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Ahead of highly-anticipated US presidential election, a report by British media outlet stated that some users on X who regularly shares content that includes election misinformation, AI-generated images and conspiracy theories were being paid “thousands of dollars” by the social media platform, owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
The US election will be held on November 5, 2024, (Tuesday) — which will be closely closely watched around the world. The winner will serve four years in the White House, starting in January 2025.
Republican former president Donald Trump will face Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in the US presidential election after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid.
In its report, the BBC said it has identified networks of X handles that are engaged in spreading “a mix of true, unfounded, false and faked material” regarding US elections to boost their reach and revenue on the site.
Several users alleged that earnings from their own and other accounts range from a couple of hundred to thousands of dollars.
Such users also share each other’s posts on forums and group chats, with one of then saying: “It’s a way of trying to help each other out.”
Some of these networks — identified by the British media outlet — support Trump and others Kamala Harris while some even back independents.
The report also claimed that US politicians, including congressional candidates, have contacted some of these profiles — which claimed not to be connected to official campaigns — for supportive posts.
Earlier this month, the Musk-owned X updated its creator payments policy with payments made to eligible accounts will be calculated as per the engagement from premium users rather than the number of ads under their posts.
Although X’s user base is smaller compared to platforms like Facebook or TikTok, it has a significant impact on political discourse — which raises questions whether the site incentivising users to post provocative claims.
According to the report, the misleading posts include claims about election fraud and extreme, unfounded allegations of paedophilia and sexual abuse against the presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
Some of these misleading posts — originated on X — were shared onto other platforms, potentially reaching a much wider audience.
Speaking to BBC, one user claimed he created a doctored image purporting to show Kamala Harris working at McDonald’s in her youth. After being shared widely, the image fuelled claims that the Democratic Party was manipulating images of its candidate.
