Social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, under the ownership of Elon Musk, has released its first transparency report, shedding light on its content moderation practices. The report discloses that millions of posts and accounts were removed from the platform in the first half of the year. X suspended close to 5.3 million accounts during this period, significantly higher than the 1.6 million accounts it suspended in the first half of 2022. Moreover, over 10.6 million posts were either removed or labeled for violating platform rules, with approximately 5 million of them falling under the category of breaching the “hateful conduct” policy.
A substantial portion of the content that was either labeled or removed due to policy violations included posts with “violent content” amounting to 2.2 million, as well as those involving “abuse and harassment” totaling 2.6 million. However, the report does not differentiate between the number of posts removed versus those that were labeled. X shared that they employ a combination of machine learning and human review to enforce their regulations. These automated systems either take necessary action or flag the content for human moderators. The company highlighted that posts breaching X’s policy made up less than 1% of all the content on the platform.
In the midst of this, criticism has been directed at Elon Musk for steering the once fun platform into a chaotic and toxic environment. Musk, known for sharing conspiracy theories and engaging in disputes with global leaders and politicians, has faced backlash in countries like Brazil where X is currently banned. The ban was imposed amid a dispute between Musk and a Brazilian Supreme Court judge regarding free speech, far-right accounts, and misinformation.
Elon Musk had expressed interest in purchasing Twitter in 2022, citing its failure to fulfill its potential as a “platform for free speech.” Since the acquisition in October of that year, Musk has implemented significant changes within the company, leading to the departure of numerous celebrities, public figures, organizations, and regular users from the platform.
