X and the mobilisation of hate and misinformation on social media

Image Source: @mylokaye / Unsplash

The racist and Islamophobic riots we are seeing across the UK are abhorrent, causing fear among family, friends, colleagues, clients and wider communities.

I’m aware that it’s a privilege for me to not have to think about this all the time, but we’ll be doing what we can at Empower to support our diverse team and help them feel safe and supported during this time.

We also hope the show of love on display in the counter protests helps to turn the tide on this episode of hate.

Natasha Adams also has some useful advice for organisations when responding to the racist uk riots that is well worth a read.

But there are further implications for our clients and other organisations with a presence on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

While the root causes are complex, there are concerning reports that figures like Tommy Robinson and other far-right commentators have been actively using X to amplify inflammatory rhetoric and potentially exacerbate the tensions.

At the same time, X’s owner, Elon Musk, has made comments that some have interpreted as being insensitive or even potentially escalating the situation.

Content warnings made to X from the UK Government’s disinformation unit have gone largely ignored, despite claims posts are actively spreading misinformation and inciting violence. This raises questions about the platform’s ability to responsibly moderate content during a volatile time.

This editorial from Tortoise Media’s Xavier Greenwood shows that Tommy Robinson’s presence on X, enabled by Musk, is having a direct impact:

Source: Tortoise Media

As Greenwood says: “Tommy Robinson, who has been accused of stoking the anti-immigration riots, owes his huge platform to Elon Musk.”

The far-right activist has nearly 900,000 followers on X, but reaches a much larger number of people. Tortoise calculated that Robinson’s 268 posts over the weekend had been seen over 160 million times by late Monday afternoon.

Given X’s role in the current events, we believe it’s sensible for all of our clients to carefully review their presence and engagement on the platform.

This may include:

• Closely monitoring your organisation’s organic activity and engagement, and being prepared to respond quickly to any attempts at misuse of your messaging
• Evaluating whether to pause or suspend any paid advertising on X
• Exploring alternative social media channels that have stronger content moderation policies and a track record of responsible platform management
• Advocating for increased transparency and accountability from X regarding its approach to mitigating the spread of harmful or inflammatory content

It’s important to note that the situation remains fluid, and the long-term implications for brands operating on X are still unclear. However, given X’s role in the current unrest, we believe a cautious approach is warranted.

Source: @mylokaye / Unsplash

Beyond this week’s events in the UK, here is some additional information about X and how recent changes are impacting nonprofits:

• Although some Empower clients have made the decision to come off X completely, it is an ongoing conversation as we continue to reassess priorities and the fast-changing landscape. Earlier this year, I wrote this blog post about it.
• Some clients, especially those dealing with issues high on political or public agendas, do still see strong success on the platform, suggesting it can still be an effective place for content that is likely to spark a strong emotional reaction among audience groups.
• More generally, we’ve seen many organisations’ X engagement rates and follower counts drop YoY since 2022 (from competitor benchmarking work).
• Average quarterly growth of X users has stalled, and is lower than pre-Musk acquisition.
• The EU might be about to crack down on X further in reported violation of its Digital Services Act for misleading users, specifically with regard to its algorithms and content moderation practices.
• Lastly, with the US election, the platform has become increasingly politicised and less transparent, with Musk using it to publicly support Donald Trump.

All of the above said, there’s still not really a strong competitor for X for covering live events and breaking news, so while we will support our client’s decision to step away from the platform, we encourage all our clients to reassess periodically, to ensure it continues to be in your organisation’s best interests.

Together, we can navigate this complex landscape and ensure our colleagues feel safe and secure while at work, and can show that our organisations are publicly showing our support for them in our usage (or halting usage) of platforms like X.