Musk, Yaccarino contradict each other on status of X's election integrity team
- Reference: 1695919449
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/09/28/x_election_integrity/
- Source link:
Responding to [1]researcher claims that X had eliminated the ability to report posts for election misinformation – or disinformation of any kind, based on this reporter's look at the current post reporting options on X – Musk said yesterday that he had axed the entire team.
"Oh you mean the 'Election Integrity' Team that was undermining election integrity? Yeah, they're gone," Musk [2]posted on X. His statement goes beyond claims from unnamed Twitter insiders who [3]told The Information that half the election integrity team, including its chief, had been chopped.
[4]
X CEO Yaccarino had an entirely different take when speaking at Vox's Code Conference yesterday. Asked why X had cut the team, Yaccarino said it hadn't. "It's an issue we take very seriously," Yaccarino reportedly [5]said .
[6]
[7]
"And contrary to the comments that were made, there is a robust and growing team at X that is wrapping their arms around election integrity," she added. Note that Yaccarino didn't indicate whether it's the same team that exists now.
The truth of the matter, as has often been the case with internal business at X since Musk took over, is hard to determine, and X only responded to our questions with its usual automated message.
C-suite unrest at the heart of X
Whether or not X has disbanded its election integrity team, there is a reoccurring theme: the platform has become, or at least is perceived to be, a hotbed of misinformation and hate speech since Musk took over.
[8]Reports on the rise of offensive content on X have been [9]plentiful , and Musk has blamed organizations for exaggerating the extent of the problem. Most recently, the European Commission [10]reported that X has the highest ratio of disinformation among large social media platforms.
[11]
The rise in hate speech and misinformation on X has coincided with the [12]departure of most of Twitter's former top advertisers over fears their ads may be served alongside objectionable content.
But that's another thing Yaccarino called into question at Code Conference yesterday. "We have a good set of eyes on what is predictable, what's coming is that it looks like in early '24, we will be turning a profit," she [13]said . "90 percent of the top 100 advertisers have returned to the platform in the last 12 weeks alone," she added.
[14]Twitter loses second head of Trust and Safety under Musk
[15]Yaccarino takes wheel at Twitter early as advertising woes become public
[16]Musk tells Twitter advertisers: You're welcome back, but don't make demands
[17]Ex-Twitter employees owed half a billion in severance, says lawsuit
Stepping back a bit, it's hard not to think of the wide-ranging [18]interview Yaccarino gave to the Financial Times recently that made it sound a bit like the X CEO and Musk spend time grappling for control of the day-to-day.
Yoel Roth, former head of trust and safety at Twitter until he [19]resigned shortly after Musk [20]disbanded the team, also spoke at Code Conference in a surprise speech shortly before Yaccarino took to the stage.
In his [21]remarks , Roth warned Yaccarino about Musk's mercurial attitude and how quickly she could find herself on the receiving end of his online abuse and the public harassment that comes with it (Roth repeatedly had to leave his home due to threats when he first left Twitter).
[22]
"It happened to me. It happened after he sang my praises publicly. It happened after I didn't attack him. I didn't attack the company. I quietly left," Roth said. "For those that you love, you should be worried. I wish I had been more worried," Roth reportedly said, appearing to aim his comments at Yaccarino.
The X CEO dismissed his advice.
"He doesn't know me, I don't know him," Yaccarino said. "I work at X. He worked at Twitter." Surely the [23]leopards won't eat her . ®
Get our [24]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.reuters.com/technology/musks-x-disabled-feature-reporting-electoral-misinformation-researcher-2023-09-27/
[2] https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1707147926789554422
[3] https://www.theinformation.com/articles/musks-x-cuts-half-of-election-integrity-team-after-promising-to-expand-it
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZRX3g-MgRGkWJeoNiBAVQAAAAIA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/linda-yaccarino-denies-x-is-disbanding-its-election-integrity-team-hours-after-elon-musk-posted-that-they-are-gone/articleshow/104018928.cms
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZRX3g-MgRGkWJeoNiBAVQAAAAIA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZRX3g-MgRGkWJeoNiBAVQAAAAIA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/01/x_corp_lawsuit_ccdh/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/05/twitter_adl_lawsuit/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/26/twitter_eu_disinformation/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZRX3g-MgRGkWJeoNiBAVQAAAAIA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/09/x_tries_to_win_back/
[13] https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/27/x-will-be-profitable-in-2024-ceo-claims-in-tense-interview/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/02/twitter_head_of_safety_quits/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2023/06/05/yaccarino_takes_twitter_helm_early/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/19/musk_says_twitter_advertisers_can/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2023/07/13/twitter_lawsuit/
[18] https://www.ft.com/content/18508c6f-c5f7-4e40-ad6f-ad46476d17bf
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/30/twitter_covid_misinformation/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/13/twitter_trust_and_safety_council/
[21] https://www.thewrap.com/linda-yaccarino-x-fires-back-yoel-roth-code-conference/
[22] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZRX3g-MgRGkWJeoNiBAVQAAAAIA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[23] https://twitter.com/Cavalorn/status/654934442549620736
[24] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: I call shenanigans
Their profitability might get even worse. Media Matters did some investigation and found NFL ads on five "major" (collectively the five had a million followers) white nationalist pages. When they asked the NFL for comment, the NFL immediately went to Twitter with questions.
If Twitler isn't able to fix that immediately and permanently, he will lose the NFL as an advertiser, and likely a lot of others would follow as they'd figure if Twitter can't even guarantee a huge advertiser like the NFL don't have ads appearing on racist pages there's no reason they should believe any assurances for their own ads.
So I wouldn't be shocked to see Media Matters on Musk's hit list next, if they aren't already there.
I work at X
Bless.
Hey Elon
better watch your back or you will be called to give evidence against Joe Biden. After all, it seems that everyone and their dogs are being called up in the attempt to pin something on Joe just to keep your boss (Trumpo) out of jail.
As a never user of Twittler he can't ban me but I would love to see mass demos of people proclaiming that Twitter lives wherever he goes. For a lot of users, it will never be 'X' in a million years.
Kneejerk canned response
Anytime you hear/see the statement "....is something we take very seriously", you know you're being diddled. A "robust and growing team focused on ...." is a less used programmed response.
I'm skeptical about all of the returning advertising customers. Perhaps there are companies advertising on X once again, but that doesn't mean their spend is what it was with Twitter.
I still see plenty of "new stories" that are nothing more than a repost of Xits or a bunch strung together with plenty of them under the "elon musk" banner. The guy seems to do nothing but spend time on the site posting nonsense.
Speaking of Mr. Free Speech Absolutist, SpaceX has entered into a contract for "Starsheild", a deal with the US government to use Starlink for military comms. It wasn't so long ago (weeks) that Elon shut off Ukraine for using Starlink for military uses (coordinating attacks). Of course Ukraine has been getting free and subsidized service and the US government is likely going to be buying Elon a couple of new Gulfstream jets loaded with pallets of cash, so big difference.
Re: Kneejerk canned response
The "something we take very seriously" line is, as you say, meaningless in itself, but in context it does have value. It's a license to journalists to follow up the issue and ask more questions another day.
Most public figures are happy to give out such licenses, because they know (a) journalists are lazy and there's a good chance they won't bother, and relatedly (b) the public attention span will have forgotten all about it by tomorrow, so any attempt to follow up will have to start with a recap, meaning most readers will have switched off before they get to the new bit.
Well...
Not sure why they bother with election misinformation reporting. You know that Republicans will just report every pro Democrat post, and Democrats will report every pro Republican post. So what's the point? The real misinformation comes from the masters of it - the politicians themselves. Social media is getting it in the neck simply because it cannot be controlled by politicians. Not a day goes by when the easier-to-control BBC (or mogul-owned newspapers), which are still blaming Putin and Covid for the state of the UK, rather than Brexit, comes up with yet another social media scare story.
It's not just social media of course, The BBC carries scare stories about tech more frequently than a Luddite evangelist. Perhaps the parents of the UK should listen and ban their kids from getting involved in tech in any way. No coding, no hardware building, no apps. And keep them away from smartphones. After all, technology empowers the individual at the expense of the state, and so it follows that everyone who can write code - or even anyone who owns a computer and has the ability to broadcast their views with it online, is a potential enemy of the state. You wouldn't want your kids getting mixed up in that, would you? Humanities only at uni or government officials may one day be knocking on your door at 3am.
The internet is just another media, and social media is the most democratic one of all. It allows ordinary people to have their say. If you dislike that, because you disagree with what they say, and want them silenced, maybe you should apply for membership of your nearest Communist or Fascist party. Because that is what they do best. You would fit in well. Ah. remember when we used to be proud of democracy? The old days, eh? Now our governments are racing to emulate China and turn the net into a system of universal surveillance in the name of public safety. Big Brother, keeping us safe from our own acts of thoughtcrime.
Social media permits a diversity of voices - like a group of people in a pub. If you don't like what they are saying, ignore them or offer an alternative point of view. Censorship is a slippery slope, favoured by corrupt politicians. Super-Injunctions and D-notices. That sort of thing. If you support it now, one day, it will be used against you or more likely your kids.
Ex CEO of X
Won't be too long now when Yaccarino becomes Ex CEO of X
Seems to me that it’s badly out of control and, given the influence that the platform has over the hard of thinking, it should probably be shut down.
Remember Popper Paradox. To protect freedom of speech it is sometimes necessary to limit it.
Previously at Xitter
[Yacc] You're hired!
[Elon] You're fired!
[Election integrity team] WTF?
That took longer than I thought it would
But now, she has contradicted the Great Leader.
Her days are numbered.
I call shenanigans
I do not believe for whatever fraction of a second you want to specify that Twitter is anywhere near profitable. That just smacks of some questionable accounting practices. "If we ignore all these massive liabilities like back rent and compensation owed to laid off employees, and combine that with the most rosy of potential outcomes with advertisers and gullible idiots paying for a blue checkmark, we could potentially be profitable!" The only way I'd believe they aren't doing something like that is if they opened their books... which, of course, they won't do because then people would be able to see exactly how bad things are there.
That said, there was an article I saw the other day about how Twitler announced Yaccarino was the new CEO before she even had a chance to tell her NBC bosses. She was preparing for some big trade conference presentation when Twitler xcreeted the news, causing a bit of a kerfuffle. So, why she would then be so stupid as to ignore the advice given to her by someone in a similar position not too long ago... When Twitler turns on her, I won't feel the least bit bad for her. She was warned, she had plenty of evidence right in front of her, and she chose to ignore it all. Also, her comments are not even necessarily accurate. They both worked at Twitter, since she came on before the rename.