more than 1,200 Israelis were reported dead and around 3,000 injured as a result of the surprise attack. Additionally, the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, which were carried out in response to the assault and under Hamas control, have claimed the lives of over 1,200 individuals, including numerous children.
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