Hate speech on X spiked in the months after Elon Musk’s purchase, study finds

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Hate speech on the social media platform ‘X’ spiked by almost 50% in the months following Elon Musk’s purchase, compared to the months prior, a new analysis has shown.

Researchers, including those from the University of California, Berkeley, also found that the number of bot and bot-like accounts did not decline during the period Mr. Musk was CEO, until June 2023.

Previous studies have shown that hate speech increased on X right after the U.S.-based entrepreneur purchased the social media platform – then known as Twitter – and became its CEO, with no reduction in bot-driven activity. Mr. Musk had pledged to “defeat the spam bots” in a post on X in April 2022.

The findings, published in the journal PLOS One, provide supporting evidence, while also pointing out trends in hate speech and bot accounts throughout Mr. Musk’s tenure.

Analysing hate speech in the English language and inauthentic activity on X during the period, the researchers found that hate speech spiked just before Musk’s purchase, continuing at a weekly rate 50% higher than in the months prior.

“The increase is seen across multiple dimensions of hate, including racism, homophobia, and transphobia,” the authors wrote.

Further, the analysis revealed a heightened engagement with hate-related content, with about a 70% increase in the average number of ‘likes’ on such posts.

Measuring inauthentic accounts on the social media platform, the authors found “no reduction (and a possible increase) in activity by these users after Mr. Musk purchased X,” pointing to potentially negative outcomes, including scams, interference in elections, and harm to public health campaigns.

Raising concerns about the safety of online platforms, the authors called for increased moderation on X and more research on activity and engagement across social media.

“Overall, the long-term increase in hate speech and the prevalence of potentially inauthentic accounts are concerning, as these factors can undermine safe and democratic online environments and increase the risk of offline harms,” they wrote.

An August 2023 study, published in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, revealed that environmentalists active on X dropped by nearly half in the six months following Mr. Musk’s takeover, a substantially higher drop-off rate than users discussing general politics on the platform.

The results raised alarm and signified a “substantial loss for the conservation community, which includes ecologists, social scientists, conservation practitioners, policymakers, and other interest groups,” researchers, including those from Pomona College, U.S., wrote.