X, formerly known as Twitter, has released its first transparency report since Elon Musk’s takeover in 2022. Covering the first half of 2024, the report reveals significant shifts in how the platform handles content moderation and enforcement actions, reflecting Musk’s changes to policies and internal structures.
In the first six months of 2024, X received nearly 67 million reports of hateful conduct, resulting in action on just over 2,000 accounts. This marks a stark contrast with the pre-Musk era, where 1 million of 4.3 million accounts actioned in the 2021 report were due to hateful content. The lower figures may be attributed to policy changes made under Musk, such as rolling back rules around misgendering, deadnaming, and Covid-19 misinformation.
Comparing X’s latest 15-page report to Twitter’s last 50-page transparency report from 2021 proves challenging, as the platform’s methodology has shifted. For instance, the new report notes 224 million reports across accounts and individual content, but only 5.2 million accounts were suspended. In contrast, Twitter reported 11.6 million account reports in 2021, with 1.3 million suspensions. These differences reflect the changing landscape at X, as Musk’s policies have led to fewer violations under the updated guidelines.
Further complicating the picture is the fact that X has lost users since Musk’s acquisition, which may impact the volume and nature of reports. Additionally, Musk fired much of the trust and safety staff who enforced platform policies, and began charging for API access, making it harder for researchers and nonprofits to analyze data from the platform.
As Theodora Skeadas, a former Twitter public policy team member, points out, transparency reports are only part of the picture. The changes in policy under Musk, combined with reduced access to X data for external researchers, make it difficult to get a comprehensive understanding of the platform’s current moderation practices.
X’s latest report offers a glimpse into how the platform is being reshaped under Musk’s leadership. While some data remains consistent with previous years, the significant policy shifts and staffing changes have led to a very different moderation landscape than what users experienced during the Twitter era.
Read more at Wired.
