Internet
New people responsible for platform security
Elon Musk is relying on two new heads to manage his platform X (formerly Twitter). photo
© Monika Skolimowska/dpa
Hate speech is increasingly becoming an economic problem for Elon Musk’s platform. Calls for violence and anti-Semitism are not very attractive for advertising customers. The new staff should fix it.
Hate speech is also a business problem for X. The service relies on advertising revenue – and companies do not want their brands to appear next to posts with calls for violence or anti-Semitic slogans. Since Musk took over Twitter in fall 2022, advertising revenue has halved. The tech billionaire promised radical freedom of speech at He relies on severely restricting the distribution of posts with problematic content instead of removing them. Since the takeover, two safety managers have already left.
A few months ago, online researchers demonstrated how advertising from well-known brands can appear alongside anti-Semitic posts. Musk countered that the examples were artificially constructed and did not correspond to everyday use. Several large advertising customers have now reduced their spending on X or have stopped spending altogether.
Musk insulted advertisers
X boss Linda Yaccarino, appointed by Musk, tries to convince them that the platform offers a safe environment for their brands. Musk, meanwhile, insulted renegade advertisers during an appearance a few months ago, claiming they would be to blame if X failed. Musk, who is politically aligned with the American right, attacks the Disney company and its boss Bob Iger particularly violently.
The X owner himself caused a scandal when he described a post with an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory as “actual truth”. Musk later said it was a mistake and misunderstanding and apologized. X emphasized on Tuesday that freedom of speech and security must coexist on the service.