The Unchecked Rise of Disinformation on Social Media: A Reckoning for Elon Musk and Big Tech.
In 2014, the Internet Research Agency, a notorious "troll farm" based in Russia, was exposed for its propaganda campaign across social media platforms. This marked a significant milestone in the foreign influence wars on American politics. Nearly two decades later, however, the U.S. is still grappling with the scope and impact of this problem.
Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, now rebranded as X, has only exacerbated the issue. In 2022, Musk reinstated accounts banned for hate speech and violent disinformation, including Donald Trump's. A recent analysis found that "a systematic pattern of inauthentic behavior" was prevalent among these pro-Trump accounts, many of which displayed verified blue check marks.
The irony is that Musk himself has amplified extremist propaganda and retaliated against journalists who criticized him. Under his leadership, X has dismantled mechanisms designed to safeguard against the spread of falsehoods and conspiracy theories on the platform. This is no coincidence; monetization on X relies heavily on engagement, which often breeds misplaced outrage over culture wars.
The latest development in this saga comes courtesy of a new location-exposing feature on X. Initially met with chaos and errors, the feature has garnered praise from conservatives, including Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and right-wing influencer Dave Rubin. However, several top MAGA accounts were exposed as operating in Nigeria, highlighting how users employ fake personas to game the system.
Journalists reporting on authoritarian regimes have also raised concerns about their own privacy being compromised due to incorrect location labels. This lack of accountability and clear guardrails is a major concern, particularly for those covering sensitive topics.
The story takes a sobering turn with revelations from Instagram's former head of safety and well-being, Vaishnavi Jayakumar. According to testimony that was revealed in an unsealed court filing, the company had a "17x" strike policy for accounts engaging in human sex trafficking – a stark contrast to its lax approach towards this issue.
Moreover, Meta's internal studies on child safety problems have been ignored for years, with the company allegedly shelving fixes after conducting research that showed causal links between social media use and mental health issues. This highlights a disturbing trend where profit trumps people in the pursuit of growth and engagement.
The bottom line is that big tech companies built these systems deliberately to maximize profits. They will not relinquish control voluntarily. Instead, systemic regulatory reform is necessary to ensure transparency, safety, and accountability on social media platforms.
As we move forward, it's crucial that policymakers take a closer look at the role of big tech in shaping public discourse and holding them accountable for their actions. The reckoning may have finally arrived, but it's only the beginning – one that requires concerted effort to protect democracy from disinformation.
In 2014, the Internet Research Agency, a notorious "troll farm" based in Russia, was exposed for its propaganda campaign across social media platforms. This marked a significant milestone in the foreign influence wars on American politics. Nearly two decades later, however, the U.S. is still grappling with the scope and impact of this problem.
Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, now rebranded as X, has only exacerbated the issue. In 2022, Musk reinstated accounts banned for hate speech and violent disinformation, including Donald Trump's. A recent analysis found that "a systematic pattern of inauthentic behavior" was prevalent among these pro-Trump accounts, many of which displayed verified blue check marks.
The irony is that Musk himself has amplified extremist propaganda and retaliated against journalists who criticized him. Under his leadership, X has dismantled mechanisms designed to safeguard against the spread of falsehoods and conspiracy theories on the platform. This is no coincidence; monetization on X relies heavily on engagement, which often breeds misplaced outrage over culture wars.
The latest development in this saga comes courtesy of a new location-exposing feature on X. Initially met with chaos and errors, the feature has garnered praise from conservatives, including Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and right-wing influencer Dave Rubin. However, several top MAGA accounts were exposed as operating in Nigeria, highlighting how users employ fake personas to game the system.
Journalists reporting on authoritarian regimes have also raised concerns about their own privacy being compromised due to incorrect location labels. This lack of accountability and clear guardrails is a major concern, particularly for those covering sensitive topics.
The story takes a sobering turn with revelations from Instagram's former head of safety and well-being, Vaishnavi Jayakumar. According to testimony that was revealed in an unsealed court filing, the company had a "17x" strike policy for accounts engaging in human sex trafficking – a stark contrast to its lax approach towards this issue.
Moreover, Meta's internal studies on child safety problems have been ignored for years, with the company allegedly shelving fixes after conducting research that showed causal links between social media use and mental health issues. This highlights a disturbing trend where profit trumps people in the pursuit of growth and engagement.
The bottom line is that big tech companies built these systems deliberately to maximize profits. They will not relinquish control voluntarily. Instead, systemic regulatory reform is necessary to ensure transparency, safety, and accountability on social media platforms.
As we move forward, it's crucial that policymakers take a closer look at the role of big tech in shaping public discourse and holding them accountable for their actions. The reckoning may have finally arrived, but it's only the beginning – one that requires concerted effort to protect democracy from disinformation.
so its 2025 and we're still struggling with disinfo on social media 
like what did big tech companies expect? they knew this was a thing since 2014 when those russian troll farms were exposed 
they just kept on monetizing engagement over user safety 
now elon musk is making it worse by reinstating banned accounts and amplifying extremist propaganda 
its not even about free speech anymore, its about profit over people 
what really needs to change is that policymakers step up and regulate these companies before its too late 
we need transparency, safety, and accountability on social media platforms or else democracy will be lost in the noise 
I'm so done with how social media is getting manipulated by some big players 
. I mean, come on, who needs blue check marks when you can spread hate speech and fake news all day? 
And don't even get me started on the journalists getting silenced 
.
. We need some major changes to make sure these big tech companies are held accountable for their actions 
. I mean, it's not like they're just making money off engagement – they know exactly what's going on and are choosing to look the other way 
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. We can't just sit back and let social media platforms decide what information is "true" or "false" 
. We need transparency, safety, and accountability – stat! 
. it's wild to think that these same platforms are also being used to expose truth and hold people accountable 
.
. it's like, we're living in a dystopian novel or something 
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. It's like he wants to create this toxic environment where people can spread their twisted ideas freely.
... it's crazy that people are using fake personas to game the system. Journalists are literally risking their safety because of these platforms not having any clear guardrails in place 
... no thanks. We need systemic regulatory reform, like, ASAP 
.
Like, remember how we used to talk about online harassment and cyberbullying? This stuff is way more insidious now. Elon Musk and these big tech companies are just playing a massive game of cat and mouse with our collective sanity. 
It's like they're trying to make us all chase our own tails on Twitter... X, whatever it's called now... 
At least then, people knew what was going on. Now? 
We've got fake personas hiding in Nigeria, and journalists worrying about their own privacy... it's like the Wild West out there.
? He's literally sipping tea with Elon Musk over this new location-exposing feature on X while also talking trash about the media 
what a dude 
and it's only getting worse because big tech companies are making bank off of our eyeballs 
it's time for some real systemic change here 
.
. We can't just rely on individual politicians or journalists to take action – we need a collective effort to protect democracy from disinformation 
before it's too late. we can't just sit back and let disinformation run wild. that's not democracy, that's anarchy 
like whats next gonna be a bunch of ppl spreading lies about vaccines and covid stuff? 
shouldnt there be better ways to make money online than exploiting ppl with fake info? 
But what really gets me is how journalists and experts are still so quick to pounce on big tech for their mistakes. Don't they have any blind spots? 
On the other hand, shouldn't we be giving Meta and Instagram a break for trying to tackle some of these massive problems? 
, what was supposed to be a platform for free speech is now a breeding ground for fake news and propaganda 
. I mean, come on, Elon reinstates Trump's account without even verifying the facts? 
. We need to hold these big tech companies accountable for their actions and make sure they're not putting democracy at risk 
. I'm so tired of waiting for someone else to fix this problem... it's time for us as consumers to demand better 
. The lack of accountability is staggering – I mean, who's checking on those pro-Trump accounts to make sure they're not just spreading lies? 
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. We need systemic reform that ensures transparency, safety, and accountability on social media 
. Otherwise, we'll continue to see the erosion of trust in institutions and the spread of disinformation