Truth be told, Elon, X misses the spot
Billionaire Elon Musk’s claim on his social media platform boasting that X stands for “truth” has to be the most laughable fake news I’ve read all week. It’s up there with President Joe Biden’s story about his Uncle Bosie being eaten by cannibals.
Since Elon bought X, formerly known as Twitter, it’s become an online “Disneyland” for conspiracy theorists and those wishing to spread misinformation and disinformation.
Kate, the Princess of Wales, was trending on X last month, as people speculated on why she hadn’t been seen in public since her operation. She was in hiding because she had botched cosmetic surgery, had an eating disorder, was in a coma, or she was dead.
Answer: none of the above.
Did you know Meghan Markle never actually birthed her two children and that instead she used a surrogate? Yes, that was a pregnancy belly prosthetic, according to antiMeghan activists.
But it’s not Elon’s job to police gossip and speculation, however nasty and ridiculous some of it is.
I’m more worried about other more dangerous falsehoods allowed to circulate on X that have the potential to cause harm on a mass scale.
Disease X, the name used by scientists and the World Health Organisation for a hypothetical virus that could cause the next pandemic, has been seized upon by conspiracy theorists who say it is actually a plot by the elite to depopulate the earth. Health experts fear this could further fuel vaccine hesitancy in the future.
Scammers and fraudsters are jumping on the back of these trending conspiracy theories and making money. Special medical kits to protect against Disease X are being sold online. Timothy Caulfield, from the University of Alberta in Canada, told AFP recently that “misinformation mongers” exploit conspiracy theories to sell products, saying this is often their “primary mode of income”.
“The conflict is profound. Without the evidence-free fear mongering about vaccines and government conspiracies, they’d have little or no income.”
Running a free-for-all platform is, of course, the cheapest option.
But Elon, I reckon it’s time to take some social responsibility and re-hire some of those moderators you got rid of.