A recent article claims that a rise in antisemitic Tweets followed Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter.
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), a neutral think tank, and CASM Technologies, a start-up that studies hate speech and disinformation online, undertook a study referenced in the Washington Post and other newspapers as the basis for the report.
Between June 1 and October 27, the day Musk completed his purchase of the social networking site, it discovered an average of almost 6,200 posts per week that appeared to use antisemitic rhetoric. But by early February, that number had increased by 105%, doubling to over 12,700.
After Musk assumed control, some observers noticed what they believed to be an uptick in antisemitic tweets, and our analysis seems to support those findings.
To find potentially antisemitic tweets, the study employed machine learning technologies.
A technology developed by researchers was trained to identify tweets that “plausibly” fit at least one interpretation of the antisemitism definition provided by the International Holocaust Memorial Association.
Making “dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotyped claims about Jews” and “Calling for, assisting in, or defending the killing or hurting of Jews” are two instances of antisemitic statements given by the organization.
After personally comparing a sample of the postings using their algorithmic sorting tool, the researchers found that 76% of the posts matched.
In training language models on such a complex subject as antisemitism, researchers found inherent difficulties.
Musk has previously refuted claims that the number of anti-Semitic posts has increased. The survey does not show how much visibility and interaction the hate posts get.
If the allegation is accurate, a contributing factor in the rise may be that Musk, a fervent supporter of the first amendment, permits more excellent free speech on the platform and employs less censorship.
For instance, Twitter’s prior leadership suppressed the Hunter Biden laptop controversy for months, and several pro-Trump headlines and conservative accounts were deemed to contain “disinformation.”
Trump’s account hasn’t tweeted since Musk reinstated it, but he has restored several prominent conservative accounts.
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