Elon Musk’s X allows China-based propaganda banned on other platforms

X accused of overlooking propaganda flagged by Meta and criminal prosecutors.

See full article...

 

[GreyAreaUK]

Musk was right. All of you guys are too addicted to it that you won't stop regardless of what he did with it.

Left it about 9 months ago and haven't missed it in the slightest.

Anything else you'd like to be hilariously wrong about, kiddo?

 

[GreyAreaUK]

So far there's estimated 335 million active X users in 2024. Still higher than their numbers in 2019.
So your insults and irrelevant statement only showed your lack of intelligence and eq.

Frankly, you sound like someone trying to justify their presence there. You sound like a badge-renter.

 

[DeschutesCore]

So far there's estimated 335 million active X users in 2024. Still higher than their numbers in 2019.

Estimated by whom?

 

[GreyAreaUK]

Estimated by whom?

And how many of those 'active users' are actual people, and not bots?

 

[DeschutesCore]

The freedom of the press belongs to the person who owns one.

Elon Musk happens to own a printing press, the modern equivalent thereof, that many people wish he did not own. However there are also many people that are delighted that he lets them use his printing press.

Like beauty, misinformation is in the eye of the beholder.

Today can be the day you stop sniffing glue. I believe in you.

 

[GreyAreaUK]

Like beauty, misinformation is in the eye of the beholder.

"Oh, you know - those views..."

 

[Deleted member 1061767]

And how many of those 'active users' are actual people, and not bots?

I’ve never understood how those numbers could possibly be accurate.

Facebook claims three billion “active monthly users.“ That’s almost 40% of the population of the planet. At least a billion people are unable to use it for a variety of non-political reasons (age, disability, poverty, illiteracy, etc). Do ordinary people in China and other repressive countries have access to it without a VPN? If not, cross another billion people off the list.

I can honestly say that I personally know almost nobody who still uses it. As I understand it, the younger generation eschews it as being for “old people.” Admittedly, this is all just anecdotal evidence from the U.S. only, but is my math wrong? It just seems like beyond fantasy.

Not trusting Facebook’s numbers, I sure as hell don’t trust Twitter’s self-reported numbers as being real, distinct human beings. I guess the only people who need to truly believe are the advertisers. Does Twitter still have those?

 

[GreyAreaUK]

I guess the only people who need to truly believe are the advertisers. Does Twitter still have those?

Sure! It has a healthy, vibrant mix of adverhahahahahahahAHAHAHAHAHAhahaaahahahah dammit nearly made it....

I mean sure, it still has advertisers, but most of them are selling boner pills and cat-poop calendars.

But hey, a buck's a buck, right Musk?

 

[caramelpolice]

The freedom of the press belongs to the person who owns one.

Elon Musk happens to own a printing press, the modern equivalent thereof, that many people wish he did not own. However there are also many people that are delighted that he lets them use his printing press.

Like beauty, misinformation is in the eye of the beholder.

the wise man bowed his head solemnly and spoke: "theres actually zero difference between true & false things. you imbecile. you fucking moron"

 

[StrahdIvarius]

Does it count as propaganda if they bought a blue check?
I bet according to musk's rules it doesn't. Thats how hate speech is down, just change the rules to exclude it, and problem solved.

And don't forget that if you pay for a "premium", Elon will pay you back every time you post something (based on views by bots), this is how Russia is financing part of its war of aggression...

 

[TVPaulD]

Elon Musk is the honey badger.

Honey badger don’t give a shit.

Daniel Ricciardo is the Honey Badger and Elon Musk isn’t fit to drink from his shoe.

 

[cgo_12345]

People who dare to tell the truth

... is what self-important lying clowns usually call themselves, yes.

 

[sxotty]

The biggest step would be for all organisations to do their Twitter accounts and quit advertising.

 

[GreyAreaUK]

Sounds like your lack of intelligence and eq is correct since all you can do is now throwing insults instead of stating data.

Sure, pumpkin.

 

[MarcMadness]

I'm sorry, is Google so foreign to you? You can check the numbers yourself as many market analysts have it like counterpoint and canalys. But apparently you just want to be spoonfed. Apparently that's the level of Ars readers. Oh well, expected.

Usually it's the responsibility of the person making the argument to defend their position, the onus is on them to provide sources. Telling people that they should "just Google it" is intellectually lazy.

Second, you've used the term "eq" a number of times. The first time I have ever personally encountered this term was in the book "True North" by Bill George and Peter Sims. It largely seemed to be used to rationalize the psychopathy of rich and powerful people. It also seems to be about as legitimate a metric as IQ (read not at all). Perhaps refrain from talking about "eq" if you want to be taken seriously.

 

[DarthSlack]

I’m politically pretty left leaning and my comments are also getting removed on YouTube.

This only started recently. I used to never any issues with it, but now it’s a problem. These aren’t people doing the deleting, it happens automatically and within seconds of posting.

So just what are you posting? Give us some examples.

 

[orwelldesign]

So just what are you posting? Give us some examples.

Yeah, weird... Because I comment on YouTube videos and my comments never get deleted.

Not rarely. Never.

I suspect that person isn't telling the whole truth.

 

[DeschutesCore]

I'm sorry, is Google so foreign to you? You can check the numbers yourself as many market analysts have it like counterpoint and canalys. But apparently you just want to be spoonfed. Apparently that's the level of Ars readers. Oh well, expected.

Oh, I'm sorry. I was busy waiting for you to name ANYONE silenced and what they said that was removed.

In regards to your second point, you made the claim without evidence. It does not fall upon the audience to do the work.

extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence

But you already know this. Just like you know to keep needling people and asking questions while never answering one. We see you, and your droppings just fine, cockroach.

 

[ElCameron]

Not worried about twitter. More worried about online gaming platforms, snapchat, telegram, tiktok:
https://www.justsecurity.org/87566/...ne-video-games-to-promote-the-war-in-ukraine/
and the growing political divide between the sexes definitely points to some level of manipulation on some platforms more than others.

https://www.ft.com/content/29fd9b5c-2f35-41bf-9d4c-994db4e12998
And yes, I hold the view that the only way to be any current "american conservative / republican", is to be brainwashed at some point. Whether it is outside influences, your parents, or peer pressure.

 

[AmanoJyaku]

Usually it's the responsibility of the person making the argument to defend their position, the onus is on them to provide sources. Telling people that they should "just Google it" is intellectually lazy.

In regards to your second point, you made the claim without evidence. It does not fall upon the audience to do the work.

I "just Googled it".

The numbers do not support the claim "All of you guys are too addicted to it that you won't stop regardless of what he did with it."

As of five months ago:

X is being downloaded at its lowest rate in over a decade after an abrupt rebrand and an escalation of controversy driven by its owner Elon Musk.

From the start of July to early September, the app's downloads fell by almost 30% compared with the preceding two months, according to data from the app performance tracker Apptopia. July was when Musk renamed Twitter as X, ignoring conventional branding wisdom and the wishes of CEO Linda Yaccarino. Compared with the same period last year, just prior to Musk's $44 billion takeover, downloads are down 18%.

It's one of the worst showings of interest in the app since before it went public in 2013. It has usually gained 15 million to 30 million new users each month since 2011, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It gained just 10 million users between August and September of this year.

Downloads of the app fell in nearly every country X is available, including its biggest markets, such as the US, the UK, and Japan, according to Apptopia. Visits to the web version of X, which still operates as twitter.com, fell since the start of the year, with global web traffic down 10% in August and US traffic down 15%, compared with a year ago, according to an analysis by Similarweb.

It's also necessary to provide context on what "use" means:

Use of the app also slipped on a daily and monthly basis, with millions fewer people opening the app regularly. So far in September, daily users are down to 249 million, a roughly 1.5% decrease from early July, when daily users were at nearly 253 million. Monthly users are down by about the same percentage, now at 393 million users from 398 million in July.

Clearly, people have left Twitter, and daily active usage is far less than monthly active usage.

As for how many are bots, estimates are as high as 20%. But no one really knows, not even Twitter.

 

[gsgrego]

I find it interesting Ashley is still pushing nonsense that drove me away years ago. Why is she allowed to peddle her woke nonsense to a technical crowd? I expect the government to pus Covid, climate change, Ukraine, etc., but in a technical place I expect better. Fire her!

Define "woke" because until you do I will assume you mean it as a replacement for "women as less than human", "non whites are less than human", and "children should die in the mines".

As for the rest of your statement... you posted this from a technical device, developed by science, the same science that has proven climate change, covid, and more.

I always love the climate change rant though, because it just shows you literally just want to murder and kill people. Even if climate change was false the actions to do something about it:

• Create jobs in America
• Create cleaner food
• Create cleaner water
• Create cleaner air
• Create more energy generation in America

And the only reason you types ever give is that you don't want company ceo and shareholders to make less money at the expense of regular people.

 

[DeschutesCore]

I find it interesting Ashley is still pushing nonsense that drove me away years ago. Why is she allowed to peddle her woke nonsense to a technical crowd? I expect the government to pus Covid, climate change, Ukraine, etc., but in a technical place I expect better. Fire her!

So desperate for attention you had to steal the biggest losers' personality? That is fucking embarrassing.

 

[cgo_12345]

I find it interesting Ashley is still pushing nonsense that drove me away years ago. Why is she allowed to peddle her woke nonsense to a technical crowd? I expect the government to pus Covid, climate change, Ukraine, etc., but in a technical place I expect better. Fire her!

At least you used "woke" so nobody has to waste time taking you seriously.

 

[orwelldesign]

At least you used "woke" so nobody has to waste time taking you seriously.

Well, my favorite part is the 7 year 2 post nonsubscriber saying anything. At all. It's obnoxious enough when subscribers do it, it's just pure poppycock when trash tier snowflakes like OP go on their ridiculous rants.

 

[Deleted member 388703]

I find it interesting Ashley is still pushing nonsense that drove me away years ago. Why is she allowed to peddle her woke nonsense to a technical crowd? I expect the government to pus Covid, climate change, Ukraine, etc., but in a technical place I expect better. Fire her!

There's enough flaws in Belanger's writing style that if you want to criticize her you don't need to hallucinate brain-dead bullshit like that.

 

[bburdge]

I find it interesting Ashley is still pushing nonsense that drove me away years ago. Why is she allowed to peddle her woke nonsense to a technical crowd? I expect the government to pus Covid, climate change, Ukraine, etc., but in a technical place I expect better. Fire her!

As an actual paying customer of this site I find Ashley's work to be quite fine, and I encourage her and the Ars staff to continue reporting on the critical intersection of technology and society.

As for your other comments, based on your one previous post (a low effort copy-paste from Wikipedia to defend Starlink's ability to perform in rain) it's reasonable to conclude you're just a weird Muskovite who is terribly upset their precious hero has been presented in an unfavorable light.

 

[AmanoJyaku]

Well, my favorite part is the 7 year 2 post nonsubscriber saying anything. At all. It's obnoxious enough when subscribers do it, it's just pure poppycock when trash tier snowflakes like OP go on their ridiculous rants.

I'd urge a bit of caution judging people by post count and subscriber status. Plenty of people with low post counts have admitted to having very little to add to discussions, or avoiding them due to the potential for toxicity. And a lot of our worst members post with some frequency. As for subscriber status, some of us have reasons for not being subscribers. I canceled mine for reasons unrelated to Ars' journalism.

When judging someone, I focus on the content of their posts. Which, in this case, was sorely lacking, and obvious flamebait.

 

[orwelldesign]

I'd urge a bit of caution judging people by post count and subscriber status. Plenty of people with low post counts have admitted to having very little to add to discussions, or avoiding them due to the potential for toxicity. And a lot of our worst members post with some frequency. As for subscriber status, some of us have reasons for not being subscribers. I canceled mine for reasons unrelated to Ars' journalism.

When judging someone, I focus on the content of their posts. Which, in this case, was sorely lacking, and obvious flamebait.

When the posts are "ars used to do it better" complaining bullshit like this one, imma go ahead and judge people by their post count and subscriber status.

For that subject. Complaints about the state of ars. They aren't that invested, and calling for someone to be fired is just bumblefuck idiocy.

 

[gsgrego]

This is true. I've been getting a lot of my comments deleted and recently received a threatening notification from Google regarding my comments violating their nonsense standards. Criticism pointing out that Israel has lost the plot since the Sharon regime is verboten. Advocating for making police committing crimes against the public and corruption by other public officials capital offenses as the only way to reform the system get deleted. Pointing out Muslims are defending CSA in a debate where the Muslim said it was ok to have sex with a one year old if they had hit puberty are intolerable bigotry.

The fact of the matter is some criticism is harsh because reality is equally unkind. But YouTube has become horrible. I'm not sure what Pichai's endgame is but I strongly suspect he's allied with the Modi regime so he's promoting religious fascism globally.

... beyond the fact that I have extreme doubt about your claims. Do you realize that channel owners have the ability to moderate comments? You have a lot of blame and conspiracy bs against Google and you have jumped the gun that you might want to lay the blame entirely on different people.

 

[s73v3r]

Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg don't own controlling shares of their companies. Elon Musk does.

Zuckerberg does own a controlling stake of Facebook. But musk owns almost all of Twitter.

 

[s73v3r]

I’m politically pretty left leaning and my comments are also getting removed on YouTube.

This only started recently. I used to never any issues with it, but now it’s a problem. These aren’t people doing the deleting, it happens automatically and within seconds of posting.

And I'm sure it has absolutely nothing to do with the content of those comments