John,
A new AP report is warning about an alarming trend in the spread of right-wing election lies and conspiracy theories on social media.
As most right-wing conspiracies do these days, it all started last week when an anonymous Twitter/ “X” user posted a false claim that new voters were registering without voter ID at “skyrocketing” rates.
The tweet quickly caught fire in the right-wing ecosystem, with Elon Musk, Marjorie Taylor Green, and Donald Trump acknowledging the tweet and spreading it to their followers. By the time state election officials stepped in to correct the misinformation, the tweet had more than 63 million views.
So why is Twitter/ “X” playing such an essential role in spreading right-wing misinformation?
When Elon Musk took over in 2023, he eliminated programs designed to stop the spread of misinformation in the name of free speech. That and new protections in the platform’s privacy policy made it easier for anonymous users to spread misinformation without accountability.
Further, he allowed those accounts to monetize divisive tweets. The account that spread the voter registration misinformation last week reported making over $10,000 last year from their tweets alone.
To top it off, Musk regularly shares the false content spread by anonymous users, effectively spreading misinformation to every corner of Twitter/ “X.”
Twitter’s downfall and the surge of right-wing misinformation online make COURIER’s mission to provide free, factual news in the spaces and places that need it most so important right now.
When we correct bad information by spreading good, we can fight the lies and conspiracies that hurt our democracy and divide our communities.
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Thanks,
COURIER