Elon Musk Just Handed China and Russia a Huge Boost – Newsweek
Twitter CEO Elon Musk has sparked concern the social media platform could see an increase in misinformation and propaganda after the company stopped tagging some accounts as "government-funded" media or China or Russia "state-affiliated" media.
Last November, after acquiring Twitter, Musk tweeted that Twitter needed to become "by far the most accurate source of information about the world".
The platform soon introduced context tabs for some tweets. These tabs would give a deeper explanation of a topic related to the tweet and in some cases identify false information.
One feature that was introduced that received both condemnation and praise was the Twitter information tags on profiles. This would identify profiles that were government-funded, or considered state-affiliated so Twitter users understood the wider context of the views they expressed.
According to a Reuters report, Twitter has, in part, dropped this feature. Some profiles that previously had "government-funded", "China state-affiliated" or "Russia state-affiliated" have had the labels removed.
Social Media Lab, a research laboratory at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University in Canada, referred to a move by Twitter this month to label public broadcaster Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as "69% government funded media".
"After making a show of labeling @cbc as '69% government-funded media,' the label is now gone. But what's more troubling is the fact that, overnight, Twitter has also quietly deleted labels from many state-run propaganda outlets of authoritarian regimes such as RT, Sputnik & CCCTV," it said on Twitter.
Twitter user @MrSeanHaines shared screenshots of multiple Twitter profiles that previously had China state-affiliated media tags and highlighted his concerns.
He wrote sarcastically: "I'm sure none will go back to hiding their employers, pretending to be humble journalists/influencers, right. Right?
The user, describing themselves on Twitter as being "ex-China state media", also shared comments CGTN journalist Li Jingjing made about being considered China-state affiliated media.
In one of her previous tweets: Jingjing said: "I also wear [China state-affiliated media] as a badge of honor.
"Because, despite the shadowban this tag brings, people who are tired of US mainstream media propaganda want to come to my page even more to hear a Chinese perspective."
A follow-up tweet appeared to show Jingjing celebrating the label being removed, however.
MrSeanHaines showed other profiles that had previously had China state-affiliation requesting Musk remove the feature or celebrating when it was removed.
Freelance journalist Oliya Scootercaster also highlighted that profiles that previously were aligned with Russian-state media have had their tag removed.
Sharing images of the tags removed, she captioned the pictures: "TASS and RT, a Russia government-run 'news' channels had their 'state-affiliated' and 'government-funded' labels removed on Twitter. NPR and BBC newly slapped-on labels are no longer present either."
Newsweek has contacted Twitter via email for comment.
Last week, during a BBC interview, Musk said Twitter was trying to be as accurate as possible but was looking into amending the label, following complaints from some individuals and companies.
Speaking specifically about the BBC being deemed "government-funded,"a label the broadcaster objected tohe said: "Our goal is simply to be as truthful and accurate as possible. We're adjusting the label to be 'publicly funded', which I think is perhaps not too objectionable.
James Rubin, a coordinator for the Global Engagement Center, a state department body set up to identify and counter foreign propaganda and disinformation, has previously raised his concerns about Chinese and Russian propaganda spreading.
Speaking during a European tour in late February, according to a Guardian report, he said: "The well has been poisoned by Chinese and Russian disinformationit's pernicious.
"We as a nation and the West have been slow to respond and it is a fair judgment that we are facing a very, very large challenge.
"In the communication space, the alignment between China and Russia is near complete."
He also commented on how this propaganda push is seen elsewhere in the world.
He said: "For some African countries, for some Asian countries, Ukraine is a war far away. They believe that they don't get enough attention from the West, period, all of them. That makes some of them look at this war through that lens."
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Elon Musk Just Handed China and Russia a Huge Boost - Newsweek
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