U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), along with several congressional members, on Wednesday sent a letter to Elon Musk regarding the reported termination of a significant portion of X’s (formerly Twitter) election integrity team.
What Happened: Last week, it was reported that Aaron Rodericks, the head of threat intelligence at X, and four other team members responsible for identifying election-related misinformation and disinformation on the platform were fired. This prompted questions about election misinformation increasing on the platform ahead of the 2024 U.S. elections.
In response, Musk took X and said, “Oh you mean the “Election Integrity” Team that was undermining election integrity? Yeah, they’re gone.”
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Now Schiff, joined by Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Rep. Andre Carson (D-Nev.), Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Ga.), Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Ma.), and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) has sent a letter to the tech billionaire “demanding answers regarding” these firings.
“These firings represent the latest example of the misinformation and hostile environment Musk has fostered on X’s platform since purchasing the company,” read the press release sent by Schiff’s office.
Schiff also took to Musk’s X and expressed his concerns, stating, “Elon Musk’s reported firing of over half of X’s election integrity team is another example of how he is willing to tolerate any destructive content that makes him money.”
“We deserve answers,” he added.
Musk is yet to respond to this letter. You can read the complete letter here.
For the unversed, Musk acquired Twitter, now rebranded as X, for $44 billion in October 2022. Previously, it was reported that in November last year, the tech billionaire fired Twitter’s specialist elections team.
Why It’s Important: The reported firings happened at a time when social media platforms are under immense pressure to tackle misinformation and maintain the credibility of elections.
However, Musk and his X seem to be taking a different route.
Previously, it was reported that Musk’s X rolled back a feature that allowed users to report posts containing hate speech or misinformation in several countries, including the U.S. and Australia.
The tech billionaire has previously said that he bought Twitter to ensure people can express themselves openly and support trustworthy news. He introduced a feature called “Community Notes” to fight against fake news on the site, but it’s not perfect.
Photo by Salma Bashir Motiwala on Shutterstock
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