X witnesses tsunami of cover-up in war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas group (File)
Washington:
Influencers on X (formerly Twitter) are profiting from misinformation about conflicts in the Middle East, taking advantage of the platform’s controversial policies that researchers say prioritize engagement over accuracy.
Since Elon Musk acquired X, formerly Twitter, in 2022, the site has reinstated thousands of once-banned accounts and introduced a paid verification system that critics say has fueled conspiracies The development of commentators.
X has also launched an advertising revenue sharing program for verified users who often peddle hate and disinformation to profit from the platform.
Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center to Counter Digital Hate (CCDH), said: “Today, cynical pay-to-play controversialists are deliberately stoking anger against Musk’s platform games in order to get them more access. more visibility and thus more revenue for their views.” AFP.
The A video shows Iran bombing a US military base in Iraq.
The incendiary post comes amid widespread fears of wider war in the Middle East.
Through a reverse image search, AFP fact-checkers discovered that the video actually depicts an attack in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
In another provocative post debunked by AFP, Hinkle falsely claimed that Yemen had “declared war with Israel” in support of the Palestinians.
While Yemen’s Houthi rebels have targeted Israel with missiles and drones, neither they nor the country’s internationally recognized government have officially declared war.
“reverse”
In addition to raising tens of thousands of dollars on crowdfunding sites, Hinkle offers “premium content” to subscribers on X for $3 a month.
“Your support has helped me continue to expose the deep state after I was banned and demonetized from YouTube, Twitch, PayPal, and Venmo,” his appeal said.
When contacted by AFP, Schinkel declined to say how much he earned on X, but instead criticized coverage of Ukraine and the war in the Middle East. Hinkle’s false posts have racked up millions of views.
Hinkle makes at least $3,000 per month from paying subscribers, according to rough estimates CCDH made based on engagement data on its subscriber-only posts.
Last August, Hinkle revealed on X that he also made $1,693 through an ad revenue sharing program, while complaining that other less engaged users were getting higher payouts.
British creator Sulaiman Ahmed and Danish doctor Anastasia Maria Loupis also benefit from X’s verified and paid subscription plans, AFP The agency fact-checked both men several times to find war-related misinformation.
Neither responded to requests for comment.
CCDH’s Ahmed said Musk has “created a chaotic platform where authoritative sources struggle to be heard and liars and hateful actors are elevated to a pedestal. Generate revenue for yourself and your platform.”
X did not respond to AFP’s request for comment.
‘unrealistic’
To qualify for ad revenue share, users must meet a few requirements, such as subscribing to X’s $8 per month premium subscription and having at least 500 followers.
Last year, Musk said posts with community annotations (an X feature that allows users to rebut claims and provide more context) would “not be eligible for revenue share.”
“The idea is to maximize incentives for accuracy rather than sensationalism,” Musk wrote on X.
But Jack Brewster of media watchdog NewsGuard told AFP that “viral posts spreading misinformation are often not flagged by community annotations.”
In October, NewsGuard analyzed the 250 most popular posts promoting one of 10 prominent false or unsubstantiated narratives about the Israel-Hamas war.
The study found that only 32% of them had been tagged by community annotations.
The following month, NewsGuard uncovered ads from 86 major companies, including top brands, governments and nonprofits, that promoted “false or grossly misleading claims about the Israel-Hamas war” in viral posts Speech”.
That included an ad for the FBI in one of Hinkle’s posts, which falsely claimed a video showed an Israeli military helicopter firing on its own citizens.
NewsGuard said the video actually showed Israeli warplanes over Gaza, adding that the post had been viewed nearly 2 million times but had no community description.
“Community Notes as it is currently structured is not a system that can cover all contexts,” Princeton University professor Jacob Shapiro, who was on the project’s advisory group before Musk’s acquisition, told AFP hold office.
“Expecting volunteers to individually capture … deceptive content to prevent people from monetizing it reflects unrealistic expectations of the tool’s functionality.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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