Twitter spews lies: US prez FIVE PROMINENT INDIAN-AMERICAN POLITICIANS IN RACE FOR HOUSE

Ahead of crucial polls in the US, there is fear that layoffs may impair the social network’s ability to curb misinformation

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has criticised Elon Musk’s acquisiton of Twitter, saying the social media platform was responsible for spewing lies.

Biden made the remarks during a fundraiser in Chicago on Friday as he warned donors about the effect the November 8 midterms would have on the coming years. “Now what are we all worried about? Elon Musk goes out and buys an outfit that sends and spews lies all across the world,” Biden said.

“There’s no editors anymore,” Biden added. “There’s no editors. How do we expect kids to be able to understand what is at stake?”

Musk, who styles himself as a champion of free-speech, acquired Twitter for $44 billion. He has removed most top executives and the board, and quickly embarked on a plan to lay off roughly half the company’s 7,500 employees. His plans to revamp its content moderation though have rattled advertisers, including Pfizer and General Mills, who say they will temporarily pause ad spending on the platform to see how Musk intends to change Twitter.

Musk has pledged the platform will not devolve into a “free-for-all hellscape,” but experts warn that mass layoffs on Friday may deeply impair the social network’s ability to curb misinformation, only days before midterm elections, when a spike in fake content is expected across social media.

Musk on Thursday and Friday slashed over half the staff, affecting almost every team at the company. Product and engineering teams were gutted by well over 50%, according to two sources, and other groups - like communications, marketing, human rights and diversity - were almost completely eliminated.

‘Massively disrupted’

Twitter has historically been a major tool for following news during elections, as the first place information gets reported before it ends up on television or other social networks.

Now, the site “has been massively disrupted”, becoming vulnerable to problems during high-traffic moments, or coordinated disinformation campaigns, said Dr Kate Starbird, an associate professor at the University of Washington and co-founder of the Center for an Informed Public. “Some of the ways that [the] platform worked yesterday are not going to be the ways that they work today, tomorrow and going into the election on Tuesday.”

Also fuelling the tension over the lack of content controls is Musk’s plan to allow anyone to pay for a verification check mark on Twitter as soon as Monday, as part of a new initiative to drive revenue through subscriptions to Twitter Blue, its premium product. If enacted as planned, it would mean anyone would be able to pay $8 to have their account look more legitimate, adding a risk they would impersonate candidates or government entities.

WASHINGTON: Five prominent Indian-American politicians are in the race for the US House of Representatives in midterm polls on November 8.

If the pollsters and opinions of political pundits are to be believed, Indian-American candidates are likely to have a 100% strike rate for the House of Representatives.

The four incumbents - Ami Bera, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna and Pramila Jayapal are likely to be re-elected.

All four are from the Democratic Party.

Adding to the so-called Samosa Caucus of Indian-Americans in the House of Representatives would be the entrepreneur and businessman Shri Thanedar, who is seeking his election from the 13th Congressional District of Michigan.

AP President Joe Biden