BBC investigation team has claimed of founding over 1,100 Twitter accounts involved in spreading misinformation. Twitter has allowed hundreds of accounts back on the popular social media Twitter. According to the Analysis, these accounts were banned previously. Meanwhile, under new owner Elon Musk, they were reinstated.
Twitter has been facing criticism after a recent investigation revealed that some of the reinstated accounts on the platform were violating its rules. The social media giant has strict guidelines that prohibit violence, direct attacks, and threats towards individuals based on their race, sexual orientation, or gender, along with content that degrades or reinforces negative stereotypes.
The platform claims to have a “zero-tolerance” policy towards any material that features or promotes child sexual exploitation. However, the investigation found that nearly 190 accounts in their dataset were promoting hate and violence, including depictions of rape, along with abusive content directed towards women and the LGBT community. Additionally, a small number of accounts contained drawings that appeared to show child sexual exploitation.
The investigation also revealed over 270 accounts spreading misinformation, particularly related to elections and COVID-19 vaccines. People have called upon the platform to take stricter action in enforcing its policies to prevent the spreading of such content on the platform, even though not all such content would violate Twitter’s existing rules.
Elon Musk’s takeover have come under scrutiny
The accounts reinstated on Twitter after Elon Musk’s takeover have come under scrutiny. As investigations have revealed that many of them are promoting hate, violence, and misinformation. Researchers limited their data set to accounts reinstated between October 27, 2022 – the first day of Mr. Musk’s takeover – and January 10, only including profiles with over 10,000 followers. “However, Twitter has allowed back only a small portion of the thousands of accounts in recent months.”
The researchers identified problematic content using a combination of keyword searches. Manual analysis of dozens – and at times hundreds – of posts on each account in their dataset. They also noted known reasons for previous suspensions, where possible.
