X under Musk becomes 'journalists' nightmare': 8 steps to save it

Two years ago, Twitter gained a new owner: X, owned by Elon Musk. The billionaire completed the acquisition of the social network on October 28, 2022 and implemented several measures that changed the foundations of the platform.

Immediately, Musk fired the company’s top management, including the CEO and legal director, in addition to making cuts in strategic areas and closing branch operations. OX loosened moderation rules and, in a short time, it was no longer the same – especially for journalists.

Flooded with fake profiles, advertisements and hate speech, one of the most popular and reliable networks for disseminating and receiving information has turned into a “journalistic nightmare, as Reporters Without Borders defines it. But is it possible to change this? Reporters Without Borders thinks so, and has come up with an eight-step plan that could restore Twitter’s past.

8 steps for Musk’s X to be less toxic for journalists

Journalists have made Twitter their number 1 network both to search for and to disseminate topics relevant to society. On the network, they identified an oasis for access to information, exchange of ideas, debates and connections.

OX, however, is not like that.

Under Musk, the platform was transformed into a wrestling arena in which attacks are not only allowed, but encouraged – and, often, by the owner himself, the organization points out.

The relaxation of content moderation rules also contributed to the hostile environment, where fake news and fake profiles reign.

The changes even impacted the artificial intelligence chatbot Grok, powered by content circulating on X. An investigation by Global Witness revealed that the AI responded with disinformation to questions about the United States elections.

“Elon Musk’s two years in charge of X are a nightmare for journalistic information on the platform”, says RSF editorial director Anne Bocande.

“Freedom of the press and the public’s right to reliable information have been virtually eliminated.”

Elon Musk, owner of X, which became a nightmare for journalists — Elon Musk has more than 200 million followers on X

To try to reverse this scenario, the NGO developed a plan with eight measures for governments to adopt and force X and other social media platforms to restore the free circulation of news and the right to information:

Ideological, political and religious neutrality: Platforms must be neutral and cannot promote the personal or ideological interests of their owners.
Visibility to trusted sources: it must be ensured that reliable sources, such as professionals and media companies, are easily found by users.
Recommended journalistic content: Algorithms must be adapted to recommend, display and prioritize reliable journalistic sources.
Plurality: the informative content displayed by platforms needs to reflect a diversity of points of view – the same goes for databases that feed AIs.

Guarantee of origin of information: account verification must be based on objective identity criteria, preventing it from being conditioned on subscriptions that promise greater visibility to users.
Distinction between journalists and influencers: Platforms need to make it clear which accounts are journalists and which are influencers, so that users clearly know the author of content and opinions.
Transparent and independent contestation: It is necessary to establish independent and transparent processes for challenging and reviewing moderation decisions affecting journalists and media organizations.
Assessments of impacts on press freedom: Platforms must carry out regular and independent audits to assess the impact of their policies and practices on press freedom and access to information.