Antisemitism on Twitter Before and After Elon Musk's Acquisition
With CASM Technology: weekly average English-language antisemitic tweets rose 106% after Musk's takeover and new antisemitic-posting accounts more than tripled, with no evidence 'deboosting' reduced engagement.
Executive summary
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This ISD study, produced with CASM Technology, compared antisemitic activity on Twitter/X before and after Elon Musk's 2022 acquisition of the platform. The research tracked English-language antisemitic posting volume and account creation patterns across the two periods to assess whether changes in moderation policy and staffing under new ownership affected the prevalence of antisemitic content.
The analysis found a substantial increase in antisemitic activity following the acquisition: weekly average antisemitic tweets rose by 106%, and the rate of new accounts posting antisemitic content more than tripled compared to the pre-acquisition baseline. The researchers also examined whether reduced visibility measures, such as algorithmic 'deboosting,' were mitigating the reach of this content, and found no evidence that such measures meaningfully reduced engagement with antisemitic posts.
The report concludes that the platform's ownership transition coincided with both a rise in antisemitic content and a lack of demonstrable moderation effectiveness, raising concerns about the platform's capacity to contain hateful content during a period of policy and staffing change.
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