When popular American diaper company Huggies was hit with false pedophilia allegations last month, the conspiracy was traced back to a once-banned influencer that Elon Musk resurrected on Twitter.
The Tesla tycoon has vehemently denied that misinformation has increased since his tumultuous $44 billion acquisition of the messaging platform, but experts say the mass layoffs have led to a rise in content. Moderation has vanished, while a compensatory verification system has fueled conspiracy theorists.
Adding to the uproar, the self-proclaimed free-speech autocrat has reinstated what one researcher estimates are more than 67,000 accounts once for a variety of violations, including violence, harassment, and inciting misinformation. were suspended.
Among those reinstated is Vincent Kennedy, a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy movement who was banned from Twitter following the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
According to the advocacy group Media Matters, Kennedy launched a conspiracy theory in late March that left the Huggies diaper brand battling unusual allegations of pedophilia.
She posted a photo of a Disney-themed diaper featuring Simba, a character from “The Lion King,” and was part of the design.
This was to clarify a widely debunked conspiracy theory that the shapes were recognized by the FBI as coded signals used by pedophiles. “Once you’re truly awake, you can’t go back to sleep,” Kennedy tweeted.
The conspiracy theory spread like wildfire to other platforms like TikTok. Huggies, owned by Kleenex owner Kimberly Clark, then faced an avalanche of hate messages and calls for a boycott.
Huggies tried to put out the fire, writing in a direct response to Kennedy’s tweet that its designs are nothing more than “fun and playful” and that it “takes the safety and well-being of children seriously.”
But conspiracy theorists jumped on the bandwagon to amplify this false claim.
‘Real-world harm’
Jesse Lehrich, cofounder of advocacy group Accountable Tech, told JEE News, “Sensibly, there’s no doubt that the flood of toxic content from repeat offenders Elon is back on the platform causing real-world harm.”
“When you reinstate the architects of the January 6 uprising on the brink of democracy, when you give notorious neo-Nazis a bigger platform amid rising anti-Semitism, when you give influential producers of medical disinformation Rebuild the platform. In the middle of a pandemic, there will be real-world consequences.”
Travis Browne, a Berlin-based software developer, has compiled an online list of more than 67,000 Twitter accounts that have been restored since Musk took office in late October. Brown told JEE News the list was incomplete and the actual number of restored accounts could be higher.
In an interview, Musk pushed back against accusations that misinformation and hateful content have been on the rise since he took office.
He accused the interviewer of lying. “You said you see more hateful content, but you can’t name a single one,” Musk said.
JEE News experts cited dozens of examples – including posts by anti-vaccine propagandists, neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
After his account was restored, election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell told his followers to “melt down electronic voting machines” and use them as prison bars.
According to the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), anti-LGBTQ+ narratives — including false claims that the community “grooms” children — have proliferated on the platform.
A key driver of the “grooming” narrative is conspiracy theorist James Lindsay, whose account was recently reinstated after being previously permanently banned, the group said.
‘Hateful rhetoric’
Nora Benavidez, from the nonpartisan group Free Press, told JEE News, “The refactoring increases hateful rhetoric on the platform, creating a culture of tolerance on Twitter — misogyny, racism, LGBT.” Tolerating anti-TQ tendencies,” Nora Benavidez told JEE News.
CCDH Chief Executive Imran Ahmed said Twitter was monetizing hate at an unprecedented rate. According to CCDH research, just five Twitter accounts that offer a “grooming” narrative generate up to $6.4 million in annual ad revenue.
But experts say this strategy is counterproductive as it can hardly make up for lost advertising revenue.
The chaos under Musk has spooked many big advertisers. Twitter’s ad revenue will drop 28 percent this year, according to analysts at Insider Intelligence, who said “customers don’t trust Musk.”
Alternatively, Musk has tried to raise revenue from the verified checkmark, which is now available for $8 in a program called Twitter Blue. But according to watchdog NewsGuard, dozens of “disinformation mongers” have bought into BlueTick and are flooding the platform with lies.
“Musk revived the accounts to make money and adopt what he believes, wrongly, is some ‘free speech equals’ mentality — ignoring that (policy),” Benavidez said. makes Twitter a platform that rewards violent language with visibility,” Benavidez said.
“It chills rather than advances speech and engagement.”
