X's Community Notes fail to counter US election-related misinformation
3 Min Read
Misinformation shared on the X platform regarding the US elections has not been accurately addressed or corrected, according to a CCDH report.
-
Elon Musk speaks as part of a campaign town hall in support of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump in Folsom, Pa., Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP)
Elon Musk's user-applied fact-checking feature on his X platform, Community Notes, is reportedly failing to counter false information shared about the United States presidential elections, according to a study by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).
The CCDH sampled 283 "misleading" posts on the platform and found that a total of 209, or 74%, did not show accurate Community Notes to all X users correcting the false claims made regarding the elections.
"The 209 misleading posts in our sample that did not display available Community Notes to all users have amassed 2.2 billion views," the report stated, urging X to invest in information transparency and safety.
This came after X lost a lawsuit to CCDH earlier this year, suing for increasingly allowing hate speech on the social media platform.
Social media platforms, including X, have long been facing criticism regarding the dissemination of misinformation and conspiracy theories, particularly concerning elections and vaccines.
X chatbot sparks misinformation concern ahead of 2024 US election
A report by The Guardian in September revealed that misinformation about US election procedures spread online shortly after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election.
The false claims, which suggested it was too late to add a new candidate to ballots in nine states, were traced back to Grok, Twitter's AI chatbot. The incident has sparked growing concerns about the role of artificial intelligence in the 2024 US presidential election and its potential to mislead voters.
Despite initial inaction from the platform, election officials, led by Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, quickly flagged the problem to X. They urged the platform to address the error, fearing that future AI mistakes could have more serious consequences, such as incorrect information about voting procedures.
Five secretaries of state signed an open letter to Elon Musk and X, urging them to ensure Grok directs users to reliable, nonpartisan voting resources, such as CanIVote.org, when asked election-related questions.
The incident has also shed light on broader concerns about the role of AI in elections. Grok, which Musk has described as an "anti-woke" chatbot known for its "spicy" answers, lacks many of the guardrails that other AI tools, like ChatGPT, have in place to prevent misinformation.
