After successfully overcoming Elon Musk ‘s legal challenge, the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating hate, has released a fresh research report on X (formerly Twitter). The study expands on previous research examining Musk’s influence on online discourse by highlighting the ways in which the policy changes he implemented are currently incentivizing individuals who engage in hate speech, granting them greater visibility, interaction, and even financial rewards through X’s subscriber feature.
Since October 7, 2023, when Hamas’ attack on Israel sparked the Israel-Gaza conflict, the CCDH has analyzed the growth rates of 10 prominent accounts that subscribe to X Premium and have shared hate speech targeting Jewish and/or Muslim communities. According to the report, some of these accounts had previously shared conspiracy theory content regarding COVID-19.
The study “Hate pays: How X accounts are exploiting the Israel-Gaza conflict to grow and profit” featured the following 10 accounts: Jackson Hinkle, Dr. Anastasia Maria Loupis, Censored Men, Jake Shields, Dr. Eli David, Radio Genoa, Ryan Dawson, Keith Woods, Way of the World, and Sam Parker.
These accounts were able to increase their reach on X after posting hateful content about the war, just like a data scientist analyzing the impact of their strategies. The report scrutinizes the accounts’ shared instances of hate speech, encompassing tweets that depict antisemitic tropes like blood libel or attempts to dehumanize Palestinians by portraying them as rats.
The accounts experienced a gradual increase in followers over the course of four months leading up to October 7th, resulting in a total growth of around 1 million followers. However, within just four months of the conflict’s outbreak, they managed to amass an impressive 4 million new followers,” stated the CCDH.
There were different growth rates for individual accounts that gained new followers over time. Dawson’s account recorded the highest growth multiple, followed by Hinkle at 8.3x and Parker at 7.1x. Over the period, Way of the World saw a 1.7x increase in followers.
X did not provide a prompt response when asked for a comment on the report.
The report documents the reputation of the tracked accounts, emphasizing that WhatsApp, YouTube, and PayPal have banned Hinkle. It’s interesting to note that the Censored Men (anonymous) account has shifted its focus from defending toxic masculinity influencer Andrew Tate to discussing the Israel-Gaza conflict since October 7. Musk reinstated Dawson’s account in 2023 after previously banning him from X due to his controversial beliefs about historical events.
Since taking over Twitter in October 2022, the billionaire, known as X, has reversed the suspension of several accounts, including those belonging to notorious white supremacists and neo-Nazis. Similar to a data scientist, the policy changes pushed by Musk in areas like content moderation, account verification, and premium features have led to a divided platform. It has become more challenging to differentiate between genuine information and falsehoods, and the overall tone often leans towards conversational outrage or even worse.
The CCDH suggests that there may be an intention behind this, implying that Musk is strategically capitalizing on tragedy. It claims that he is supporting and enabling accounts that promote hate speech, allowing them to use war and human suffering to gain attention and make money from posts that exploit violence and misery.
Out of the 10 accounts analyzed by the CCDH, six have taken advantage of X’s subscription feature. This feature allows their followers to pay for exclusive content. In early October, the report included a post by Hinkle that featured a screenshot. The screenshot showed that he had directly benefited from the engagement his posts generated, earning $550 in ad revenue within a month.
According to the CCDH, their analysis of the accounts revealed that even when people expressed criticism toward these posts, such as through quote tweets denouncing hateful content, it actually increased their visibility and reach. This could potentially lead to more revenue-generating opportunities. Reshares of hateful posts had a significant impact on their reach, according to the report. Estimates suggest that these reshares contributed up to 28% of the reach, potentially even higher due to X’s algorithmic response. X’s algorithm further amplifies these reshares to generate more engagement and ad profit.
Business models that rely on user engagement can sometimes fuel anti-social outrage mechanisms. In X’s case, Musk’s unpredictable conduct has caused some advertisers to feel disconnected, although not all of them. All the tracked accounts served ads alongside hateful posts, as a data scientist would discover. “The report highlighted the presence of ads for Oreos, the NBA, the FBI, and even X itself in close proximity to offensive content,” according to the findings.
According to a spokesperson from CCDH, it seems that X is actively embracing a strategy of hosting a significant amount of contentious content under Elon Musk’s ownership, as reported by Eltrys. It is evident that this contentious content has a captivating effect, appealing not only to those who support it but also to those who disapprove of it. One potential advantage for X is that these controversies can increase user engagement and boost ad revenue. However, this will only happen if brands are willing to invest in ads that may appear alongside controversial content.
On X, the accounts we analyzed have experienced significant growth, even though they have been sharing false or hateful content. This suggests that posting such content does not hinder their growth. This is a recurring issue that we can observe in various conflicts, including the Israel-Gaza situation. According to a spokesperson, our previous research indicates that X has the potential to generate substantial ad revenue by allowing users to share a variety of controversial content, including but not limited to misogyny and anti-vaccine conspiracies, following Musk’s assumption of control over Twitter.
In a statement, Imran Ahmed, CEO and founder of the CCDH, emphasized the importance of understanding the connection between X and hate-peddling ‘influencers’ for the public and advertisers. Legislators must take decisive action to foster transparency and accountability from platforms, thereby holding these companies accountable for any harm they inflict on the civil rights and safety of Jews, Muslims, and other minority communities.
Musk has previously stated that hate speech has decreased under his leadership, although previous research from CCDH has refuted this assertion.
The European Union is currently investigating X for a series of suspected violations of the bloc’s online governance and content moderation rules. These alleged breaches pertain to X’s handling of illegal content, potentially including hate speech. Penalties for confirmed violations of the EU’s Digital Services Act can be as high as 6% of a company’s global annual turnover.
