In the previous 24 hours Elon Musk closes deal with Twitter on Thursday, thousands of new accounts were created on the social media service and joined a massive new following for some of the platform’s most influential far-right accounts, according to research from Memetica, a digital investigation company.
The Twitter account of Kari Lake, a Republican candidate for governor in Arizona, has gained 18,000 followers in the past 24 hours, a 600% increase from the usual number of new followers that Ms. seen in a day, according to Memetica. Of those 18,000 new followers, more than 3,100 are new to Twitter.
Representative Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado, gained more than 18,679 new followers in the past 24 hours, a 1,200% increase from normal, Memetica said. Nearly half of those new followers are also new to Twitter.
And Candace Owens, a conservative media personality, gained more than 3,700 new followers in the last 24 hours, 300% more than usual. Of her new followers, more than 2,300 are new on Twitter, according to Memetica.
It is not clear if this activity is related to Mr. Musk’s ownership of Twitter. The billionaire has described himself as a “liberalist” who wants to make the social media platform a more liberal place for all kinds of comments.
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Ben Decker, chief executive officer of Memetica, said the findings are alarming because many far-right figures who have had a spike in followers are “really disinformers, harassers, and disinformation agents.” confusion and hatred”. These accounts shared misinformation about voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election and made unsubstantiated claims about possible fraud in the 8th midterm elections. upcoming November.
“The more followers and wider reach, the more these ideas are distributed,” said Mr. Decker, who also advises The New York Times on security.
Mr. Decker added that the fact that many new followers of far-right accounts had recently created Twitter accounts “could be a sign that far-rights are returning to Twitter as they see the potential.” capabilities for a more friendly environment. “
The researchers also found that Twitter accounts for progressive politicians and celebrities lost followers on Friday. Former President Barack Obama, Representative Alexandria Ocazio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, and Rachel Maddow, host of MSNBC, are among the Twitter accounts that have lost the most followers since Thursday, according to data from Social Bladea social media analytics company.
Some left-wing influencers begged their Twitter followers to stay on the site and don’t delete their account.
John Pavlovitz, a writer and pastor, wrote to his 410,000 followers: “If the good moderates and the Leftists continue to abandon the platforms, we allow the Extremism to take over. own the story and we do not give the voice of the truth.
Online disinformation and hate speech research groups also said on Friday that Mr. Musk’s public statements regarding free speech on Twitter were inappropriate.
“The danger here is that in the name of ‘free speech,’ Musk will turn back the clock and turn Twitter into a more powerful engine for hatred, division, and election misinformation,” said Paul Barrett. election, public health policy and international affairs. Associate director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.
A group of nonprofits including the Center Against Digital Hate, Responsible Technology, and the Global Project Against Hatred and Extremism also released a joint statement about their relationship. their concerns over Musk’s ownership of Twitter.
“Elon Musk’s plans for Twitter will make it an even more hateful dumping ground, leading to irreparable real-world harm,” the groups said. “Musk’s plans will make the platform more vulnerable to security threats, rampant misinformation, and extremism right before the midterm elections.”
Mr. Musk has sought to allay some of those fears. On Friday, he tweeted that he will form a “content moderation committee with diverse views.”
“No major content decisions or account recovery will occur prior to that panel convening,” he wrote.
