{"id":2091738,"date":"2023-11-06T12:11:03","date_gmt":"2023-11-06T17:11:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elon-musks-x-restructuring-curtails-disinformation-research-spurs-legal-fears\/"},"modified":"2023-11-06T12:21:06","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T17:21:06","slug":"elon-musks-x-restructuring-curtails-disinformation-research-spurs-legal-fears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elon-musks-x-restructuring-curtails-disinformation-research-spurs-legal-fears\/","title":{"rendered":"Elon Musk&#8217;s X restructure hampers disinformation research, raises legal concerns."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Felon-musks-x-restructuring-curtails-disinformation-research-spurs-legal-fears%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2091738&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p><!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p><span class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__small__1kGq2\" data-testid=\"Text\">By <\/span>Sheila Dang<\/p>\n<p>November\u200d 6, 2023 \u2013 11:36 AM UTC<\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-3\" style=\"min-width: 320px; min-height: 50px; text-align: center;\">  \t<script>  \t\tgoogletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-3'); });  \t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"ad-slot__ad-label\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>(Reuters) \u2013 \u2063Social media researchers have canceled, suspended or changed more than 100 \u200bstudies about X, formerly Twitter, as a result\u200b of actions taken by Elon Musk that limit access to the social media platform, nearly a dozen interviews and a survey of \u200cplanned projects show.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>Musk\u2019s restrictions on critical methods of gathering data on \u200cthe global platform have suppressed the \u2063ability to untangle the origin and spread of false\u200c information during <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/35-american-deaths-reported-in-hamas-strikes-on-israel\/\" title=\"35 Americans killed in Hamas attacks on Israel.\">real-time events<\/a> such as Hamas\u2019 \u2063attack on Israel and the\u200d Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, researchers told Reuters.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>The most important method was a tool that gave researchers access to data about 10 million tweets per month. Twitter notified researchers in February\u200d it would end free academic access to this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/amazon-suffers-massive-web-services-crash-shutting-down-services-like-disney\/\" title=\"Amazon Suffers Massive Web Services Crash, Shutting Down Services Like Disney+\">application programming interface<\/a> (API) as part of \u2064an overhaul \u200cof the tool, according to an email seen by Reuters.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>The survey of 167 academic and civil society researchers conducted at Reuters\u2019 request by the Coalition\u200d for Independent \u2062Technology Research in September quantifies\u200d for the first time \u200cthe\u200d number of studies that have\u200d been canceled \u200cdue to Musk\u2019s policies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>It also\u200c shows a majority\u200d of survey respondents fear being \u2062sued by X over \u200btheir findings or use of \u200cdata. The worry \u200cfollows X\u2019s July lawsuit against the Center\u2062 for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) after it published critical reports about the platform\u2019s content moderation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>Musk did \u200bnot\u2064 respond to a request for comment and an X representative declined to comment. The company has previously said\u2063 that nearly all content views \u2063are of \u201chealthy\u201d posts.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>Musk\u2019s first year of ownership of X has been marked by advertisers fleeing the site, concerned that their ads \u2064could \u2063appear next to harmful \u200bcontent. X\u2019s U.S. ad revenue declined at\u2063 least 55% year-over-year each month since Musk\u2019s acquisition,\u200d Reuters previously reported.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>The \u200csurvey showed 30 canceled projects, 47 \u200dstalled projects and 27 \u2063where researchers changed platforms. It also revealed\u200c 47 ongoing projects, though \u200dsome researchers\u2064 noted that\u2063 their ability to collect fresh data would be\u200b limited.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>The affected studies include research on\u2062 hate \u2063speech and \u2062topics that have garnered global regulatory scrutiny. In one example, a stalled project sought to study child safety on X. The \u200dplatform was recently\u200d fined by an Australian regulator for failing \u2063to cooperate with a\u2064 probe \u200dinto anti-child abuse practices.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>The researcher for\u200c the stalled project\u200d and several others who responded to the Coalition\u2019s survey requested \u200cto \u200cremain anonymous. An author of the survey said researchers may seek \u2064to\u200b avoid backlash from X or\u2064 protect ongoing studies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>European\u200d Union\u2064 regulators are also currently investigating X\u2019s handling of disinformation, which was the focus of multiple \u200cstalled or canceled independent research studies, the \u200csurvey \u2063found.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>The reduced ability to study the platform \u201cmakes users on\u200c (X) vulnerable to more hate\u2064 speech, more\u200d misinformation and more disinformation,\u201d said Josephine Lukito, an assistant professor at the University\u200d of Texas at Austin.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>She helped\u200b conduct the research \u2064survey \u200dfor the coalition, a global group with more\u2063 than 300 members, that works \u2063to advance the study of technology\u2019s impact on \u2063society.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>The survey was sent\u200b in mid-September by email to \u2062the coalition\u2019s members as well as email \u200clists for other academic groups, such as experts focused on political communication or social media.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>The EU\u2019s investigation \u200cof X, under new strict internet rules that took effect in August, underscore \u200bthe potential regulatory threat to the San\u2062 Francisco-based \u200ccompany.\u200d Any violation could result in fines of up to 6% of global revenue.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>An EU Commission spokesperson said\u2062 it is currently monitoring X\u2019s, as well \u2063as \u200dother large platforms\u2019, compliance with the law\u2019s obligations, which includes \u2063allowing researchers who meet certain conditions to gain access to publicly\u200c available data.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">UNAFFORDABLE\u200d COST<\/h2>\n<blockquote><p>Before\u2063 Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion, a large proportion of studies about social media had been related to Twitter, \u200cbecause the platform was a valuable source of information about politics and current events.\u200b Its data was easily accessible, four researchers told\u200b Reuters.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>But almost from the moment Musk stepped into Twitter\u2019s headquarters, he began slashing\u200c costs and laying off\u2062 thousands of employees, including those who worked on the research tools.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>Now, \u2064X offers three paid \u200ctiers of the API ranging from \u200c$100 to \u2064$42,000 per month, and the lower-priced tiers \u200bprovide\u2062 less data than \u2064what was available to researchers for free previously. Nearly every researcher who spoke with Reuters said they could not afford the costs.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>One former employee,\u200d who declined to be named for fear of backlash from Musk, said the decision to shut down \u200dfree\u2063 academic API access came down to an urgent need to \u200bfocus on boosting revenue and \u200bcutting costs in the aftermath\u200d of Musk\u2019s takeover.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>A majority of survey respondents cited the API changes \u200cas the reason for canceling \u200dor pausing their studies\u2064 about\u2062 the platform.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>The unaffordable cost of paying to receive less data than what was available previously means research ahead\u2063 of 2024, a major election year \u200dglobally, is severely challenged, Lukito said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>Tim Weninger, a professor of engineering at University \u2063of\u200d Notre Dame, said his team has\u200d been \u201cflying blind\u201d while trying to track China-linked information operations without data from\u2063 the API,\u2064 the\u2064 cost of which is prohibitive, he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>Several researchers told Reuters they \u2063now have \u2062limited options to study X, such as manually\u200c analyzing \u200dposts.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>Researchers \u2064also face limitations in gathering\u2062 data from other social\u200c platforms. Short-form video app TikTok announced an academic research \u200dAPI earlier this year,\u2063 but its onerous terms and \u200cconditions limit its \u200busefulness for researchers, said Megan A. Brown, a researcher at New York University, in a blog post \u200dfor Tech Policy \u200cPress.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>Facebook and Instagram-owner Meta Platforms \u200bhas \u2062partnered with external researchers on\u2064 studies, which is not a substitute \u2062for \u2064independent research, but shows Meta\u2019s willingness to collaborate, Lukito said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">LEGAL CONCERNS<\/h2>\n<blockquote><p>The CCDH, an organization that said it aims to fight hate speech and\u200c disinformation, published several reports after Musk\u2019s acquisition that claimed the social\u2062 media platform failed to\u200c moderate and also\u200b profited from\u200d harmful content.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>X sued \u2062CCDH in July,\u200b accusing the organization of improperly accessing \u200ddata from \u2063the platform and promoting false claims about X\u2019s moderation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cMusk wants\u2063 to silence any \u200ccriticism of the way he does business,\u201d said CCDH \u200bChief Executive\u2062 Imran Ahmed, adding CCDH stood by its reports.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>In the survey from the Coalition for Independent \u2062Technology Research, 104 out\u200c of 167 respondents cited the possibility of legal action due to either their use of \u200ddata or their research findings \u2062as a concern about their\u2064 projects.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThe move against the CCDH communicates to \u2064researchers looking at misinformation and hate \u2064speech \u200con online platforms \u2063that there is intrinsic liability in publicly disseminating\u200c findings,\u201d said Bond Benton,\u2063 an associate professor at\u2063 Montclair \u2064State \u200dUniversity,\u2063 which produced a study\u2063 last year that found hate speech increased on Twitter in the hours after Musk\u2019s takeover.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>One researcher, who declined to be named, was studying how the \u200csubject of rape\u2062 is discussed on X and told the \u200dsurvey they were worried about legal \u2064risk and the \u200cscientific validity of data collected \u200dwithout access to the \u2064API. The \u200cresearcher said they moved the study to examine a different social media platform.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>Musk and \u200cX CEO Linda Yaccarino have articulated a new policy called \u201cfreedom \u2064of speech, not reach\u201d that restricts the distribution of some posts but refrains from deleting them \u2063from the platform.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>X has\u200b said \u200b99% of content that users see on \u2064the platform is \u201chealthy,\u201d \u2062which the company attributed in July to estimates \u200dfrom Sprinklr, \u200da software company that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elon-musks-x-restructuring-curtails-disinformation-research-spurs-legal-fears\/\" title=\"Elon Musk's X restructure hampers disinformation research, raises legal concerns.\">helps brands monitor market trends<\/a> and customer sentiment online.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>A spokesperson for Sprinklr, which is listed as an official partner of Twitter, \u200ddeclined to confirm the \u2063figures cited in the July\u2062 post after Reuters\u2063 requested comment and \u2063said \u2064\u201cany recent external reporting prepared by Twitter\/X has been \u200bdone without Sprinklr\u2019s involvement.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>The spokesperson pointed to a March blog post that said toxic \u2063posts on X\u200c received three-times fewer views than non-toxic posts.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>Reporting by Sheila Dang in \u2062Austin; additional reporting by Zeba Siddiqui in San Francisco, Martin Coulter in London and Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; editing\u2063 by Kenneth Li and Anna Driver<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"rc-widget-10bad2\" data-rc-widget data-widget-host=\"habitat\" data-endpoint=\"\/\/trends.revcontent.com\" data-widget-id=\"278641\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"dpsp-share-text\" style=\"margin-bottom:10px\"> \t\t \t\tShare this post!\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>One California resident who was visiting\u200c family in Israel, attended the music festival , where more \u200bthan 200\u2062 people \u200cwere massacred by\u200b Hamas. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Critical Race\u2062 Theory continues to infiltrate school\u200d districts\u2064 across the country. But some are standing up to CRT. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>As Democrats\u200d seek to prosecute Republicans for contesting the 2020 election, the party admits that fraud has recently occurred across numerous states in recent\u2064 months. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Virginia and \u200bNew Jersey will \u2064head\u200c to the polls Tuesday to determine the makeup of their state legislative chambers. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Over 100 social\u200c media studies on X (formerly Twitter) disrupted by Elon Musk\u2019s platform access \u200brestrictions.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>NTT\u200c partners with Toyota for driverless\u2063 tech tests and U.S. self-driving startup investment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>The British PM\u2062 championed a series of\u200b landmark agreements after the first AI \u200bsafety summit,\u200c but a global plan \u2062for overseeing\u200c the \u2064technology remains\u200b a long way off.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Elon Musk\u2019s\u2063 artificial intelligence startup xAI\u2063 will\u200b release its first AI model to \u2064a select group on Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> rnrn  <\/p>\n<h2>PAA Questions:<\/h2>\n<p><span>  \u200d Title: Elon \u2063Musk&#8217;s Actions on\u2064 X \u200cLimit Social \u2062Media Researchers&#8217; Accessibility<\/p>\n<p>Introduction<\/p>\n<p>In recent years, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-acting-attorney-general-jeff-rosen-recently-wrote-an-essay-on-foreign-influence-in-us-elections-this-tells-us-a-little-about-his-knowledge-of-whats-going-on-today\/\" title=\"The New Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen Recently Wrote an Essay on Foreign Influence in US Elections \u2013 This Tells Us A Little About His Knowledge of What\u2019s Going On Today\">social media platforms<\/a> have become indispensable tools \u200bfor\u200b researchers \u200cstudying\u2062 various aspects of society, including information dissemination, public opinion, societal trends, and more. However, the actions taken by \u2064Elon Musk, the \u2064owner of X (formerly known as Twitter),\u200b have significantly impacted researchers&#8217; ability to access and analyze data\u2064 from the \u200bplatform. This article explores the repercussions of Musk&#8217;s restrictions on \u2062academic research and the potential consequences \u200dfor studying global events, misinformation, and \u2063hate speech.<\/p>\n<p>Impact on Research Studies<\/p>\n<p>According to interviews, surveys, and data gathered across academic and civil society\u2062 researchers, \u200dmore than 100 studies on X have been canceled, suspended, \u2063or changed\u200b due to Musk&#8217;s actions. The most crucial tool affected by these restrictions was\u2064 an application\u2064 programming interface (API)\u200d that provided \u2063researchers with data about \u200d10 million tweets per \u200cmonth. In February of\u2064 this year, Twitter informed researchers that free academic access to this \u2064API would cease, hampering their ability to gather real-time\u200b data effectively.<\/p>\n<p>Consequences for Real-time \u200cEvent Analysis<\/p>\n<p>The limitations imposed \u200dby Musk have had severe implications\u2062 for understanding contemporary events and the spread of false information. Researchers claim that studying\u200c events such as Hamas&#8217; attack on Israel or Israeli airstrikes in Gaza has become increasingly challenging due to the \u2062lack\u2062 of access \u2063to crucial data. The curtailed access prevents \u2062scholars from untangling the origin and spread of\u2062 misinformation during such incidents.<\/p>\n<p>Fear \u2062of \u200bLegal Consequences and Censorship<\/p>\n<p>The survey conducted by the\u200c Coalition for Independent Technology Research revealed that a majority of researchers fear being sued by X or facing restrictions on data usage. X&#8217;s lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) earlier this year after it published critical reports \u2063about the platform&#8217;s\u200d content\u200d moderation practices has further intensified \u2063concerns among \u200bresearchers.\u200d The \u200dapprehension surrounding potential backlash \u200bor suppression of findings has a chilling \u2062effect \u2064on research and academic freedom.<\/p>\n<p>Adverse Impact\u200d on \u2064Advertisement Revenue<\/p>\n<p>An additional consequence\u200c of Musk&#8217;s ownership of X \u200dhas been the significant decline in advertising revenue on the \u2063platform. Advertisers have fled\u2063 amidst concerns\u200d that their \u2062ads\u2064 may appear next to harmful \u200ccontent,\u2062 leading \u2064to a decline of\u200d at least 55% year-over-year in \u2062X&#8217;s U.S. ad revenue each month since Musk acquired the company. This decline not only affects \u2062the profitability of the\u2064 platform but\u200b indicates a lack of confidence in \u2062X&#8217;s ability to maintain a safe and reliable space \u200bfor advertisers.<\/p>\n<p>Scope and Nature\u2062 of Affected Studies<\/p>\n<p>The canceled, stalled, and changed research projects encompass a\u2062 wide range \u200cof topics, including hate speech, child safety, and\u200b subjects \u2064attracting regulatory scrutiny worldwide. The reduction in research capabilities has \u200ceven\u2064 hindered the investigation of X&#8217;s handling of disinformation, currently being examined by European \u200dUnion regulators. This diminished ability to study the platform leaves X users vulnerable to increased hate speech, misinformation, and\u2063 disinformation.<\/p>\n<p>Conclusion<\/p>\n<p>Elon Musk&#8217;s actions regarding X have significantly limited\u2063 social media researchers&#8217; ability to analyze and understand the platform&#8217;s influence on\u200b society. The extensive cancellation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over 100 studies on X, previously known as Twitter, have been canceled, suspended, or altered by social media researchers due to Elon Musk&#8217;s actions restricting access to the platform. This information was gathered from nearly a dozen interviews and a survey of upcoming projects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1911,"featured_media":2091739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[542],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2091738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oann"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2091738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1911"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2091738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2091738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2091739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2091738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2091738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2091738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}