A European Commission study has revealed that X, formerly known as Twitter, has the highest proportion of disinformation among major social networks. The study analyzed over 6,000 unique social media posts across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, X, and YouTube in three countries considered at risk of disinformation: Spain, Poland, and Slovakia. Twitter had the largest “ratio of discoverability” of disinformation, indicating a high proportion of sensitive content comprising disinformation. In contrast, YouTube had the lowest ratio.
The study was conducted by TrustLab, a disinformation monitoring start-up, in support of the EU’s code of practice on disinformation. While X had previously signed up to the voluntary code in 2018, it withdrew from the code during its leadership transition. However, X will now be subject to the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which regulates the conduct of major tech platforms, and the voluntary code is expected to become a code of conduct under the DSA. Failure to comply with the DSA could result in fines of up to six percent of global turnover for companies.
The EU has recently accused social media companies of failing to prevent “large-scale” Russian disinformation campaigns, with concerns about the spread of misinformation heightened due to the war in Ukraine and upcoming European elections. The EU’s Values and Transparency Commissioner, Vera Jourova, emphasized the importance of addressing the risk posed by disinformation, particularly in the context of Russian state-sponsored efforts to manipulate information and create a false narrative. Measures to tackle AI-generated disinformation are also being explored ahead of elections.
