• Transtronaut@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    17 hours ago

    The new analysis contradicts the social media platform’s claims that exposure to hate speech and bot-like activity decreased during Elon Musk’s tenure.

    They might both be right. I know my exposure to hate speech and bot-like activity decreased since I stopped engaging with that platform.

  • Sal@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    Surprise surprise, when the CEO is a Nazi, Nazis think it’s free eats!

  • Pro@programming.dev
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    2 days ago

    Article Date: February 13, 2025

    Numerous studies have reported an increase in hate speech on X (formerly Twitter) in the months immediately following Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform on October 27th, 2022; relatedly, despite Musk’s pledge to “defeat the spam bots,” a recent study reported no substantial change in the concentration of inauthentic accounts. However, it is not known whether any of these trends endured. We address this by examining material posted on X from the beginning of 2022 through June 2023, the period that includes Musk’s full tenure as CEO. We find that the increase in hate speech just before Musk bought X persisted until at least May of 2023, with the weekly rate of hate speech being approximately 50% higher than the months preceding his purchase, although this increase cannot be directly attributed to any policy at X. The increase is seen across multiple dimensions of hate, including racism, homophobia, and transphobia. Moreover, there is a doubling of hate post “likes,” indicating increased engagement with hate posts. In addition to measuring hate speech, we also measure the presence of inauthentic accounts on the platform; these accounts are often used in spam and malicious information campaigns. We find no reduction (and a possible increase) in activity by these users after Musk purchased X, which could point to further negative outcomes, such as the potential for scams, interference in elections, or harm to public health campaigns. Overall, the long-term increase in hate speech, and the prevalence of potentially inauthentic accounts, are concerning, as these factors can undermine safe and democratic online environments, and increase the risk of offline harms.

  • katy ✨@piefed.blahaj.zone
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    2 days ago

    considering the ceo, linda yaccarino, spends all day retweeting conspiracy theories and nazi propaganda i’m not surprised.

    • BoycottPro@lemm.eeOP
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      2 days ago

      I wasn’t aware of this before. No wonder Musk felt comfortable stepping down as CEO, he just appointed a like-minded person.

    • BoycottPro@lemm.eeOP
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      2 days ago

      100%! I’m sure you’re not using it but if you have friends/family still on there urge them to quit using Twitter.

      • GladiusB@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        I don’t really hear many talk about social media. But that’s because I don’t go on anything but this. I definitely don’t talk about it in every day conversation either.

        • BoycottPro@lemm.eeOP
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          2 days ago

          That’s excellent! Hopefully there will be more and more people who don’t know anyone who uses Twitter.